buying mp3 online

[biostud]

So I wanted to buy an album, and here in Denmark there's only one place to buy legal mp3's for $13. But they're encoded in 256 kbps and I want 320. So I thought I might buy them though amazon where I've heard they should be 320kbps. But they don't sell outside US, so I bought a year subscription to strong VPN for $55, after having tried some extremely slow free ones. After some fiddling around with giftcards I finally found a way to pay and download the mp3's.......only to find out it's encoded with 256kbps :/

So total price for album is: $65 + one year of VPN vs. $13

Maybe I'll try the US netflix now that I have paid for a VPN service.

 

[lxskllr]

You already paid for it. Torrent what you want. I suggest flac. Then you can re-encode what you like. I use 256kbs ogg ;^)

 

[MrPickins]

For that price, I would have bought the CD and ripped it myself (if that was an option).

 

[biostud]

For that price, I would have bought the CD and ripped it myself (if that was an option).

The cost of a CD in Denmark is: $24

 

[SearchMaster]

The cost of a CD in Denmark is: $24

Which is less than $65...just sayin'

 

[SP33Demon]

The cost of a CD in Denmark is: $24

How much is it to ship (cheapest) internationally to you?

 

[mnewsham]

I pay $30/year for a VPN, lets me bypass my ISP and use 1080p "superHD" netflix, also allows me to buy things from other countries even if you shouldn't be able to purchase in your country

 

[biostud]

Which is less than $65...just sayin'

yes, but now I can buy other CD's from amazon.

International shipping is too expensive and cumbersome.

 

[biostud]

I pay $30/year for a VPN, lets me bypass my ISP and use 1080p "superHD" netflix, also allows me to buy things from other countries even if you shouldn't be able to purchase in your country

What vpn?

 

[RossMAN]

If you haven't purchased a VPN yet you may want to look at this.

PIA is a better deal than StrongVPN, they keep no logs.

 

[mnewsham]

PIA is a better deal than StrongVPN, they keep no logs.

yup, that's what i recommended

 

[biostud]

If you haven't purchased a VPN yet you may want to look at this.

PIA is a better deal than StrongVPN, they keep no logs.

Oh, well I guess I should have asked before buying into strong VPN. I will review this in a year

I'm happy that I can now also access nexflix US and Amazon.com for software deals. So I guess the vpn will pay off in the long run.

 

[wirednuts]

if youre in denmark on someone elses isp, why not just buy from the grey russian sites? that way you can say you didnt know any better, and you did pay for the songs...

 

[lxskllr]

if youre in denmark on someone elses isp, why not just buy from the grey russian sites? that way you can say you didnt know any better, and you did pay for the songs...

That's a curious mindset. Not really knocking you, a lot of people have it all the way up to president of the USA. Paying for commercial infringement is the worst of all worlds. The artist gets no money, someone else is profiting off their work, and you don't get legal protection. It's like money makes it all ok, reality be damned.

I also question used record stores. That's not as bad as grey market mp3s since you're paying for the curation of music, but the artist still isn't getting money, and imo, that's the most important person that should get the money.

There needs to be a way to anonymously support artists. Something was started years ago, but I don't think anything came from it. I'd especially like to see something for all the old guys who really got fucked by the record labels. DooWop, birth of R&R, early 60s... They could use the money, especially at their age. They're getting medical problems, and are getting too old for touring. It would be nice to support them, but setting up the infrastructure would be difficult.

I need to do some searching, and see if there's anything viable currently in use, and if not, try to think through a solution. Maybe I could pitch it to someone with the coding chops to make it happen.

tl;dr
torrent the damned album. and buy a Tshirt from the artist, or send them cash in the mail. NOT the record company; the artist.

 

[rh71]

quickie questions about VPN:
- can you get the locally-blacked-out games from MLB, NHL paid streaming services? They usually use IP to determine location.
- can you download whatever you like from torrent sites with total anonymity?
- does the IP they see you as change frequently?
- how much slower is the resulting connection if at all?

 

[lxskllr]

quickie questions about VPN:
- can you get the locally-blacked-out games from MLB, NHL paid streaming services? They usually use IP to determine location.
- can you download whatever you like from torrent sites with total anonymity?
- does the IP they see you as change frequently?
- how much slower is the resulting connection if at all?

1 You'd need a server that has a "supported" ip address

2 Pretty much, but you want a srvice that has minimal logging, and is hosted in a country with good privacy laws.

3 Dunno, but probably not. If you mean what the VPN sees, then it changes when you get a new address from your isp.

4 It's slower, but it's minimal with a good vpn. I don't use one, so I don't have hard numbers.

 

[SP33Demon]

That's a curious mindset. Not really knocking you, a lot of people have it all the way up to president of the USA. Paying for commercial infringement is the worst of all worlds. The artist gets no money, someone else is profiting off their work, and you don't get legal protection. It's like money makes it all ok, reality be damned.

I also question used record stores. That's not as bad as grey market mp3s since you're paying for the curation of music, but the artist still isn't getting money, and imo, that's the most important person that should get the money.

