There is music everywhere. You have it blaring from cars, radios, ipods, phones and various gadgets all over the world. The internet contributes to the spread of music.

The annoying part is, they need you to sign up first or download a program before you can actually listen to the music. That’s all well and good if the service is indeed good and you want to use the service for a long time. There are quite a few people who just want to check out what’s new, what’s popular and listen a bit before they decide to buy. Exactly as they would in a music shop.

That’s exactly what Artist Direct is. It simply is a music store. They have an extensive collection of music available for sale. They have music clips that you can listen to via streaming if you want to make sure you have the right piece. Everytime you choose to listen to an artist, the album it came from is listed as well as how much it costs. You can even check for the list of songs included in the album to make it even easier for you to make up your mind to download the CD.

Yes, they sell by the CD not by song. The artists worked hard to put together their albums so why not give the rest of the music in it a try even if they aren’t in the top 100. You may discover a new favorite.

While you’re visiting their site, check out the What’s Hot section and read some of the interviews they did. They have some cool contests there as well. Anyone want the latest ipod?

You may also want to check out their billboard to see which artists truly are the top sellers and you can keep up to date on the latest news about your favorite artists and happenings in the music industry via their news section.

Tags: artists, contests, download, iPod, Music, news

Categories: Downloading Legally, Music

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So what is this three-strikes rule all about? The UK government is pushing for a law which will give those who download illegally two warnings before they reap the consequences of their activities; the consequences being restriction of broadband service.

Naturally, this move has met a lot of resistance. Even musicians could not agree on a single stand. However, recent developments in that sector point to everyone giving their support to the government’s proposal. The Guardian has the story:

The music industry moved last night to heal a rift over illegal filesharing as artists including Lily Allen, George Michael and Sandie Shaw voted to support a “three-strikes” rule that would see online pirates have their broadband connections constrained.

After a three-hour meeting in London, the Featured Artists Coalition, which emerged as a breakaway lobby group in the summer, backed the government’s proposed introduction of “technical measures” to combat the rising tide of copyright theft. If they ignore two warning letters, persistent illegal filesharers should have their broadband connections throttled “to a level which would render filesharing of media files impractical while leaving basic email and web access”, according to a statement after the meeting.

I know I’ll probably make myself the target of hatred, but the proposal looks fair enough to me. After all, people get two warnings before they get “punished.” And as for the punishment, it is not even total termination, plus, it could be only temporary.

What do you think about this proposal?

Photo courtesy of The Guardian

Tags: File Sharing, illegal downloading, news, UK music industry

Categories: Downloading Legally

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