Magnatune = Good stuff

You could say that I don't generally pay for things that are freely downloadable from the internet (although this comes along with questionable legality). You COULD say that, and you MIGHT be right.

 

I might do such a thing because I don't like supporting all the middle men between me and the creator of something. I might do such a thing because it is often faster to download something than to go to the store and buy the real-world version. I might do such a thing because that is the generation I grew up in (want something? Just download it!). But most especially I might do such a thing because at heart I am a CHEAP BASTARD.

 

But I like the <b>idea</b> of supporting the creators of the things I like and not just filling the pockets in between. I also have an affinity for 'weird' music, and don't like paying for something that I haven't had the opportunity to listen to..

 

Enter MagnaTune. See even their logo says they are good folk.:

The basic premise is that half of the money that you pay goes directly to the artist. Oh yeah, and YOU determine how much you pay for an album. Between $5 and $20 per album. AND you can get a 128Kbps MP3 download, or a physical CD (though you have to pay for shipping etc for the CD).

 

So this sounds good, and it caters to my music affinities (weird), but surely that isn't all. Well no, it's not. The other great thing is that you can preview THE ENTIRE ALBUM before you guy it. Yep, it comes over as a m3u playlist that streams the whole album to your computer (with some little commercials for Magnatune mixed in for good measure of course).

 

AWESOME!!!

 

So now I can pay less (according to my conscious), preview my music, find artists that aren't in best buy, and support those artists more directly? Yep, that sounds about perfect to me.

 

(Magnatune discovered via)