Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Your hard-core, up-to-the-minute, how-to guide
Download, rip, store, organize, play, stream–anything, anywhere
Seriously into digital music? Best-selling how-to author, serious audiophile, and eclectic music-lover Michael Miller will help you get all the digital tunes you want, whenever and wherever you want them! Miller guides you through today’s best new options, from iTunes to Spotify…helps you make the most of social music, Internet radio, and cloud music services…even shows how to transform your home into a digital music paradise. This book is packed with practical answers, easy step-by-step instructions, insider tips, great ideas, and new music sources you never knew existed!
For everyone who’s passionate about music!
• Discover brand-new digital music services, sites, and devices that fit your lifestyle
• Find great new music on iTunes, Amazon, and sites you’ve never heard of
• Get the truth about piracy, file sharing, and copyright
• Find huge amounts of legally free music
• Rip, store, and organize: Build your perfect music library
• Determine the best audio file format and compression rate for your collection
• Create simply amazing playlists
• Stream songs anywhere, with Spotify, Pandora, Internet radio, and the cloud
• Get great sound from your iPod or iPhone on your home audio system
• Build a whole-house digital audio system, the easy way
• Choose your best next media player (Apple or otherwise)
• Find and share tunes on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and beyond
Part I: Understanding Digital Music
1 The History of Music Distribution—From Piano Rolls to iTunes 11
How Do You Collect Music When There’s No Music to Collect? 12
Between the Sheets 13
Going on Record 14
The Rise of Radio 15
It’s a Long-Playing World 16
The Singles Life 18
The Tale of the Tape 19
Say Hello to My Little Friend, the Compact Disc 21
Going Digital 22
What’s Next 24
2 Exploring the Different Ways to Listen to Music Today 29
Going Old School with Compact Discs 29
Ripping Digital Tracks from CD 31
Downloading Digital Tracks—Legally 32
Downloading Digital Tracks—Not So Legally 34
Getting All You Can Eat from a Subscription Service 35
Listening Anywhere on Any Device from the Cloud 36
Listening to Internet Radio 37
3 How Digital Music Works 39
The Way We Were: Remembering Analog Audio 39
The New Wave: Understanding Digital Audio 41
Making a Digital Recording 41
Storing and Playing Digital Audio 43
Dealing with Digital Compression 43
The Benefits of Digital Music 44
Quality 45
Easier Storage 45
Easier Organization 45
Streaming 46
4 Understanding Digital Audio File Formats 49
Evaluating File Formats 50
Uncompressed Formats 50
Lossy Compressed Formats 51
Lossless Compressed Formats 53
Comparing Formats, in a Nutshell 54
Considering Bitrate 55
Comparing the Major Digital Music Ecosystems 56
The MP3 Ecosystem 56
The Apple Ecosystem 57
The Windows Media Ecosystem 59
Choosing the Right File Format 59
What Works with What 60
Choosing an Ecosystem 61
Choosing a Bitrate 62
5 Understanding Copyright, Piracy, and Other Legal Issues 65
Understanding Copyright and Royalties 66
How Copyright Works 66
Calculating Royalties 66
Royalties on Online Performances 67
The Dark Side of Downloading: Online Piracy 68
The Spread of Piracy 68
The Impact of Illegal Downloading 69
What’s Legal—and What’s Not 70
6 Understanding DRM 75
What DRM Is and What it Does 76
The State of DRM Today 76
Problems with DRM 77
Dealing with DRM 79
Part II: Downloading Music
7 Understanding Music Downloading 83
How Music Downloading Works 84
Requirements for Downloading Music 84
How to Download Music to Your Computer 85
Where to Download From 85
Online Music Stores 85
Subscription Download Services 88
Free Download Sites 89
File-Sharing Sites 89
Choosing the Right File Format 89
Why Downloading Makes Sense 90
8 Downloading Music from the iTunes Store 93
iTunes Over the Years: A Musical History Tour 94
Getting to Know the iTunes Store 95
Installing the iTunes Software 96
iTunes Store Pricing 96
Navigating the iTunes Store 97
Creating an Apple Account 98
Searching the iTunes Store 100
Browsing the iTunes Store 101
Purchasing Items from the iTunes Store 103
