Even with the demise of Napster — the music source that once ruled the Web — the Internet will never be the same. Sure enough, free downloads of commercial tunes are a thing of the past... Yet, it’s easier than ever to access all categories of global sound. Instead of listing individual sites, here are a few ideas to help you plug into whatever suits your ear.
www.mp3specialty.com
Touting itself as “Better than Napster Ever Was,” Mp3 Specialty features a $18.75 annual subscription service, which is a passport to unlimited downloading and the largest Mp3 collection in the world. Along with a list of the best Napster alternatives, membership provides you with software that allows you to download songs, full-length movies and video clips.
www.top10sites.net
There are 43 different categories of music here, from jazz to country’n’western, from classical to New Age... Each style comes with a list of sites that various listeners have recommended.
www.cdnow.com
CD Now is an online music store. This site offers 22 different types of sound, each with its own sub-category. Click on a “featured” album and listen to the first few seconds of each of its tracks, before buying it. Send away for the CD, or acquire Mp3 tracks for the specified price. There are even tracks selected from disc promos, that you can download for free (however, these will “evaporate” after a month, unless you decide to pay up). Here again, you can click through music charts, news items, reviews and interviews, as well as industry gossip about each artist.
www.Billboard.com
This leading music publication has an online edition that’s updated daily. Check up on artists “in the headlines,” consult the music charts... or, read editorials and album reviews by the magazine’s key columnists.
