An Alternative to iTunes

LoathsomePete · 05-13-2009, 11:53 AM

I'm sure I am not alone when I feel twinges of guilt for the amount of albums I download (2 so far today and it's not even 10 A.M.) There are alternative ways to obtain music legally (iTunes, Amazon etc.) however as I've found with iTunes you don't really buy music as much as you buy a license to listen to it so long as you only use their application of choice and if you wanna share that music then think again. I had about 300 dollars worth of music on my laptop that I was hoping of transferring to my new desktop, but while I could get it onto my computer, it wouldn't play unless I used iTunes. I went looking for solutions but unless I wanted to shell out more money for fancy converters (which I couldn't find for free or for download off torrents) I basically gave up.

Anyways that's just my example of why iTunes pisses me off and why I love this new website I found the other week. Now I suppose I am technically advertising it, but it's more of an advertising like when you tell your friends about a store that had really good customer service or product. This website is called Amie Street. It's pretty much all indepenedent music but the great thing is occasionally they have full albums for free download without having to deal with torrents. If you just want a few songs, forget paying .99 cents, try .17 for the most part and it gets better, they're not in mp4 format AND all their music is 320 kbps compared to iTunes 128 kbps. If you use iTunes and are content with it then I'm happy for you, I tried it and used it for about 3 years but found Winamp to be a better music player. I'm not saying you're a bad person for using it, not at all, but if you're interested in a new place to find music for either free or cheap, this website is seriously the place to go. You can also upload your Last.FM or iTunes accounts and it goes through your top 50 artists and gives you recommendations to find new music. Anyways I just wanted to share this website with my fellow music freaks. Happy hunting!

Amie Street

**Janszoon** · 05-13-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pobodys_Nerfect

There are alternative ways to obtain music legally (iTunes, Amazon etc.) however as I've found with iTunes you don't really buy music as much as you buy a license to listen to it so long as you only use their application of choice and if you wanna share that music then think again. I had about 300 dollars worth of music on my laptop that I was hoping of transferring to my new desktop, but while I could get it onto my computer, it wouldn't play unless I used iTunes. I went looking for solutions but unless I wanted to shell out more money for fancy converters (which I couldn't find for free or for download off torrents) I basically gave up.

You know, there's a pretty easy way around this problem. Here's how you do it:

Create a playlist for the album you just downloaded from iTunes.
Select "Burn Playlist to Disc" and burn it to a CD.
Trash the original files.
Take that CD you just burned and re-import it as MP3s
Voila! Now you have unlocked MP3s that you can copy as many time as you want and play on whatever you want.

LoathsomePete · 05-13-2009, 12:11 PM

I tried that approach, but I found it stripped the sound quality down to a level that I refuse to listen to. I'm picky and I'm a pain in the ass, if it's less than 128 kbps I won't bother. Most of the music I bought was stuff I don't even listen to anymore, it was just a piss off cause I thought I bought the music, not a license. Anyway I think I'm just gonna forget forgiving and move on and that's it!

**Janszoon** · 05-13-2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pobodys_Nerfect

I tried that approach, but I found it stripped the sound quality down to a level that I refuse to listen to. I'm picky and I'm a pain in the ass, if it's less than 128 kbps I won't bother.

That's because you didn't adjust your import setting before importing. You can import as high as 320 if you want.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pobodys_Nerfect

Most of the music I bought was stuff I don't even listen to anymore, it was just a piss off cause I thought I bought the music, not a license. Anyway I think I'm just gonna forget forgiving and move on and that's it!

Well, hey, if you like the new thing better you should go with it. I'm just saying the issues you're talking about are easily solvable while still using iTunes.

Anteater · 05-13-2009, 12:26 PM

I generally don't download anything from ITunes on basic principle, as the bit-rate for pretty much everything there is usually around 128 kbs and in mp4 format, yet you're paying a dollar per song on average or sometimes within the $10-$30 per album.

What. A. Ripoff.

LoathsomePete · 05-13-2009, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

I generally don't download anything from ITunes on basic principle, as the bit-rate for pretty much everything there is usually around 128 kbs and in mp4 format, yet you're paying a dollar per song on average or sometimes within the $10-$30 per album.