Introducing iTunes in the Cloud 104
9 Downloading Music from the Amazon MP3 Store 107
Amazon.com—From Books to Tunes 108
Getting to Know the Amazon MP3 Store 108
Amazon MP3 Store Pricing 109
Creating an Amazon Account 110
Setting Up an Account 110
Enabling 1-Click Ordering 110
Navigating the Amazon MP3 Store 111
Navigation Controls 112
Left Column 113
Center Column 113
Right Column 114
Searching the Amazon MP3 Store 115
Conducting Basic Searches 115
Conducting an Advanced Search 116
Browsing the Amazon MP3 Store 117
Purchasing Items from the Amazon MP3 Store 118
Introducing Amazon Cloud Drive and the Amazon Cloud Player 120
10 Downloading Music from Other Online Music Stores 123
Why Switch from Apple and Amazon? 123
What Can Other Stores Do That Apple and Amazon Can’t? 125
Exploring the Competition 126
Google Play Music 126
Bandcamp 127
CD Baby 129
Classical Archives 130
eMusic 132
Zune Marketplace 134
Discovering High Resolution Music Online 135
B&W Society of Sound 135
HDtracks 136
iTrax 138
Linn Records 139
11 Finding Free Music to Download 141
Downloading from Official Label and Artist Sites 142
Downloading from Free Artist Communities 143
ARTISTdirect 143
BeSonic 143
dmusic 145
MP3.com 145
PureVolume 146
SoundClick 147
Finding Tunes with MP3 Search Sites 148
Downloading Music from MP3 Newsgroups 149
12 Downloading Music from P2P File-Sharing Sites 151
Understanding File Sharing 152
A Short History of File Sharing 152
How P2P File Sharing Works 153
Then There’s BitTorrent… 153
A Few Good Reasons Not to Use File-Sharing Sites 154
It’s Illegal 154
You’re Helping to Starve Musicians to Death 155
Quality Is Questionable 155
It’s Likely Infested with Malware 156
Yes, Virginia, There are Some Benefits to File Sharing 157
It’s Free 157
You Can Choose Your Format 157
You Can Find Stuff You Can’t Get Anywhere Else 158
A Quick Look at the Most Popular File-Sharing Sites 159
Gnutella 159
eDonkey 160
Kad 160
BitTorrent 160
Considering Legal File Sharing Networks 160
Protecting Yourself (and Your Computer) When File Sharing 161
Protecting Against Viruses 161
Protecting Against Spyware 162
Use Anti-Malware Software 162
Just Don’t Do It 162
Part III: Managing Your Music
13 Storing Your Digital Music 167
How Much Storage Space Do You Need? 168
Storing Digital Music on Your Home PC 169
When Local Storage Makes Sense 169
When Local Storage Isn’t Enough 171
Storing Digital Music on a Dedicated PC 171
What Is a Media PC? 171
When Using a Dedicated PC Makes Sense 174
When a Dedicated PC Doesn’t Do the Job 174
Storing Digital Music on a Home Server 175
What Is a Home Server? 175
When Using a Home Server Makes Sense 177
When a Home Server Is Overkill 177
Sharing Your Library Over a Home Network 178
Backing Up Your Digital Library 179
Backing Up Locally 179
Backing Up Over the Network 180
Backing Up Online 180
14 Organizing Your Digital Music Collection 183
Organizing Audio Files on Your Computer 184
Understanding Song Tags 185
What Can Possibly Go Wrong? 189
Editing Tags 190
Editing Tags Directly in a File 190
Editing Tags in iTunes 191
Editing Tags in Windows Media Player 193
Editing Tags with Third-Party Software 194
Five Tricks for Better Organized Music Libraries 195
Delete Duplicate Tracks 195
Combine Multi-Disc Albums into a Single Album 196
Separate Combination Albums into Individual Albums 197
Assign Multiple Genres 197
Add Song Lyrics 198
15 Finding and Downloading Cover Art 201
Understanding How Cover Art Works 202
What Can Go Wrong with Cover Art 203
Where to Find Cover Art 204
How to Change Cover Art 206
Changing Album Art Files Manually in Windows 206
Changing Album Art in iTunes 206
Changing Album Art in Windows Media Player 207
Changing Album Art with a Third-Party Program 207
16 Creating the Perfect Playlist 213
Why Listen to Playlists? 214
Creating a Playlist from Your Digital Music Collection 214
Creating and Sharing Playlists on the Web 216
8tracks 216
FIQL 216
Greatestplaylist 217
Jog.fm 217
Mixtape.me 219
Playlist.com 219
ShareMyPlaylists 219
Tips for Creating the Ultimate Playlist 221
1: Tag Tracks Before You List 221
2: Keep the Beat 221
3: Build a Mood 222
4: Mix It Up 222
5: Program by Sub Genre 222
6: Program by Activity 222
7: Consider the Length 223
