The Classical Download Thread

Started by Mark, June 03, 2007, 02:04:37 PM

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Steve



Drasko

Quote from: Mark on June 09, 2007, 01:20:25 AM

As to sites selling CDs as single files, I know of two: eClassical has an Entire Works section offering a very small selection of recordings

I belive that doesn't mean in one continuos file but separate movements of entire work in one zip file.

Mark

Quote from: Drasko on June 09, 2007, 01:23:16 PM
I belive that doesn't mean in one continuos file but separate movements of entire work in one zip file.

This from the eclassical site: See our entire works section, where you'll find entire works as single file downloads.

To me, that says one continuous file. :)

Mark

On the subject of www.eclassical.com, let's look at how this site works:

How eclassical works

It really is as simple as it sounds. I downloaded a CD from the site last night using a PayPal transaction, and it was crazy easy to do. No registration, no fuss. Just select, pay, download and listen. All their files are in 192kbps MP3 (good enough for most listeners), and because you can't add DRM to MP3s, the files are yours to do with what you will. :)

So where's the catch? There isn't one. Only a downside: the site works with just four labels (as far as I can see): eclassical's record label partners. Of course, if these labels do it for you, and you don't want the subscription style service of eMusic or Napster, then eclassical might be what you're looking for.

Mark

Now, here's a site I'm sure some of you will have heard of: Magnatune.

It's worth reading how and why this site exists, as its business model differs from that of a major market dominator like iTunes:

Magnatune ... the info.

In short, there's a lot of music up for grabs there. And get this: you can hear it all for free. Every second of every track can be played through their online media player, or through your chosen media player on your computer. Great, huh?

But it gets better. You can actually download everything for free, too! And it's not illegal - the site owners encourage it. They work on the basis that once you've gone to the trouble of downloading and decided you like what you hear, you'll come back and pay. How trusting is that? You can even pay as little as $5 for a CD if that's all you think it's worth. Or you can choose to have it burned to CD for you and mailed out.

Now, it's not quite as easy as it used to be to grab tracks from this site. There's a method you need to follow, and it goes like this:

1) From the list of available recordings, select the one you want.

2) You'll see a link in blue to 'play hifi' - click on this.

3) The music begins playing in an embedded Flash player ... but look further down the page and you'll see this wording:

Optional: if the Flash mp3 player above doesn't work for you, you can play this album as an m3u audio stream (or xspf)

4) EVEN IF THE FLASH PLAYER IS PLAYING FOR YOU, click on the words, ' ... m3u audio stream ... ' - this launches your default media player.

5) Use whatever method is available to you in your media player to 'Save as ... ' (in WMP, it's simply File\Save As ...), and select a desired destination folder on your computer.

6) Click 'Save', and you'll be saving the track you're listening to as fast as it buffers into your media player. Once it's saved to your hard disk drive, seek to the end of the playing track and repeat steps 5 and 6 as each successive track begins playing.

That's really all there is to it.

NB: You'll note that downloading in this way gives you a voiceover at the end of each track, telling you what you just heard and giving you the Magnatune URL. Use an MP3 cutter program, and you can simply remove this. Of course, the idea is that you won't steal the music but pay for it ... so make sure you do!  $:)

Steve


Mark

Quote from: Steve on June 09, 2007, 03:52:30 PM
And this is legal in the US?

I believe so. Read all the info on their site. They seem keen to break the stranglehold of what they see as the 'evil' record business. All the artists get paid, and it's a great way to promote those who might not otherwise get signed.

Right now, I'm downloading (in WAV format ... so, CD quality), Antonio Meneses' Bach Cello Suites. Price paid? £2.72! And that includes the CD artwork and track listing. And get this: I can legally give permission for three other people to download this music FOR FREE! In any format they like: WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC or MP3.

So, first three folks here to PM me get the link. :)

Steve


Mark

George and Steve have claimed their prize. Anyone else interested?

Mark

Third link still up for grabs. PM me. :)

Lilas Pastia

Quote from: Mark on June 09, 2007, 01:29:37 PM
This from the eclassical site: See our entire works section, where you'll find entire works as single file downloads.

To me, that says one continuous file. :)


Actually, a symphony will come in one download, but will contain the 4 movements as separate files. Nifty.

Mark

Which, incidentally, happened with my purchase yesterday: I was offered 16 separate links, or a zip file. I went for the latter, naturally. ;)

Thanks for the clarification, Andre. :)

Mark

#73
For those who've not encountered it yet, welcome to Classics Online. I've not used the service yet, but if anyone wants to give it a whirl and report back, that would be really appreciated. :)

Here's a bit from their site explaining their aims:

Classicsonline is a dedicated classical music download service which also offers other genres of quality music, jazz, nostalgia, world and contemporary instrumental.

It is the aim of Classicsonline to offer the widest possible range of classical music so that, eventually, every work of classical music ever recorded will be available from the site.

Over time, we expect to make the catalogs of all important independent classical music labels available. These are at the forefront of repertoire development today.

The service will be launched with the catalogs of BIS, Caprice, Celestial Harmonies, Chandos, Collegium, Coro, CPO, Haenssler, Hungaroton, Marco Polo, Naxos, Profil, Swedish Society, Vanguard, Wergo and others. We expect many other labels to join in the near future.

Aside from offering music at an affordable price, Classicsonline gives you the option to download a full CD or just a track. You pay only for the music you want to listen to. There are absolutely no registration fees required or any hidden charges when downloading.

Classicsonline does not employ any DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology. This means your purchase allows you to transfer your downloaded audio file to your portable player, CDs and other media for personal use. Purchase does not include file transfer for commercial purposes.


My understanding is that this site is the brainchild of Naxos boss Klaus Heymann. So, don't bet against it becoming a market leader at some point in the next 20 years. ;)

Mark

Of course (and as some of you will know), no thread like this one would be complete without a mention of:

Classic Cat

What is it? The short answer is that they index the free-to-download classical MP3s on the internet.

So, go ahead and try it out. :)

mahlertitan

looks good, but 192 is too low, is there a website out there offering quality higher than 192?

Mark

Not sure yet, MahlerTitan. I'd hoped that you, with all your downloading experience, might know of somewhere.

Got any links to (legal) sites that we can feature in this thread? ???


beclemund

Here's an interesting article regarding classical music downloads published earlier this month by the Christian Science Monitor.

Thanks for the service links, Mark.

Just a caveat, public domain laws are different in the USA than internationally, so sites like Classical Music Mobile which use public domain laws with regard to copyright rather than agreements with labels to re-distribute recordings may not be legitimate in the States. Be sure to check the information on any download site regarding thier agreements with labels and/or artists if you intend to use it and if you are interested in legal downloads.
"A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession." -- Albert Camus

Mark

Quote from: beclemund on June 09, 2007, 05:45:43 PM
Just a caveat, public domain laws are different in the USA than internationally, so sites like Classical Music Mobile which use public domain laws with regard to copyright rather than agreements with labels to re-distribute recordings may not be legitimate in the States. Be sure to check the information on any download site regarding thier agreements with labels and/or artists if you intend to use it and if you are interested in legal downloads.

To the person who PM'd me earlier asking about legality, here's your answer. ;D

Thanks, beclemund.