Where can I buy individual songs, other than iTunes?

[sensa]

As title, really. I have a list of songs I need to make a CD, but don't have them all, and don't fancy buying 10+ cds.

Don't fancy buying from iTunes as I need them in mp3 format, which iTunes songs aren't(?)

So any help is greatly appreciated. Ta.

[Meeja]

sensa said:

As title, really. I have a list of songs I need to make a CD, but don't have them all, and don't fancy buying 10+ cds.

Don't fancy buying from iTunes as I need them in mp3 format, which iTunes songs aren't(?)

So any help is greatly appreciated. Ta.

I'm sure that there are plenty of places you can do this, but if you already have an iTunes account, buy them from iTunes, burn an audio CD, and then re-rip them back into your computer using something like CDex.... and bingo. You will have MP3 files of the tracks with no DRM.

[kaypee]

Depends on what genre of music you are looking for but these two are alternatives to itunes:

www.trackitdown.net
www.beatport.com

HTH

[PJR]

Meeja said:

sensa said:

As title, really. I have a list of songs I need to make a CD, but don't have them all, and don't fancy buying 10+ cds.

Don't fancy buying from iTunes as I need them in mp3 format, which iTunes songs aren't(?)

So any help is greatly appreciated. Ta.

I'm sure that there are plenty of places you can do this, but if you already have an iTunes account, buy them from iTunes, burn an audio CD, and then re-rip them back into your computer using something like CDex.... and bingo. You will have MP3 files of the tracks with no DRM.

And will have been compressed twice using 2 different lossy formats, so will now have the negative attributes of both, if not worse. Thus will quite likely sound crap.
If you want to make a mix cd from iTunes songs, then its best to do it as an audio format CD, and not rerip anything back to MP3's.

P,

[Meeja]

PJR said:

Meeja said:

sensa said:

As title, really. I have a list of songs I need to make a CD, but don't have them all, and don't fancy buying 10+ cds.

Don't fancy buying from iTunes as I need them in mp3 format, which iTunes songs aren't(?)

So any help is greatly appreciated. Ta.

I'm sure that there are plenty of places you can do this, but if you already have an iTunes account, buy them from iTunes, burn an audio CD, and then re-rip them back into your computer using something like CDex.... and bingo. You will have MP3 files of the tracks with no DRM.

And will have been compressed twice using 2 different lossy formats, so will now have the negative attributes of both, if not worse. Thus will quite likely sound crap.

Bit harsh really. Yes, technically you are correct, but unless you are an audiophile with the kind of kit to match then you won't notice the difference. I've done it on a few occasions, and it sounds perfectly good enough for 99% of applications.

I'm not about to get into the arguments of MP3 being a lossy format - I realise that it is, but if you use the appropriate settings then you'd need a bloody good ear (and decent audio kit) to notice any major difference.

Next...... CD versus Vinyl anyone?

[PJR]

Nothing harsh about it. Just telling it how it is

P,

[Meeja]

PJR said:

Nothing harsh about it. Just telling it how it is

P,

Well, not really....

PJR said:

Thus will quite likely sound crap

Wheras

"It will sound almost the same as the original, but with some of the fidelity reduced - but it will be difficult for a run of the mill listener to notice any degredation."

would be telling it how it is.

[PJR]

Now you are just being a pedant. My point is, compressing music twice with a lossy format really isn't recommended. It can sound naff at times as it is just being compressed once. Never mind twice using differing formats.

P,

[Meeja]

PJR said:

Now you are just being a pedant. My point is, compressing music twice with a lossy format really isn't recommended. It can sound naff at times as it is just being compressed once. Never mind twice using differing formats.

P,

Not pedantic, but realistic.

Yes, it can sound naff at times, but if you use decent compression settings and do the job properly, you will get results that are perfectly acceptable. If you start using 128 bit rates, then yes - the results will be poor.

Look at the majority of radio stations - broadcasting via digital multiplexes - the source music on their systems in the radio studio are played from a compressed format from the hard drives of the radio playout system (I used to work in radio), and then compressed again on the digital multiplex. Whilst the results the listener gets are not 100% perfect, they are perfectly acceptable to the majority.

I suspect we will just have to agree to disagree on this!

ETA: I suppose it depends on what the tracks are to be used for - if it is a one or two-off usage, then it will be fine.... if it is an only copy of the track, then I'd have it uncompressed for archive purposes.

Edited by Meeja on Tuesday 12th August 21:20

[mike_1985]

Doesnt radio use lossless formats ?

[Meeja]

mike_1985 said:

Doesnt radio use lossless formats ?

Not all of them, no. (The majority do)

And certainly those that have been using automated playout systems for a number of years now will have a lot of their "old" library compressed with older versions of codecs.

Many radio stations did not have "master" copies of tracks, so the only copies of the music that they have is the compressed versions on their music servers (and associated backups)