Find out where to get the cheapest legal music downloads so you can build up your song library for less.
With the huge range of different music download sites available nowadays, we have more choice than ever when it comes to deciding how we want to hear our favourite tracks. Though some sites offer an undeniably vast library from which to choose your music, the cost can add up if you’re downloading regularly. However there are ways to cut the cost and still get your music fix. We show you how.
Pay as you go downloads
One of the most popular ways to download music is to pay to download each individual track, with the price for a song ranging from anything between 29p and 99p. Entire albums can also be downloaded usually at a snip of the retail price, although it’s still worth looking at the cost of a CD if you prefer to have the ‘real thing’.
- iTunes
iTunes is one of the longest-running download services, with over 6 million tracks available for you to download to your computer or iPod. Songs tend to cost around 79p each, and you’ll have to download the iTunes application to start downloading (though this is free). An album costs around £7.99 to download. 79p is not the most competitive price for downloads you’ll find on the internet, but iTunes claims to make up for this by offering one of the biggest music libraries out there.
- HMV
HMV is a close-runner to iTunes, with tracks starting at 69p, and albums from £6.99. However most of the best-selling downloads are priced at 99p, making it less competitive. You can browse a library including classical, pop, folk, and more, and as HMV is such a mainstay of the record industry, you can be sure any downloads will be good-quality.
- Tesco
Tesco, in its usual bid to offer good value, charges 77p a track in their Digital Store and albums start at £3.97 (though the latest releases cost £7.80). The cost of individual tracks tends not to vary as much as in other stores, making it quite reliable if you want to find the latest chart hits at an affordable price. However they claim to offer around 5 million tracks, so may not be able to give you quite as much choice as iTunes who boast over 6 million.
- Play
Play offer a very competitive price on single downloads, with many of the latest releases only costing 65p a time. Albums start from £2.99, though the best-sellers tend to cost more like £6.99. There’s also an impressive range of songs available.
Amazon perhaps offer the best value downloads at the moment, with tracks starting at 29p each. They also claim to offer over 8 million songs, and there’s no software to download. Many of the latest chart singles can be downloaded for 29p and albums start at £2.99, making Amazon hard to beat.
Subscribe, and pay per month
Another option is to pay a monthly amount to sign up to a subscription package, which will usually give you access to an unlimited number of songs and albums to download each month. If you are a hard-core music fan and download regularly, this could suit you better than paying individually for each song you download.
- Napster
Napster offer unlimited access to as many songs as you want for £9.95 a month. As each song individually costs 79p a track, this represents good value if you usually download more than 15 or so songs a month. It’s worth noting that you do have to download the Napster application (though this is free) and once you unsubscribe, you’ll no longer have access to the songs you’ve downloaded. To keep the songs on your computer you’ll have to pay per track.
- Emusic
Emusic is another service that works on a subscription basis, and though it may have less tracks to choose from than Napster, it still features an impressive range of music. They also tend to cater towards the music-lover who is interested in more than just chart music, with genres such as International, Spiritual, and Jazz available. The most basic plan offered costs £9.99 to get 24 downloads a month.
- Spotify
Spotify allows you to subscribe for £9.99 a month, which gives you access to an impressive library of music. Alternatively you can pay 99p to get access for 24 hours only. You’ll have to download and install the Spotify player to listen to any music you download.
Obviously the cost-efficiency of going for the subscription option will depend on how often you do download music. If you usually download anything from 30 or more tracks a month, you can probably save money by paying out a set amount per month rather than paying as you go. However if you find that you don’t usually meet this quota it may be worth sticking with the pay-as-you-go option.
Stream music for free
It’s also possible to listen to music for free by streaming it on your computer, much the same as you would watch a video online. The song is not downloaded to your computer’s memory but played directly over your computer’s speakers, making it a worthwhile option if you don’t want to buy the song to keep, but still want to have a listen. It can also be a good way of testing a song before you buy (though many download sites do offer a preview of the song before you download it).
Some of the best legal sites to try if you fancy streaming for free are:
- Last FM - type in a song to hear it for free and receive suggestions for other songs you might like. There’s no need to download any applications to play the music.
- Muziic - you’ll have to download the Muziic player (which is free), after which you can type in any song and listen to it for free. It’s powered by YouTube so has the same library available and allows you to build a playlist of your favourite songs.
- Deezer – this doesn’t require you to download any software and songs are free to stream.
- Jango – an incredibly simple way to stream music; you can just type a song in and press ‘Play’. A ‘radio station’ of your favourite songs will be compiled.
- We7 - another simple way to listen to music for free - search for the song of your choice and hit 'Play'. You also have the chance to buy songs you're interested in through the site.
Before you try out any download site make sure you are aware of whether or not you have to download software to play the music. Although this is almost always free, software can sometimes be a hassle to install and you may prefer to just stream or buy music directly.
It’s also worth checking what format your downloaded songs will be in, and if you have the right device to play them. Most song downloads will be either mp3 or wma format which is playable on most mp3 players and iPods, but it’s worth checking they are compatible before you click the ‘download’ button. It’s also important to check the site you are downloading from is legal before going ahead.
