The problem with too many options is that it’s hard to make an ultimate pick. If you’re planning to buy an MP3player, you’re surely faced with this dilemma. Try walking into a store and see if you aren’t dazzled with the choices before you. You know you want an MP3 player, but you don’t know what specific type you’re looking for.

You better get started somewhere, though, and the best place to begin is identifying your wants and needs. Are you looking for a durable and portable storage for all of your music files, or do you just want to have something to entertain you with your latest favorite hits while you’re working out in the gym or driving in your car? If you’re after storage, go for hard drive digital audio players. They may be physically large in size and rather bulky to carry around, but that’s just the tradeoff for the massive disk space they offer. If you’re just after quick entertainment, flash drive digital audio players are the best choice for you. They offer a much smaller memory, but they’re compact and light, making them easy to carry around anywhere.

What format do your current music files come in? If most of the songs you have are copied from CDs, transferring them to most types of MP3 players will not be a problem. However, if the songs are downloaded from the internet, they may come in a variety of formats. Make sure that the MP3 player you buy is compatible with the formats of those songs. Remember, nothing is more frustrating than buying something you can’t use!

How long do you plan to use your MP3 player at a given time? Can you see yourself letting it play for hours? On full charge, battery life can range from 10 to 50 hours, depending on the player. Even the rates of charging differ from one player to another–some charge pretty fast in comparison with the others. Determine how often you plan to use your MP3 player, and from there you can make a choice that best suits your needs.

Lastly, what extra features do you want your MP3 player to have? Sure, you’re buying one so you can play your music, but additional features are great to have as well. You can get an MP3 player with FM tuner, video/voice recorder, flash disk, or even a camera. After all, if you can get more bang for your buck, then why not go for it?

George Wood is a successful webmaster of many popular sites including purses and blog site. If you want to read more about music players, click over to George music players site.

Nelly Furtado has released her latest CD entitled Loose and it doesn’t exactly sound like some of her past releases, but it’s a very good collection.

What we’re hearing here is the fact that she is of course growing as an artist. Just as it should happen with a serious artist, her music is clearly evolving.

I developed a liking for her voice and have followed her career since the release of her first CD, Whoa Nelly, which had the mega hit Like A Bird on it.

I’m always curios to see if an artist can duplicate early career success and with the release of this her third CD I’m convinced Nelly Furtado is a performer that will be with us for some time to come.

The CD launches with an outstanding track, Afraid, that will definitely be heard on radio stations everywhere, and deservedly so. It’s a really good song.

In fact overall Loose is an outstanding CD release and is definitely must have music for any fan. I give it my two thumbs up. It’s the kind of CD even casual music fans will love.

The standout tunes on Loose are Maneater [track 2, Promiscuous [track 3, and Say It Right [track 8. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore […as in Stuck On REpeat is track 12, All Good Things. Very nice!

Release Notes:

Nelly Furtado originally released Loose on June 20, 2006 on the Geffen Records label.

CD track list follows:

1. Afraid 2. Maneater 3. Promiscuous 4. Glow 5. Showtime 6. No Hay Igual 7. Te Busque 8. Say It Right 9. Do It 10. In God’s Hands 11. Wait For You 12. All Good Things (Come To An End) 13. Te Busque (Spanish Version)

To listen to samples of each song on Loose by Nelly Furtado go to: Nelly Furtado CD – Loose MP3 Samples

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is a life long music fanatic. In addition to writing CD Reviews like this one for several music related websites he also hosts an internet radio show, and invites you to join him daily for some of the best soul soothing smooth jazz you’ll ever hear at http://www.SmoothJazz247.com

Music downloads are very popular right now and rightfully so. Just image having access to thousands of songs with the ability to get your own digital copy. The proliferation of iPods, iTunes, Napster, MP3 players, high speed internet connections, and CD burners has made the world ripe for digital music. How do you get digital music? You download music to your PC. That?s how.

Where can you find music downloads? There are several services online that provide music download to their customer. You can download music from Walmart for $.88 per song. That is a pretty good deal and they have a nice selection of songs. For the iPod owners out there, you can download music from iTunes. They also have a real nice selection of music and they charge $.99 per song.

