Shop smartly for online music

Shopping for 10 years ago was as easy as walking into your local CD/cassette shop, ask the shop assistant for the CD you’re looking for (or just find it yourself) and then take it to the checkout.

These days a lot has changed. Due to the internet market boom, music is now purchased and paid for per song, roughly 99c each and higher depending on the song you want. Buying music off the internet is actually quite a tedious task and requires a fair bit of patience as you use the search engine or just browse around the website. Also its very annoying when after sitting at your computer for an hour you realize they don’t have the song you’re looking for. Going to the shop would have made things so much quicker and easier. I’ve developed some strategies to help make your music shopping experience a little less stressful.

But first some Pros of buying music online.
Its fast – just find the song using the search engine, add to cart and then proceed to checkout and fill out your payment details.

Selection – Online shops tend to have a wider range of music for you to choose from, with hits from way back that aren’t sold at music shops anymore.
Preview function – you can preview each song before you purchase it.
Immediate download – You can get the song straight away after payment

And some Cons which are not necessarily bad but some important points to think of before you decide to purchase online

Paying over the internet – make sure that you are paying using a secure site.
Speed and connection – how fast is your internet speed and connection. Although music files are relatively small in size you can lose the download if you have a unsteady and slow connection.
Corrupt files – these have been extremely rare cases where the file you download is corrupt. This problem can usually be fixed by contacting customer service.

Some strategies to help you find exactly what you are looking for faster.

1. Write down on paper the song name and artist. If you are looking to download an entire album write down the name of the album and the year it was recorded.
2. You can find all this information by doing a quick background check
3. Head over to the online music website and type in the information in the required fields.
4. Skim through the results and choose the song you wish to purchase. IMPORTANT – preview the song if you can to make sure it is the right version. You don’t want to download a cover or a remix if you wanted the original.
5. Add to cart and then proceed to checkout OR continue shopping by repeating steps 1 and 2.
6. IMPORTANT – at the checkout carefully review the list of songs in your shopping cart. You don’t want to accidentally purchase something you don’t want.
7. Fill out your payment details. Make sure you are doing this on a secure site.
8. Once payment is made you can download your songs.
9. Enjoy!

Cheers and have a good online shopping experience

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Below is a list of online music stores with a wide range of music for you to choose from however the trial offers give you the best deal. Roughly 25 free MP3’s for free per trial.

Free 14 day trial with Rhapsody Unlimited.

RealOne SuperPass Free Trial

MP3's Unlimited $12.99

Get 5 free songs and a 14-day trial

Click here to get a free 14-day MP3 trial of

Music=Life: the Hot Topic Foundation

And below are some Music players
Apple Store

Download RealPlayer Plus Here

The new iPod nano. Now with video. From $169. Free shipping.