Tech: Music downloads???

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 06:05 PM

since I am not particular about 'keeping up' with the latest artists and trends, but prefer OLD stuff, I can either buy stuff re-released on CD, or acquire practically free music from many sources as MP3s...(or OGG, or WMV..etc.) My hearing is simply not good enough to need the best sampling rates and hi-fi, so I don't fret....but it IS nice to have those liner notes and lyric booklets!

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 05:24 PM

My son converted his entire large collection of CDs to mp3, loaded it all onto his iPod and got rid of the CD player, shelves and all his CDs. Any new music he buys is in digital format. Not the musician son, by the way, but the computer son. He says that most people he knows no longer buy CDs but rather download or listen directly from digital sources. They still have stereo sound in their homes via docking stations for the iPod.

Some of the digital distributors specify what quality level they require from CD conversions, but M.Ted is certainly right about the sound quality and liner art of original CDs vs downloads.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: M.Ted
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 04:24 PM

Just to rain a bit on your respective parades, you are really better off buying the CD, because you get better sound quality and the liner notes/booklet, as well. You can convert it to mp3 easily(and have your choice of sound quality, at that). Just thought it needed to be said;-)

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 03:25 PM

Many digital albums on eFolkmusic.org include liner notes, if the artist provides them. Here's the ShoreGrass page with liner notes: ShoreGrass digital album liner notes

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 02:31 PM

I don't know what format songs are downloaded from Amazon, but if it was mp3, I would search *.mp3. So substitute whatever suffix the download has for mp3.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: gnomad
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 01:55 PM

Joe, the UK-based Woven Wheat Whispers download site offer free downloadable sleevenotes for the albums they offer, but they offer only a fairly limited number of artists so far. A hyper-link on the individual album page takes you to the download.

If their range continues to expand they may be of future interest, but I suspect that you won't be looking for many of their offerings at this point. I like the look of what they are doing, but these are early days.

Woven Wheat Whispers

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 12:02 PM

Well, Joe...it they aren't good enuf to provide PDF or text files of any liner notes the album 'might' have, I dunno where to get 'em. 'Serious' folk CDs usually try to have some sort of notes, as we folkies like our history... but not all do.

Maybe a Mudcat project? *grin*

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 12:55 AM

I downloaded an album from Amazon the other day - by mistake. I clicked on the "buy MP3 album" link to put the thing in my shopping cart, thinking I could look at the thing later and make a final decision.
Nope.
I was taken to a screen that congratulated me for my download, and my computer started downloading the album and my ceredit card was billed for $15.98 (double album). I think the downloader put the album in "my music" without my asking, but that's where I wanted it anyhow.

Bobert, if you go to programs/amazon on your computer, there should be a link for the Amazon MP3 downloader. Open it, and yu can set the location you want for downloads. If you don't have the downloader on your computer, you have to download it before you can download. The downloader is available here (click). Now that I'm over the shock of having purchased an album before I was ready to, I think Amazon has a pretty good setup for downloads - and they charge a buck less for Folkways albums than Smithsonian Global Sound charges.

Now, my question is whether there is a usual way to get the contents of the CD booklet when you download an album. Smithsonian Global Sounds has PDF files for liner notes for all the Folkways albums and CD's, but that's the only vendor I've found that's so generous. I'm converting my CD's to MP3 files, so it sure would be nice to find a way to access the CD booklets without rooting through storage boxes for them.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Bill D
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 01:15 PM

Bobert...did you actually download the song? Or just get permission to do so? If you did get it, then as Leenia says, you should just be able to double click it...or, if you know where it is, Real Player will have a place in its menu to go to wherever the song is and play it.
   When I download something, my browsesr (Opera & Firefox) keep a list of recent downloads and where it put them. (This can be a 'default' location, or a particular place you chose.)

I find the most common problem folks have is not being used to locating files and keeping track of where they put them.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 10:58 AM

You should be able to just double click on the downloaded file to play it. The trick is finding where it is!

You can go into Windows Explorer (if you have it) and do a search (click button at the top with a magnifying glass) and then clicking on "all files and folders" (one of the links under "what do you want to search for"). Look for the file name, or search for some of the words in the song title. Be sure the option that says "Look in:" is pointing to your Local Hard Drives (C:) so it will check everywhere.

That should point you to the location of the downloaded song.

Otherwise, go download another one and pay close attention to where it puts the file, changing the location perhaps to one that you can easily find.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Subject: Tech: Music downloads???
From: Bobert
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:41 AM

This oughtta be an easy one but until ya' know how to do something it ain't and that is the case here...

I purchased a song from Amizon last night, got the email confirmation, have Real Player in my [pudder but don't have a clue what to do next to hear it???

So I need step-by-step instructions for a dummie (me)...

Thank you ahead of time...

Bobert