8: Put Tracks in Multiple Playlists 223
9: Discover New Music Online 223
10: Share Your Playlist with Friends 223
11: Experience Serendipity 223
12: Don’t Stop Editing 224
13: Get Creative 224
Part IV: Streaming Music
17 Understanding Streaming Music 229
Understanding Streaming Audio 230
How Streaming Audio Works
Compromises and Requirements 232
Streaming Music Services 232
Internet Radio 233
Cloud-Based Music Services 233
18 Listening to Music with Spotify 237
Getting to Know Spotify 237
Subscribing and Getting Started 238
Getting Around Spotify 239
Importing Local Files into Spotify 240
Importing Files 240
Viewing and Playing Imported Music 241
Listening to Local Files on Your Mobile Device 241
Viewing and Playing Music 241
Playing an Individual Track 242
Playing an Album 243
Playing Music in a Queue 243
Viewing Artist Information 244
Listening to Spotify Radio 245
Creating a New Radio Station 245
Playing a Spotify Radio Station 246
Working with Playlists 247
Creating a New Playlist 247
Adding Tracks to a Playlist 247
Playing a Playlist 247
Listening to Spotify Offline 248
Making a Playlist Available for Offline Listening 248
Listening Offline 249
Sharing Your Music with Spotify Social 249
Adding Facebook Friends 249
Adding Other Spotify Users 250
Sharing Tracks 250
Sharing Albums 251
Sharing Playlists 251
Sharing Artists 251
Sharing Everything You Listen To 251
Collaborating on a Playlist 251
Extending Spotify with Apps 252
Scrobbling to Last.fm 254
Listening on the Go with Spotify Mobile 254
19 Listening to Music with Other Streaming Music Services 257
Grooveshark 257
Last.fm 259
MOG 259
Pandora Radio 260
Raditaz 260
Rara.com 261
Rdio 262
Rhapsody 263
Slacker Radio 264
Turntable.fm 265
Zune Music Pass 266
20 Accessing Your Music in the Cloud 269
How Cloud-Based Music Services Work 270
Pros and Cons of Streaming Music from the Cloud 271
Advantages of Cloud Streaming Services 271
Disadvantages of Cloud Streaming Services 272
Comparing Cloud Music Services 273
Amazon Cloud Player 275
Google Play Music 277
iTunes Match 278
MP3tunes 280
mSpot 281
MyMusicCloud 282
Streaming Music from Your Own PC 283
Audiogalaxy 284
Subsonic 285
21 Listening to Internet Radio 289
Understanding Internet Radio 289
What’s Out There 290
Listening to Web-Only Radio 291
Searching for Internet Radio Stations 294
Listening to Terrestrial and Satellite Radio Online 295
Part V: Playing Your Music—At Home
22 Understanding Home Digital Music Playback 301
Music Is for the Home 302
Different Ways to Listen to Digital Music in Your Home 302
Digital Music via PC 303
Digital Music via Network Music Player 304
Digital Music via iPod 305
Other Items to Consider 306
23 Ripping Your Physical Music Collection 309
Ripping CDs to Digital 310
Understanding the Process 310
Choosing the Best Digital File Format and Bitrate 310
Choosing the Best Ripping Application 311
Ripping a CD with iTunes 313
Ripping a CD with Windows Media Player 314
Ripping Lots of CDs 316
Filling in the Metadata 317
Ripping Vinyl Discs and Analog Taps to Digital 317
Understanding the Process 318
Choosing the Right Equipment 319
Choosing the Right Software 322
Splitting a Side 323
24 Playing Digital Music on Your Computer 327
Choosing and Using a Music Player Application 328
What a Music Player Does 328
Evaluating Music Player Programs 329
Using the iTunes Player 331
Using Windows Media Player 335
Using MediaMonkey 337
Improving Your Computer’s Sound 339
Using an External Digital to Analog Converter 340
Choosing Better Speakers 344
Using Headphones 355
Connecting Your Computer to Your Home Audio System 355
Making the Connection 355
Choosing a Ten Foot Interface 358
Controlling Your System 366
25 Playing Digital Music on a Home Media Player 375
What Exactly Is a Home Media Player? 376
Choosing a Home Media Player 377
Evaluating Home Media Players 380
Sony SMP-N200 380
Apple TV 380
Western Digital WD TV Live 382
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex TV HD Media Player 383
Microsoft Xbox 360 383
Netgear NTV550 HD Media Player 385
D-Link Boxee Box 385
Logitech Squeezebox Touch 386
Sonos Connect 388
Denon DNP-720AE 389
Pioneer N-30 Audiophile Networked Audio Player 390
Marantz NA7004 Network Audio Player 391
