Are you nuts? Paying for something labeled as free is a contradiction of terms. It's like selling your soul for a donut. I get a lot of music from services giving me totally free mp3 downloads. I get:
' Free downloads
' The joy of getting something for free
' Spyware, adware, and viruses
Having my computer crash is a small price to pay for a free, if not slightly garbled song. It took an hour and ten minutes to download, and it took four hours and $760 to re-install my hard drive. But saving that 99 cents was pretty sweet!
Subscriptions don't make sense'or do they?
I started paying a subscription for free mp3 downloads. The fee is a bit over $8. I won't lie; I feel a bit dirty paying for things I used to get for nothing. Yes, I will agree that the mp3 downloads are much faster. The quality of the music and video is cleaner. But $8 for one month?
I am having better luck with the subscription service. No crashes or viruses. No slow downloads. They do have a great selection of rare and popular music and videos. And I will readily admit that the $8 monthly fee paid for itself after the first day.
The Remorseful Thief
Maybe I was wrong. I heard a song on a commercial that I liked and on impulse I went to a free mp3 music downloads site to find it. It was a costly mistake. Somebody is in my computer who hates me. The internet is slow, the files won't open; and the thing that really grinds my gears is the fact that the song is available on my subscription service.
Dear reader, like the thief who's lost his hands over a stolen loaf of bread, it's pointless paying an arm and a leg without hands. My computer is under warranty, so I don't have to pay for the repairs. But I'm writing this on a napkin.
For what it's worth, most things given for free aren't worth a whole heck of a lot. Just having piece of mind when I download music is worth the monthly fee. Having unlimited mp3 downloads is just one of the benefits.
Why Buy?
Much can be said about services that feature pay-by-song and subscriptions for buying music. Much can also be said for services that are fly-by-night and offer totally free mp3 music downloads. One thing that always struck me about my attitude was that I often reveled in the fact that I just 'stuck it to the man' by saving a few cents.
What I, and countless others, need to come to understand is that the only thing I'm damaging is my computer and wasting my time. With services that charge minimal monthly fees for unlimited free mp3 downloads there is the simple question of what took me so long to get signed up?
After being so cavalier about where I get my music, I've discovered that the silver lining in all this has been the value of what I'm getting, and the knowledge that what I'm buying is of good quality. And in the end, that's what matters.
About the Author:
While many sites offer unlimited mp3 downloads without a subscription I found BearShare has the safest downloads and the some of the best selection of rare music and videos. Registration is free and with the Premium service.