With the rise of the Internet, a world of music is at your fingertips. With the right service, you can download any of a million songs within a few minutes. However, before you start downloading, there are a few things you need to know. The following article will help you get started.

Always make sure that you download your music from a legal website. If you download music illegally, you can face harsh fines. In many cases you can be fined up to $500 per song. The artists deserve to be paid for the music they make, so download only legal copies of the songs that you love.

You should make sure you take advantage of using the “Preview” option on each track of an album before you download it. This is a good idea for songs that are new to you. That way, you can just download tracks that you like. This can save you money since you won’t need to buy a whole album for just a few songs you like.

If you use iTunes, make sure to sign up for their email alerts. They often send out specials and discounted albums that are available at a lower price for a very limited period of time. If you do not sign up for the email alerts, you might miss out on these savings.

Remember what music you own already when you are looking for new music to download. You don’t need to waste money on songs that you already have. Most sites allow you too look up your download history.

Always have a backup of the music library you have. It takes a lot of money and time to build up a decent song library. Losing all of this music would really be terrible. Never depend on others to allow you to download songs again. Use online storage or external hard drives to back up your music.

Be sure you check the music file’s size before you open it. It can be easier than you think to download something you didn’t intend to. In the end, it could include a virus. Pay close attention to the file size. Any individual file that is obviously not the size of a standard MP3 needs to be thrown away unopened.

Many artists have put up their own music for download at under one dollar per song. This is a good way of getting a copy of your favorite song and directing all proceeds back to the artist instead of to a third party distributor. The artist gets paid in full for his work, and you get a great song.

If your taste in music changes a lot, consider using a site that allows you to stream music, rather than download it. Streaming allows you to listen to a large variety of songs, but the music never resides on your computer. This can save you money and space on your hard drive, so it is sometimes the better option.

Do you want to download music but aren’t sure about the source you’re getting it from? Before downloading the file, look for reviews on this website. The reviews you need to find are the ones that talk about viruses and malware. If you find these things being discussed in regards to a particular site, scratch that site off your list.

Look online to find out more about tweaking your network speed. It is likely that your computer isn’t optimized right out of the box. That means you need to learn a bit about these alterations to your settings to get the fastest downloads for your online music needs. Custom information for your computer set-up can be found on the internet.

Pay attention to music formats. Music files come in many different formats. Some of these formats are specific to certain music players or music playing devices. Don’t download music you can’t use. What are you going to use to listen to the music you’re downloading? Determine the type of file you will need.

When deciding on a site to download your music from, check out reviews for their user interface. This is especially important if you are a newbie. Some have very complex user interfaces that can be difficult to navigate. Others are more user friendly, and they are a better choice for a beginner.

Make sure any sites you are downloading music from contain adware, virus and spyware protection. Any reputable site will offer all three. Remember that downloading things from the Internet can be dangerous, compromising your privacy and your expensive computer. To keep yourself safe, never download anything if these three things are not present.

Purchase your music from a site that allows you to preview tracks. This will make it possible for you to hear the music prior to paying for the download. A lot of big websites guarantee great quality, but others do not. You can avoid paying for low quality music by previewing the tracks.

Check out sites online which aggregate deals on sites like iTunes and Amazon when it comes to music. For example, DealNews provides up to the minute updates on what is on sale on many different sites, including those which sell MP3s. You can even subscribe by email for alerts.

If you’re a music lover and using a paid downloading site, always look for deals on certain music by browsing. Some songs and albums will be available at a discount, and buying a whole album is going to prove much cheaper than buying individual songs in the long run. Of course, some people only want a specific song, but music lovers often enjoy a whole album.

Always check the size of files that you are about to download. Most mp3 files of standard song length, five minutes or less, are going to range from two to five megabytes in size. Smaller files are probably extraneous text files you don’t need, and larger files might be harmful things you don’t want. Just make an exception for jpeg files that might be album cover artwork.

After reading this article, you should know a lot more about music downloads. You now know where to find them and how to search for your favorite song. The Internet has made it easy to find almost any song, no matter how obscure it may be. Use these tips to expand your music library today.