There needs to be a way to anonymously support artists. Something was started years ago, but I don't think anything came from it. I'd especially like to see something for all the old guys who really got fucked by the record labels. DooWop, birth of R&R, early 60s... They could use the money, especially at their age. They're getting medical problems, and are getting too old for touring. It would be nice to support them, but setting up the infrastructure would be difficult.

I need to do some searching, and see if there's anything viable currently in use, and if not, try to think through a solution. Maybe I could pitch it to someone with the coding chops to make it happen.

tl;dr
torrent the damned album. and buy a Tshirt from the artist, or send them cash in the mail. NOT the record company; the artist.

Um why the fuck should artists get paid from used record stores? They were already paid for it on the initial sale. The "legal protection" (i.e. real backup) has now changed hands.

 

[lxskllr]

Um why the fuck should artists get paid from used record stores? They were already paid for it on the initial sale. The "legal protection" (i.e. real backup) has now changed hands.

Then just download it. What difference does it make? I don't give a shit about record store owners. I care about the artists, and if they aren't getting money either way, why should I inconvenience myself, and reduce the money in my wallet?

 

[mnewsham]

quickie questions about VPN:
- can you get the locally-blacked-out games from MLB, NHL paid streaming services? They usually use IP to determine location.
- can you download whatever you like from torrent sites with total anonymity?
- does the IP they see you as change frequently?
- how much slower is the resulting connection if at all?

1. Yes, PIA for example has servers for every region of the US, and a good number of eruopean servers.
2. short answer yes, but you should still not pirate.
3. It will change when you change servers or when you re-connect to the VPN, not sure they can give you a static IP.
4. Yes, your ping will double or more, depending on how far away the server is. mine usually goes from 20ms to ~100ms and your download speed will be diminished depending how far away the server is too. My 20/Mb connection is about 18/Mb when connecting to east coast VPN servers.

 

[biostud]

I went from getting my music from CD's to "less than legal" to a paid legal streaming service to now starting to buy mp3 albums. I don't listen that much main stream music, so for that reason I would like to support the bands by actually buying their music. There are just not so many sites in Denmark where that is possible, and the selection is not that great, so amazon it is.

 

[Aluvus]

FWIW, Google Play's music store sells MP3s that are usually 320 kbps. Not that I really think you could tell the difference.

256 kbps, or slightly lower VBR, is the norm for Amazon's service.

 

[biostud]

FWIW, Google Play's music store sells MP3s that are usually 320 kbps. Not that I really think you could tell the difference.

256 kbps, or slightly lower VBR, is the norm for Amazon's service.

Hmm, will not accept my credit cards as payment.

 

[Leros]

I pay $30/year for a VPN, lets me bypass my ISP and use 1080p "superHD" netflix, also allows me to buy things from other countries even if you shouldn't be able to purchase in your country

I would very much like to know what VPN gets you access to superHD Netflix.

 

[RossMAN]

quickie questions about VPN:
- can you get the locally-blacked-out games from MLB, NHL paid streaming services? They usually use IP to determine location.
- can you download whatever you like from torrent sites with total anonymity?
- does the IP they see you as change frequently?
- how much slower is the resulting connection if at all?

1) Don't know
2) Yes, assuming they don't keep logs. PIA doesn't keep logs.
3) Yes and with some providers you can select which city/country, I usually use Califorrnia.
4) This really isn't an issue for me as I don't use my VPN to "download". From regular web browsing I don't notice significantly slower speeds.

This is the deal I got it's expired now
http://slickdeals.net/f/5942170-VPN-service-5-45-month-or-31-95-year-Private-Internet-Access

 

[wirednuts]

That's a curious mindset. Not really knocking you, a lot of people have it all the way up to president of the USA. Paying for commercial infringement is the worst of all worlds. The artist gets no money, someone else is profiting off their work, and you don't get legal protection. It's like money makes it all ok, reality be damned.

I also question used record stores. That's not as bad as grey market mp3s since you're paying for the curation of music, but the artist still isn't getting money, and imo, that's the most important person that should get the money.

There needs to be a way to anonymously support artists. Something was started years ago, but I don't think anything came from it. I'd especially like to see something for all the old guys who really got fucked by the record labels. DooWop, birth of R&R, early 60s... They could use the money, especially at their age. They're getting medical problems, and are getting too old for touring. It would be nice to support them, but setting up the infrastructure would be difficult.

I need to do some searching, and see if there's anything viable currently in use, and if not, try to think through a solution. Maybe I could pitch it to someone with the coding chops to make it happen.

tl;dr
torrent the damned album. and buy a Tshirt from the artist, or send them cash in the mail. NOT the record company; the artist.

why should people deserve to write a couple good songs and profit from them over and over forever? when a painter paints a painting, he gets paid for it once. i am really tired of music artists thinking they are entitled to royalties just as if they invented the blinking wiper. its a crock of shit, they deserve to get paid for the same song again if they play it live. otherwise, if people dont like you, they wont be buying your stupid cd anyway.