If you don?t want to use either of those services then you may want to try Napster. Napster actually popularized music downloads back when they gave users access to songs for free. The free music swapping was, of course, shut down and now they charge $9.95 per month for unlimited access to their music library. They currently advertise a selection of 1,500,000 songs.

Today?s version of Napster is called Kazaa. It allows users to share music files amongst themselves. Music downloads through Kazaa are free for now, but expect Kazaa to eventually go the way of Napster. Music companies do not like people to download music for free so the free music downloads will not last forever.

MP3.com also provides visitors music downloads. They actually sell songs through other sites, but they allow you to find and listen to songs before you make a purchase. They have a good selection of songs and even off some music downloads for free.

One last place to look for music downloads is in music user groups. It is common for users in those groups to share music, so you should be able to find music to download if you look hard enough.

For more information on cell phones and the companies that provide cell phone service simply run a search for ?music download? or download music on Google and you will get plenty of addtional information.

Jason D. Barrett is currently focused on writing informative articles for InfoBriefs.com, child insurance articles for ChildInsure.com, and technology articles for ScoutTechnology.com. This is part of his highly successful internet property development approach. Please feel free to contact Jason through one of his sites to see how he can help you develop your own internet property!

There’s a reason Apple Computer dominates the legal 99-cents-a-download digital music scene: It does it right. Apple’s iPods set the style and ease-of-use standards that other portable music players must try (so far unsuccessfully) to match. Its iTunes Music Store and iTunes software are equally unparalleled.

Still, as I wrote in a column on the Napster To Go subscription service, Apple’s path isn’t the only one that makes sense.

I remain an unabashed iTunes junkie. But an alternative model ? the portable music subscription ? is growing on me. Now, with the addition of RealNetworks Rhapsody To Go service ? and especially with the debut this month of Yahoo Music Unlimited ? I imagine it’ll grow on others, too.

I did encounter some sour notes with the two services. Yahoo Music is still in beta testing, though the more serious snags actually occurred inside Rhapsody. But overall, both Yahoo and Real left a melodious impression. Each claims more than 1 million songs in its catalogs ? though they’re light on classical. (Apple says iTunes exceeds 1.5 million tracks.)

I’m guessing that Apple will eventually introduce a subscription service of its own.

Why? Under a subscription or rent-a-tune model, you can listen to a boatload of music for a lot less loot than on a buy-only download site. And you can carry those tunes in your pocket, via compatible portable digital music players. Buying 2,000 songs on iTunes would cost nearly 2 grand.

Under Yahoo, you could rent those same tracks for a fraction of that sum. And you can’t beat Yahoo’s introductory price of $59.88 a year, equal to $4.99 a month. If you prefer to go month to month, you’ll fork over $6.99. Subscribers who wish to buy, instead of rent, certain tracks will pay 79 cents each, non-subscribers 99 cents.

At $14.99 a month, Rhapsody To Go is costlier than Yahoo but still a bargain, on a per-song rental basis, compared with iTunes. RealNetworks subscribers can buy downloadable songs for 89 cents a pop. Nice touch: Those who don’t subscribe can still listen to 25 full-length streams and 25 radio stations a month.

(Napster To Go fetches $14.95 a month and 99 cents a track.)

As with Napster, there’s a catch to Real’s and Yahoo’s rental plans: You must remain a paying subscriber, or the songs you’ve rented will no longer be playable.

And forget about transferring Yahoo or Real rental tracks to an iPod. (You can still transfer to an iPod songs ripped from CDs and, in Real’s case, songs you buy.)

Why rent when you can buy? Aside from the cost savings, you may want to listen to something on a whim. Maybe you’re just curious about an emerging artist.

Renting can be complex, though, reflecting conflicts over digital rights. You’ll have to buy tunes to burn them to a CD. But some songs can’t be bought. Others can be streamed but not downloaded. Some can be downloaded but must stay tethered to a PC. And some can be downloaded and moved to a portable device. Got it?

I prefer Yahoo to Real, and not just because of the lower prices. Yahoo jukebox software (called Yahoo Music Engine) also worked more seamlessly than its Real counterpart. Using both services, I synchronized music with iRiver H10 and RCA Lyra RD2762 devices, though not all tracks ended up on the Lyra. That’s because, for now, this model can receive only purchased music, not rented tracks.

