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Now that you’ve purchased that hot new mp3 player, have you thought about what type of mp3 music download site you will use to get your music from? Your options boil down to basically two (2) choices. Legal music download sites or mp3 file sharing programs that facilitate unlimited downloads of music files. But which one is the best option for you? To help you answer that question, this article will explore the pros and cons of getting your favorite music from legal mp3 music sites versus p2p file sharing programs.

Music Downloads From Legal MP3 Music Download Sites

Legal mp3 music download sites are an excellent way for you to get the music you want. These online music stores offer CD quality music files that are free of any adware, spyware or viruses. The music has been legally licensed from the record labels that own the copyrights to the songs and albums, so you don’t have to worry about any copyright infringement issues when you download the music. Popular digital music services like Rhapsody and Yahoo! Music Unlimited provide members with monthly membership subscriptions that give you a choice between downloading music to your PC or to your mp3 player. Also, some legal mp3 music download sites such as iTunes Store and Wal-Mart Music Downloads now offer music tracks that are free of any digital rights restrictions.

But as cool as it is to get very high quality, spyware free, DRM free songs or albums that you can play on your PC or your mp3 player, legal music download sites do have a few drawbacks. The biggest drawback is DRM (digital rights management or digital rights restrictions). DRM can limit what you can do with your mp3 music downloads and basically makes you a renter of the music even though you’ve bought it. But as I mentioned previously, online music stores and major recording labels are banding together to bring you music that’s free of digital rights restrictions. Outside of DRM, the biggest drawback is the cost if you pay for your music on a per download basis. However, music download sites like Rhapsody and Yahoo! Music Unlimited offer discounts on purchased music tracks to their membership subscribers. Wal-Mart Music Downloads is also very competitive price wise when compared to iTunes.

MP3 Music Downloads From P2P File Sharing Programs

Thanks to today’s technology, p2p file sharing programs all you to download, upload and share mp3 music files online. Also known as p2p (peer–to-peer), these freeware programs enable you to download music from the shared file folders of other users within the p2p network for free. Getting lighting fast, unlimited downloads of mp3 music can provide you with a naughty thrill (you can get all the music you want for free). But as thrilling as that might be, getting your favorite tunes this way can be a risky proposition.

As you read in the previous paragraph, many p2p file sharing programs are available as freeware downloads. As freeware or shareware, they often come bundled with hidden spyware or adware programs. Additional spyware risks come from the shared files of other users in the p2p network. But with the help of a good spyware remover tool, you can pretty much eliminate this spyware threat. The biggest risk in downloading mp3 music from file sharing programs comes from the exposure to getting sued for copyright infringement. The RIAA aggressively pursues lawsuits against people who use file sharing to download copyrighted music from RIAA members. The recent TorrentSpy ruling doesn’t make things any easier for you to stay under the RIAA’s radar. However, it is possible for you to anonymously download mp3 music from file sharing programs using IP cloaking software or anonymous surfing service.

By now it should be clear that both legal mp3 music download sites and p2p file sharing programs present online music lovers with opportunities and challenges. Which one is right for you? With legal music sites, you have to ask yourself if DRM and the costs are that big of a deal for you to get legitimate, near CD quality music. With p2p file sharing programs, you have to ask yourself if getting unlimited free music is worth the spyware and legal risks. Ultimately the choice of which mp3 music download site boils down to you and the option you feel most comfortable with.