Independent Music Buyer Beware

Many people are now tired of getting in the car and driving to the mall to shop for music. Also,  buying CDs by mail-order isn't any better; unless you're willing to pay for expedited shipping, you end up waiting for days for your tunes to arrive. Furthermore, all those CDs and their cases are becoming very cumbersome to keep and store... after all, you're probably just going to rip them to your computer, load them on your MP3 player and listen to them on the go. So, why not just save yourself all the hassle and acquire your music digitally, all ready for your music player?

As many people have by now discovered, there are many advantages to buying music online. Audio websites will allow you to browse their complete collection much more quickly and easily than you can in a retail store, and almost all of them will let you listen to a preview before you make your selections. And even better -- you aren't required to purchase an entire CD full of songs if you aren't thrilled with all of them; simply choose the ones you want and leave the rest behind!

From what I can determine, there is only one problem with downloading music online, and that's choosing the best site to use. With the hundreds, maybe even thousands, of music download sites available today, how do you select the one that will provide the most value for your money?

A good way to start is to think about your musical preferences. Do you like heavy metal, country, pop, classic rock and roll? You certainly don't want to limit yourself to a site that specializes in indie labels if your favorite groups are all mainstream pop. Likewise, don't frustrate yourself searching for bluegrass music on a site where the main headliners are Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper. 

When it comes to downloading independent music it's quite different. You may discover an independent musician with one or perhaps two songs that you want to download. A big mistake by many independent musicians is to put their best two tracks at the top of their list on music sites. Like many commercial artists, this doesn't guarantee an entire album of great songs thus leading to a backlash if the independent musician only allows for entire album downloads.

If an independent musician opts to put their material out there with major distributors, the potential music buyer only get to hear a randomly edited 'clip' of each song. Hardly enticing.

Some months back, I opted to distribute via Bandcamp. From the player to your left you can listen to the album "Mean Business" in its' entirety, track by track and as often as you wish. You can choose to download only the tracks that you may be particularly fond of. HINT#1: If you wish to download the entire album, enter the word thistle at checkout to see exactly what the discount is. Hint#2: It's a hefty discount. Even at this point, you are under no obligation to proceed. It is this total transparency that I feel is sadly lacking. Additionally, I intend to be making limited-time free single downloads to members of my website:  www.scotsbob.com

Once you've narrowed your choices to sites where you are likely to find your desired groups, it's time to take a look at pricing. Will you be charged a fee for each song you download, and if so, how much will it be? Some sites offer membership packages where you subscribe for a set fee each month -- you are then entitled to download a specified number of songs for free, or at a discounted rate. Some sites offer unlimited streaming with a membership, so you can listen online as much as you want and are only charged when you want to have your tunes "to-go" and download them to your computer, MP3 player, CD, or other device. Online music sites have devised countless payment tactics, so it's a good idea to evaluate a few of them to find out which will work best for you.

With Bandcamp and www.scotsbob.com there are no no limitations, no hidden costs....no fees at all infact, which allows me to release my music downloads at more than competitive prices.