The proliferation of P2P file sharing networks on the Internet makes it very tempting and easy for someone to get themselves into a lot of trouble with the Recording Industry Association of America. The increasing sophistication of technology has made it much easier for the RIAA to track who is illegally making songs available for download and the people who are downloading them.

Very recently a student of Utah State University was sued by the RIAA for doing just that. The RIAA is negotiating a settlement of about $3,000 dollars. In another case a 12 year old child was prosecuted for file sharing and the case was settled for $2,000. I'll outline a solution for acquiring legal free music downloads for iPods below which will keep you in good graces with the RIAA.

There are a number of Internet sites that offer free music that's legal to download to your iPod. Accessing these services will prevent law suits against you for illegally acquiring downloads from P2P file sharing networks. Additionally, a number of the file sharing networks will bombard you with popup ads and the files can include a number of viruses and trojans.

The Dilemma

A number of sites like Yahoo Music and iTunes offer music downloads at a per download fee of 99 cents. These sites are certainly legal and will keep you out of trouble with the RIAA. The only drawback about these sites is the songs are coded with DRM and will no longer play on your computer if you discontinue your membership with them. The aforementioned sites are two of the top music download sites available with iTunes being number one.

Another site that's ranked second only to iTunes is eMusic. Their advantage is all their songs are DRM free, in MP3 format and will play on any platform. They offer a monthly subscription which allows a limited number of downloads. But the drawback is they specialize in independent or "indie" music artists. Although you own the music you download, their selection of the major recording labels and music artists is very limited.

The Top Solution

A more economical solution for acquiring unlimited iPod music downloads of the major recording labels without the hassle of per download fees, is to sign up for a membership with one of the numerous iPod music download services. These services typically advertise free music downloads and for all intents and purposes that's true in most cases.

Because, for the most part, they offer a lifetime membership for around $35 to $45 dollars. This one time fee includes unlimited downloads of iPod tunes and the fee is basically to offset administration costs, customer service and to keep their server computers online.

The iPod music download sites typically offer more than just music downloads. Your membership generally includes access to music videos, TV shows, movies, iPod games and cheats, conversion software and other related software. Some require you to download free software you would use to access the music, movies and other downloads. And some offer a rich assortment of incentive software like DVD burners and the Google free software package.

In Summary

The very nominal one time fee required for a lifetime membership is really a no brainer compared to the major sites charging you about a dollar per download. Because, the cost of 35 songs with one of them, would pay for a lifetime membership, with unlimited iPod downloads of not only music but all the aforementioned files. The download speeds are very good, there's no DRM hassle and your tunes continue to play on your computer even if you discontinue your membership. Best of all, you won't get into trouble with the RIAA.