NAD C446 Digital Music Tuner 391
Logitech Transporter SE Network Music Player 392
Musical Fidelity M1 CLiC 393
Connecting via DLNA 394
26 Building a Whole House Digital Audio System 397
How Whole House Audio Works 398
Using Personal Computers 399
Using Networked Media Players 400
Using Media Center Extenders 402
Using Freestanding Media Players 403
Part VI: Playing Your Music—On the Go
27 Playing Music on a Portable Music Player or Smartphone 411
Choosing a Portable Music Player 412
Apple’s iPods 412
Other Portable Music Players 415
Playing Music on a Smartphone 419
Apple’s iPhone 419
Android Phones 421
Windows 7 Phones 423
Playing Music on a Tablet 424
Apple’s iPad 424
Amazon’s Kindle Fire 424
Other Android Tablets 425
Managing Music on Your Portable Device 425
Syncing Your iPod or iPhone 426
Configuring Sync Options 427
Syncing Your Music 428
Improving Your Device’s Sound Quality 428
Upgrading Your Earbuds (or Headphones) 428
Adding an Outboard DAC 432
28 Listening to Streaming Music on a Portable Music Player or Smartphone 437
Evaluating Streaming Audio on Portable Devices 438
Listening to Streaming Music Services on the Go 439
Listening to Internet Radio on the Go 441
Listening to Streaming Music from the Cloud 442
29 Playing Your Portable Music in the Living Room 447
Connecting Your Device to External Speakers 448
Connecting to Powered Speakers 448
Connecting to a Tabletop Speaker System 449
Connecting Your iPod to Your Home Entertainment System 453
Connecting via an Adapter Cable 453
Connecting via an iPod Dock 454
Part VII: Sharing Your Music
30 Burning Your Music to a CD or USB Drive 461
Burning Music CDs 462
A Short History of Home Recording 462
Understanding CD Burning 462
Understanding CD Standards and Formats 463
Choosing CD Burning Software 465
Before You Burn: Preparing Your Hardware 465
Before You Burn: Configuring Your Software 466
Burning an Audio CD 467
Burning an MP3 CD 469
Burning Music Files to a USB Drive 469
31 Sharing Your Music Over a Network or Online 473
Sharing Music Over a Network 473
Sharing Music via Email 474
Sharing Music via a Cyberlocker 475
32 Sharing Your Music—Socially 479
Sharing Music on Facebook 480
Sharing Music from Another Music Service 480
Viewing Your Friends’ Music 481
Sharing Music via Live Chat 483
Sharing Links to MP3 Files 483
Sharing Music on Twitter 484
Sharing Music via Spotify 486
Sharing to Facebook 486
Sharing to Twitter 487
Sharing to Other Spotify Users 488
Sharing via Windows Live Messenger 488
Sharing to Anyone via Email 489
Sharing Music via iTunes Ping 489
Posting to Ping 490
Viewing Your Ping Page 491
Finding Friends to Follow 493
Part VIII: Discovering New Music
33 Discovering New Music with Last.fm and Pandora Radio 497
Discovering New Music with Last.fm 498
Scrobbling from Other Music Services 498
Scrobbling from PC-Based Music Players 499
Investigating Last.fm’s Recommendations 500
Creating Radio Stations 501
Discovering New Music with Pandora Radio 503
Creating a New Radio Station 504
Fine-Tuning Your Radio Stations 505
34 Discovering New Music in the Amazon and iTunes Stores 509
Discovering New Music on Amazon 510
Viewing General Recommendations 510
Viewing Music Recommendations 510
Fine Tuning Amazon’s Recommendations 513
Discovering New Music on Your Own 514
Discovering New Music on iTunes 517
What’s Interesting (and Promoted) in the Store 517
Previewing New Music 520
Getting Genius Recommendations 522
35 Discovering New Music via Social Media 525
Discovering New Music on Facebook 526
Discovering New Music on Twitter 528
Discovering New Music on MySpace 528
Exploring the Social Aspects of Spotify and Other Music Services 530
36 Exploring the Best Music Review Sites and Blogs 535
Exploring Music News and Review Websites 536
Discovering Music Blogs 539
Reading Online Music Magazines 542
Using Music Recommendation Sites 545
Index 549
Overview
Your hard-core, up-to-the-minute, how-to guide
Download, rip, store, organize, play, stream–anything, anywhere
Seriously into digital music? Best-selling how-to author, serious audiophile, and eclectic music-lover Michael Miller will help you get all the digital tunes you want, whenever and wherever you want them! Miller guides you through today’s best new ...