When I downloaded or transferred tracks to a portable device, Yahoo displayed a helpful status bar on the Music Engine screen to show the download progress. On Rhapsody, you must visit a separate screen.

Yahoo boasts other sweet touches. Yahoo Music is integrated with Yahoo Messenger. So you can see the music your IM pals are listening to and legally listen along.

You can also search for members who have similar tastes. Members can control who gets to see their collections. People you follow are called influencers; their highly rated songs will play on your personalized LAUNCHcast radio station. Those who seek your recommendations are deemed followers.

There were a few annoyances. Yahoo lets you search by album, artist, song or member, though not all at the same time. When I searched Yahoo for certain albums ? the soundtrack to the movie Fever Pitch, for example ? Yahoo showed a picture of the album cover and listed the songs. But there was no way to stream any of the album tracks. It happens that Yahoo lacks the rights to play those songs or to make them available for sale. Still, I felt teased.

I ran into bigger trouble with Rhapsody, at least at first. Real’s software kept freezing and crashing on an HP Pavilion notebook computer. I called Real for help. Disabling a feature in which Rhapsody is supposed to automatically search for and import new tracks into your music library fixed the problem. But that feature is one that many users will want. Real says a fix will be included in the next release.

What’s more, if you decide to buy a track as a Rhapsody subscriber, good luck figuring out how. I had to call the company to determine one way: I right-clicked on a song title and then clicked on the menu item buy track(s).

Though Rhapsody doesn’t have an instant-messaging component as Yahoo does, there are ways to share and discover free MP3 music. You can press a share button to publish a playlist on Rhapsody, e-mail that list to friends or write a blog about the contents. Rhapsody can show an instant playlist based on songs you’ve been listening to.

Microsoft’s digital rights software underpins both Rhapsody and Yahoo Music. So when something goes wrong with the software, it affects all the music services at once. When licenses on my machine somehow became corrupted, rental tracks on Rhapsody and Yahoo failed to play. I had to reinstall Microsoft’s software.

I don’t expect Apple to slip off the online music throne anytime soon. But Yahoo and Real are at least giving digital music fans plenty to think about.

Mary works in US for a media company, occasionally writing for the biggest MP3 music news portal, and drinking too much coffee.

This article compares the differences between legal music download sites VS file sharing networks.

1) Music files available for download:

The p2p file sharing networks heavily out number the legal music sites when it comes to the amount of files available for download. A p2p application provides millions of unlimited mp3 music files, while a legal music download site provides legitimately licensed music files in the hundreds of thousands.

2) The cost of downloading music:

You can download p2p file sharing networks for free, or for a very cheap one-time fee. A legal music download site is usually either subscription-based or pay-per-download. A legal site will also usually charge extra for the ability to rip or burn music.

3) Variety of files available for download:

A legal music site mainly provides ONLY music files for downloading. A p2p application gives you, besides music files, full movie, game, video, software, TV show and ring-tone files to download as well.

4) Legal Issues & Controversy:

Legitimate legal music download sites are completely free of controversy and 100% legal to use. P2p file sharing networks, while legal, are not without lawsuit concerns and controversy due to how the file sharing technology can be used.

If you choose to use a p2p file sharing program, there are potential risks you need to be aware of, including:

Lawsuit Risks – Peer to peer file sharing networks have been ruled legal in a court of law. However, if you download and share copyrighted material you could risk becoming targeted, and possibly sued, by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

Virus And Privacy Risks – In using a file sharing application, you risk the possibility of installing harmful spyware, viruses, worms and malware on your computer. And if that’s not bad enough, many p2p applications also leave you exposed to online hackers and identity thieves that can steal you personal information.

Legal Music Download Sites VS P2P File Sharing – Summary:

At first glance the p2p file sharing networks may seem to offer an easy way to get unlimited free file downloads. But remember, nothing is really free and this is especially true with the p2p file sharing applications. The file sharing programs come with a price of increased privacy and security threats, and potential RIAA lawsuit risks.

The legitimately licensed music sites, that provides downloads of music legally licensed from the record labels and artists themselves, are the only way to get safe and legal music downloads online.

