Downloading online music in recent years have picked up at tremendous speeds. And I am talking about downloading online music at legal websites such as iTunes, Amazon, HMV and the likes. It is understandable since MP3 players are taking the lion's share of the portable digital music players market. Downloading online music MP3s naturally becomes a popular activity especially among youngsters.

You do not have to worry about the legality of downloading online music at these online music stores. The online music stores have sought for the permission or licence of record labels to distribute their music. In return, the record companies are paid hefty sums of royalties of course. What are some of the handy tips music lovers can use when downloading online music?

1. Cost per song

It is important to compare this among the licensed music retailers as their prices tend to vary. On average, a price of $0.99 or less per music piece is quite reasonable. Some sites offer you a monthly subscription that permits you to download a specific number of songs every month. It can be anything between 30 to 40 songs.

2. Newsletters

Sometimes, there would be promotional offers for entire albums or top hit singles. The trick is to sign up for their newsletters to receive such news updates.

3. Music Genre

Different music stores offers different music genre. Some specializes in rap, while others may offer oldies. Generally, the most established ones would carry Alternative music, Rock, Country music, Hip Hop, Christian music, Pop, Reggae, Dance music, R&B, Jazz, Techno, Blues, Classical, Trance music and movie soundtracks. Music videos are also available at majority of the online retailers.

4. Service Agreement

Remember to read the terms and conditions of the online music site. Downloading online music directly to your computer is acceptable at all sites. However, if you wish to copy them to a portable digital device such as an MP3 player or to copy and burn them onto a CD, it requires different user rights. Be sure to clarify with the site to ensure that you stay on the right side of the law.

5. Sound Quality

The most common music format is MP3. But for those who appreciate better music or want to listen using a home theatre system, this piece of advice would be useful to you. Music files are normally compressed to reduce the space required. MP3, AAC, WMA and Vorbis formats are compressed files that have lost bits and pieces of the original music. Such music files are called lossy files. MP3s are the worst of the lot. So if you want to get the best out of your favourite musical piece, avoid these. WMA and FLAC file formats are able to retain the original sound without music loss, making them ideal choices if you are downloading music online to build a private music collection.

Read more about downloading online music at my popular music blog. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.