Just slide it into your purse or pocket and your have access to all the music you own. With all the sites that offer music downloads, one has to be extremely careful not to violate any copyright laws. If you think that you couldn't get caught, think again...your IP address can be traced right to your computer.

Fines for downloading music can be considerable, to the point of losing everything you own. You could even be arrested. Avoid this by always purchasing your music from reputable music sites or check out how you can download music for free (legally).

Free downloads

Sounds a little suspicious doesn't it? Usually these music selections are by unsigned musicians who are hoping to get their music out there to heard and attract a fan base. There are many websites that offer free music downloads and they also offer reviews and ratings from other listeners.

Do not share music files. There are certain rules where these sites forbid sharing. Just give your friends and family the website where you got the music and suggest that they visit the website and download the music themselves.

Illegal downloads

There are several file sharing programs out on the internet by people called file traders that allow you to download music from them for a small fee. Many people mistakenly think that this is legal. It's not, and it doesn't matter that they misled you. If you are caught YOU will be the one to get sued.

Always make sure you check out your sites and find out if they're sending out music that has permission for a free download. Another danger of downloading music from unknown sources is the risk of having a potentially destructive virus coming into your computer.

Downloading music

When purchasing music for downloading, make sure you download to your own computer only. Transferring files between computers is the same as illegal downloading. When you purchase a song and download it, you play the song while connected to the internet in order to obtain the song license to decrypt the file and allow it to be played on your computer or transferred to your own personal portable device.

Once you've done this, you have the license and can now play on your computer at any time. Songs can be downloaded for a small price. This price is comparable to the cost of one song on a purchase of a whole cd with one very distinct advantage. You may not like all the songs on a whole cd. Instead of paying for a whole cd when you really just wanted one song, you have the option of buying just that one song which makes the cost of music downloads very attractive.

Sometimes members of music download sites are offered free downloads by certain artists who have given permission in hopes to gain more popularity with their fans.