Article by Anna Rowe, webmaster of 1st Free Music Download.com that provides music download site reviews and quality online music download solutions. Sign-up for a Free Mp3 mini-course that details critical facts about downloading music online.

My niece loves Indian films and Indian film music. To her, as to most of the world, this exuberant, colorful, romantic and just-plain-fun genre is summed up in one word: Bollywood.

I confess that I’ve become taken with Bollywood as well, though not to the same extent as my niece, who owns a number of Indian movies and regularly rents others. The Bollywood well is so deep that I have to confine myself to watching those few of its productions that bubble up to catch the attention of American movie reviewers. Otherwise I would be lost in Indian ocean of unfamiliar movie titles, actors and actresses.

My niece also collects CDs of Bollywood music. There’s an Asian market near her home that offers a cornucopia of them. But she has the same problem choosing CDs to buy that I do deciding which Bollywood movie may be worth my time. Unless she’s seen the film from which a soundtrack derives, she’s usually in the dark as to whether a particular CD’s songs and artists are ones she will enjoy.

At her request, I set up a way for her to preview a variety of Bollywood songs and even to live with them on her iPod for a while, all for free. This way she can make informed decisions about which CDs she ultimately purchases.

First, I searched for Indian music Web sites, and specifically for those devoted to Bollywood, or at least modern popular music (as opposed, say, to classical Indian ragas). I found several good ones, with names such as Bollywood World and India FM.

Most of the Web sites I found offered song samples, meaning 30-second or 1-minute snippets. Some had full audio streams that allowed the visitor to listen to continuous Bollywood music for as long as she or he might want. It was these latter that provided the first half of our solution.

Normally, streaming audio, such as what you hear over an Internet radio station, cannot be saved or downloaded. New software, though, makes it possible to record the stream to your hard drive for replaying as often as you like.

Even better, some of the newest audio capture software incorporates something called an mp3 splitter. This software is able to break the audio stream into separate mp3 song files. By the way, this is perfectly legal, because you’re simply recording a broadcast, the same as when you record a TV show on your VHS. Voila — we had the second half of our solution.

Between the audio streams and splitter/recording software, we created our own virtual Bollywood mp3 download sites.

Now whenever my niece is in a mood to explore the latest tuneful offerings from Bollywood, she clicks on her favorite Indian-music Internet radio station, then starts the recording software. Pretty soon she has enough Bollywood mp3s to shuffle through for the rest of the week, and she’s almost guaranteed to find two or three that will spur her to make a trip to the CD bin down at the Asian store.

The iPod, in all its aliases such as nano, and the shuffle are practically antiques. Functionally, it’s really just a personal stereo, which was originally patented by Srirekam Jayram Purushotam in 1974. It first reached true commercial success with the electronics giant Sony in 1979 when they sold their first Walkman model called the Soundabout. The iPod is still filling the same need, but using newer technology to do it better. Many of today’s generation of clones marching around with white ear buds growing out of their ears, have probably never heard of a Walkman. Much in the same way the next batch will have no idea what the heck an iPod is.

There is technology just waiting in the wings which will replace the iPod as we know it. The iPod (and most mp3 players) markets, and differentiates its line of products by capacity. All the models really do the same thing, with the same set of controls. The biggest difference between them and the biggest factor determining price, is the capacity of the drives inside them. The second differentiating factor is of course the color. Kind of hard to charge more for blue or pink though. Anyway, there will come a time, when actually having a drive in your mp3 player or iPod will not be necessary. It really doesn’t make sense. It makes the unit bigger, and drives the price up. Those little drives are far more expensive than comparable drives for bigger machines. Carrying your entire song collection on your person is kind of risky as well. What happens when Uncle Bob thinks its funny to pick you up and throw you into his new pool? Ooops, is that your 80Gb iPod with 20,000 of your favorite being sucked towards the pool drain? You’ve got that thing backed up right? Ha!

The answer is of course to store your entire song/picture collection on a server somewhere with proper data protection and backup facilities. Then all you need is a network ready receiver about half the size of a iPod nano with the ability to access your music off that protected server wherever you are. Capacity becomes meaningless. Running out of disk space on a current iPod / mp3 player means either deleting songs (are you nuts!) or buying a new player. Great for the manufacturer, but not so much for the consumer. The different pieces of technologies are there, it’s just a question of someone putting it all together, and marketing it to the masses.