What. A. Ripoff.

Yeah that's what I thought, I only go there if I'm totally desperate, like when I just HAD to have "Let the River Take Them Home" by Pinebox Serenade.

But yeah the 128 kb/s is just stupid, if you're going to charge someone that much then at least have the decency to put it in the best possible bit rate.

Shawn of the Dead · 05-13-2009, 10:12 PM

hmmm, I thought all the music on itunes had been upgraded to itunes plus which is supposed to be 256-Kb/s and DRM-free(i may be mistaken though).

I just switched from itunes to using media monkey and i haven't had any problems listening to the music i bought off the itunes store.(i did however upgrade all my purchases to itunes plus)

Norg · 05-13-2009, 10:21 PM

hmm i just went back to buying Cd's old school

anywayz whats a good Illegal DL program to use to DL music i used 2 do it alot in the past i wanna get back into it

Antonio · 05-14-2009, 11:13 AM

Try Bittorent, that is if you want to get whole albums

LoathsomePete · 05-14-2009, 11:20 AM

I do bit torrent, quite frequently. However I felt like my original post turned into more of a caffeine fueled rant against iTunes which wasn't my intention. This thread is my way of showing you guys about an awesome new website to legally get music for free or super cheap.

05-13-2009, 11:53 AM	#1 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	An Alternative to iTunes I'm sure I am not alone when I feel twinges of guilt for the amount of albums I download (2 so far today and it's not even 10 A.M.) There are alternative ways to obtain music legally (iTunes, Amazon etc.) however as I've found with iTunes you don't really buy music as much as you buy a license to listen to it so long as you only use their application of choice and if you wanna share that music then think again. I had about 300 dollars worth of music on my laptop that I was hoping of transferring to my new desktop, but while I could get it onto my computer, it wouldn't play unless I used iTunes. I went looking for solutions but unless I wanted to shell out more money for fancy converters (which I couldn't find for free or for download off torrents) I basically gave up. Anyways that's just my example of why iTunes pisses me off and why I love this new website I found the other week. Now I suppose I am technically advertising it, but it's more of an advertising like when you tell your friends about a store that had really good customer service or product. This website is called Amie Street. It's pretty much all indepenedent music but the great thing is occasionally they have full albums for free download without having to deal with torrents. If you just want a few songs, forget paying .99 cents, try .17 for the most part and it gets better, they're not in mp4 format AND all their music is 320 kbps compared to iTunes 128 kbps. If you use iTunes and are content with it then I'm happy for you, I tried it and used it for about 3 years but found Winamp to be a better music player. I'm not saying you're a bad person for using it, not at all, but if you're interested in a new place to find music for either free or cheap, this website is seriously the place to go. You can also upload your Last.FM or iTunes accounts and it goes through your top 50 artists and gives you recommendations to find new music. Anyways I just wanted to share this website with my fellow music freaks. Happy hunting! Amie Street __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

05-13-2009, 12:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I tried that approach, but I found it stripped the sound quality down to a level that I refuse to listen to. I'm picky and I'm a pain in the ass, if it's less than 128 kbps I won't bother. Most of the music I bought was stuff I don't even listen to anymore, it was just a piss off cause I thought I bought the music, not a license. Anyway I think I'm just gonna forget forgiving and move on and that's it! __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

05-14-2009, 11:20 AM	#10 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I do bit torrent, quite frequently. However I felt like my original post turned into more of a caffeine fueled rant against iTunes which wasn't my intention. This thread is my way of showing you guys about an awesome new website to legally get music for free or super cheap. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

05-13-2009, 10:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
Shawn of the Dead Groupie Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 7	hmmm, I thought all the music on itunes had been upgraded to itunes plus which is supposed to be 256-Kb/s and DRM-free(i may be mistaken though). I just switched from itunes to using media monkey and i haven't had any problems listening to the music i bought off the itunes store.(i did however upgrade all my purchases to itunes plus)

05-13-2009, 10:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Norg Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,358	hmm i just went back to buying Cd's old school anywayz whats a good Illegal DL program to use to DL music i used 2 do it alot in the past i wanna get back into it