| Almost everyone has heard about the legal | | | | 4. MSN Music--Microsoft, another leading name in the |
| proceedings regarding the distribution of music files | | | | Internet and in computers, offers one million songs |
| online. Regardless of which side of the issue someone | | | | that are available for $0.99 per download. Like |
| mind find themselves on, downloading music on the | | | | MusicMatch, MSN does not offer a free trial period. |
| Internet has struck a chord with nearly everyone. For | | | | 5. Napster--Napster, the name that started it all, is |
| someone who owns or plans to own an MP3 player it | | | | once again one of the premier outlets for music |
| is important to play by the rules to ensure they don't | | | | downloads, this time on a monthly membership fee |
| wind up in the middle of this ugly fight. Here are a | | | | basis. With around one million songs in their database, |
| few online sources for downloading digital music | | | | Napster offers downloads for $9.95 a month on up |
| legally that charge reasonable amounts and have | | | | to three computers. Napster also offers a seven day |
| respectable names. | | | | free trial. |
| 1. AOL Music Now--America Online has been a major | | | | 6. PassAlong--Relatively new to the scene, and |
| name in the Internet world since the early nineties | | | | sporting a smaller database than most download |
| and boasts over 1.5 million songs in their database for | | | | services of around 400,000 songs, PassAlong offers |
| members to use. AOL's service is available on a free | | | | a nice perk in exchange. A member can earn bonus |
| trial and then for $0.99 per downloaded song. | | | | points that reduce the price of future downloads by |
| 2. F.Y.E.--After a free trial period, F.Y.E. (a leader in | | | | making recommendations to their friends for certain |
| downloadable music) provides 1.2 million songs to | | | | types of music. PassAlong does not offer a free trial |
| choose from for a flat $1 per download. | | | | and starts at $0.99 per download. |
| 3. MusicMatch--While MusicMatch does not offer a | | | | 7. PureTracks--Canadians benefit from WMA files |
| free trial period, the MusicMatch software will make | | | | from just $0.99 in Canadian dollars. Puretracks has |
| personal recommendations for its users, among other | | | | over 1 million songs. |
| services. They charge $0.99 per download. | | | | |