I think, maybe I’ll just hold on to my old cassette Walkman, for a little longer. The next really great personal stereo for me is just around the next corner.

If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about iPod Nanos procedures visit http://audiomp3players.info or simply read other articles about iPod Nanos and other topics by this author at foolishmumbles.com

The mixtape (or sometimes mix tape) has been an awkward symbol of affection for many people. A story, a theme or an emotion is usually subtlety spelt out over sixty, ninety or a hundred and twenty minutes. This music art form has gained a new breath of popularity recently, with advancements in the availability of mp3s and the range of marketing available for new bands to publish their work through the Internet.

Since the introduction of the cassette tape, in 1963, and especially after the popularisation of the Sony Walkman brand in the late 1970?s, mixtapes began to appear as a way to share new or rare music with friends. The Nick Hornby publication High Fidelity and the film of the same name boosted their popularity further, and created a new wave of mixtape enthusiasts. However, the current trend tends to lean towards the medium of a mix CD, rather than a mixtape. There are the purists who would argue in favour of the mixtape. They would point out the extra time and effort it takes to make a mixtape and the look, feel and texture of a tape as opposed to a CD. These purists believe, and I?m inclined to agree with them, that a mixtape is about more than just music. Mixtapes make great gifts, and as I mentioned in the first paragraph, whilst they may not be a heart shaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers, they are a gift that lingers in the heart and soul of it?s recipient. A gift you can create with enthusiasm, and devotion, a gift with meaning.

There have been and always will be countless discussions on what makes a perfect mixtape. Considering the comments I?ve just made, the perfect mixtape would be something as ineffable as love itself. It would be something personal to you, given by someone who loves you, as you do them. In music terms, there are too many rules to mention in such a short article. Of course, you need to find music that your recipient loves, and also try to fit this into your theme or message.

When creating a mixtape, your must have a strong opening, and the first song is the most important. It must set the scene and tone for the rest of the tape. The last song must also be strong and leave the listener with the full understanding of your message. This does not mean however that the tracks that make up the bulk of the tape can be any song that loosely fits the theme. They must be well thought out, with the receiver in mind. Weaker songs should be weeded out without a hint of mercy, and new songs brought in to replace them. The track listing, that is the order the songs go in, should also be crafted, so as to make the tape flow. With a traditional tape method, instead of a CD you will also have to consider side A and B and the differences between them. You might want to the tape to start mellow, and end with a rockier edge, you might want the opposite. The tracks should be placed in a way that makes them seem as if they have always belonged together.

Many people also go as far as to create cover art and inserts for their mixtape or CD, and this further wraps up the idea of creating a personal one of a kind special gift.

Leaving the idea of trying to send a message or express an emotion, there are also many other uses for the mixtape. I have already mentioned the sharing of new, upcoming music and this is a popular technique used in promoting hip hop, and DJ artists, where the mix refers to the blending of tracks into a continuous piece of music.

Mixtapes however, have the potential to be a promotional tool for any new band, with their fans creating the mixtapes of their favourite independent bands, and then passing these on to their friends. They might also include more well-known bands, with a similar style. Mixtape exchanges are a popular way to make new friends and enjoy new music at the same time.

Mixtapes provide an interesting debate about copyright theft, and this is a very real debate considering the illegal downloading of mp3 files through peer-to-peer and bit-torrent networks. This, obviously, doesn?t apply if you wrote the song yourself but even if it?s not your music, a mixtape, made for a friend or a few friends, is usually regarded as ?fair use? under the Copyright Act of 1976. This becomes a different matter, when the mix is sold or distributed to thousands of strangers. It seems, in the small scale sharing of music, and mixtapes, there is no harm.

Music after all is made so that it can be played and I think it is this idea of sharing the music that you love, with a friend or someone close to you, that will continue the current fixation of making mixtapes.

—
Ed Sumner owns two music websites..

http://www.mymixtapefor.com – is a forum where you can create unique playlists, mixtapes and mix cds and the other members will help you to complete them.

http://www.musicismymiddle.com – is an online music ezine published every Wednesday (or Tuesday if you sign up), it concentrates on post-punk-electro-indie-import-emo-rock, or combinations of those genres.

They are both great fun, and free to sign up to, so take a look today..

After a long illustrious career, the one and only, the original piano man, Billy Joel, is still touring strong. Billy Joel tickets are a hot commodity among young and old fans alike.

Joel is many things: a singer, a songwriter, a performer and a pianist. From his humble beginnings in 1973 to his so-called retirement in 1993, Joel has written pop music for many generations of fans around the world. Like an old friend, his songs are the soundtracks of his fans? lives. A Billy Joel song can be playing on the jukebox in a bar and suddenly all the patrons will begin singing every word in unison, bonding in a collective consciousness of song. That is the power of this incredible songwriter. His lyrics hit a cord in the hearts of people worldwide. Whether he is singing about a lover or a blue-collar town called Allentown or the Cold War, Billy Joel?s lyrics are thoughtful, insightful and poignant. He has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and is the sixth best selling artist in the United States. He was inducted into the Songwriter?s Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Even after retirement, you can still get Billy Joel tickets and see this musical icon along with fellow piano man, Elton John. Perhaps Billy Joel?s most popular song, which became his signature song, is ?Piano Man?. Written in 1973, this song became his first single selling over four million copies. He continued making albums like Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, Glass Houses, and Songs in the Attic, among many others. In total, Billy Joel wrote over 20 albums during his 30 years in the music business. Beyond just his music, Billy Joel?s private life has also been exciting. Among his three marriages, one included a union with international supermodel, Christie Brinkley, and his most recent to a lady, Katie Lee, thirty years his junior. Billy Joel has also had bouts with alcohol abuse, having many car accidents and being admitted to rehabilitation centers twice.

As one of the best in the history of pop music, Billy Joel is a phenomenon not to be missed. Get your Billy Joel tickets and witness this legend of rock and roll.

Jake Tyler
Stage Front Tickets, Inc.
http://www.stagefronttickets.com

After several years of studying the art of music and being involved in the music business/marketing I have learned a lot of important lessons that apply to all business and even people?s lives.

Most of my study has been in the field of music marketing, but as the wheels of my mind have been turning and with the experience I?ve had with Direct Sales, I want to encourage you to explore this as a way to expand your business…and provide a new outlet of fun for yourself too!

Why in the world do you want to spend time listening to music?

If you?re like me, you?re business life is already too consuming and you need to spend less time on non-related activities, not more!

First, it?s FUN! Here?s your chance to let your true being come to be fulfilled in a way that is unique and visceral. Everyone has a need to hear music, and everyone seeks out new music as well as the classics. Your business might already employ music in one way or another. It would, without a doubt, benefit your business if you yourself were more content in your day to day life, and music that has real soul and conveys real feelings helps you concentrate on all the things you must concentrate on the function as a professional.

At my newest job which is A&R with Wichita Falls Records I am feeling gratified and fulfilled because we release only what is considered to be non-commercial, real music by artists that uplift the human spirit. I was watching a cable news program the other day and a very well known figure in the business world Stuart Varney was talking about sales in the music business. He made a remark about how the music used to ?mean something? and was referring to his favorite band the Beatles. I sent him an email describing how new artists can release music in the same vein as the Beatles releases in that they contain real melodies, chords, lyrics, etc.

I think that in the flood of releases nowadays you can get lost in the plastic style of music that is out there and unfortunately lose faith in the music industry. There have been numerous reports on the declining sales and the fact that digital downloads are now outselling CD?s due to the fact that people can choose which songs off of an album to buy instead of buying the whole LP with ?filler? songs.

I would encourage everyone who reads this to check out new LP?s which are available everywhere. I think new music can better your life. Seek out whatever music makes you happy and make that part of your life because music will better your life in my opinion.

You?ll see… it will stretch your mind and increase your own productivity.

Second, it?s profitable. As you will clear your mind and accomplish what you set out to do.

Third, it sets you apart. Everyone has their own taste in music.

So much information is available online for maximizing this avenue of marketing. Take advantage of it … and watch your business grow!

About The Author: Lee Holley of http://www.wichitafallsrecords.com is a 20 year veteran of Direct Sales in Music. Take your life to the next level and check out http://www.wichitafallsrecords.com and http://www.frankleesprague.com