iTunes Music Store, or Limewire, which is better?
I have to admit it, I'm new to the mp3 game, heck I didn't leave my room for a week when the Xbox 360 came out. I just got an iPod Nano and it came with a 25 dollar itunes card. I downloaded itunes and I haven't used it yet. The problem is that I also decided to download limewire. I haven't downloaded limewire yet ,but I want to know if it is illegal. If it isn't, could you help me decide if I should stick with itunes or get limewire? Thanks Dave.
Dave's Answer:
Great question. Limewire isn't illegal, but the peer to peer networks that you then access and get content from, well, that content is just about always illegal. Think about it: if you were a music studio or musician who just produced a music CD, would you want one person to buy it, "rip" it, upload the music onto a server and make the material available for free download?
By contrast, the significant thing about the iTunes Music Store is that it is legal and is done with the cooperation and participation of just about every major music label. Frankly, I believe that Apple barely squeezes by with the revenue it generates after splitting the fees from each song sold with the production companies, studios, musicians, etc. The store just fuels their continued sales of the staggeringly popular iPod players (and I should know: I have four!)
As a content provider myself, I know that when I write a book or give a speech, the last thing I want to have happen is for someone to scan and upload the book, or surreptitiously record my talk and make the material available for free. Some significant percentage of people who would attempt to read a 300 page business book online probably would never have bought the print edition in the first place, but it's the other group, the people who could have purchased my book and made me a small, but additive, bit of revenue but instead get it free online, they're the ones I worry about. Get enough of them in the picture, and suddenly I have a problem paying my mortgage, which is definitely not good.
As with anything else to do with ethical behavior online, each of you who read this article will obviously make your own choice, but I strongly encourage you to choose the legal route with iTunes rather than the most-likely illegal route of Limewire or other peer to peer (p2p) network systems. It's much easier to sleep at night knowing that you are helping support those artists, performers, and "creatives" whose work you are hopefully enjoying.
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Reader Comments To Date: 23
My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself.
Thoughts?
"My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself.
Thoughts?"
Nice guys always finish last
"My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself.
Thoughts?"
Nice guys always finish last
hahaha
I have iTunes music store now, but I want to get limewire. Is there really a chance that I'll be in trouble with the police or whoever if I use limewire illegally (like 99% of the other limewire-using people are)?
"My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself."
what a loser! you really suck
I wonder which of the millions that use it they will start arresting first haha
The good advantage of limewire is JustMusicStore.com online mp3 store.
They claim to be legal and have track price of 0.15-0.39$ and the choice of the music is really amazing - over 2 million tracks.... So you do not use p2p and you save money. All my friends used itunes for just 2-3 purchases - not more. Who would want to pay 0.99$ for DRM if you can get unlimited copies for 0.15$!
i use limewire in New Zealand and no1 really cares. every1 at my school uses it
I have not got itunes and i wont bother downloading it. What $#$# wants to BUY music when you can get it for FREE. You get my drift? cos obviously lots of other people do.
Limewire is the best and when it gets removed from the internet i seriously think i will KILL someone...see thats how important it is to me.
Love ya'll
Miss Hannah "do not[EVER]call me Maggie" Gray
hey i have both limewire pro which ps u can download from the regular one for free:). I recently got a 15 gift card for itunes and i couldnt figure out what i wanted to buy. i get lots of cds but i like getting the cases that i can hold not payin for a file that could be deleted. Limewire i c as great for one hit wonders aka no offense to all you ghetto people out there but rap is all on hit wonder. overall i say get limewire. u wont get caought unless ur an idiot. i have over 2500 songs not all limewire but some do. if your shareing id say over 200 then ur at risk of gettin in trouble. i say share 30 at a time and add them to itunes then delete them its a sure way to stay away from the white stripes
im trying to download some files onto ipod from limewire but, when i get them onto itunes the go into the shared heading and then i cant get them onto my ipod nano please help me transfer them on!!!
Well, thanks to the RIAA, most of the money from itunes goes to massive corporations, not the artists themselves.
I HAVE I-TUNES AND MY LIMEWIRE MUSIC WIIL NOT IMPORT TO MY LIBARY I MEAN LIMEWIRE HAS THERE OWN PLAYLIST ON I-TUNES BUT I JUST CANNOT IMPORT THE MUSIC!!!.MY CUT PASTE COPY WILL NOT HI-LITE MY IMPORT WILL NOT IMPORT I-TUNES WIIL NOT HELP!!. I NOT A COMPUTER WHIZARD CAN ANY ONE HELP ME IN LAYMENS TERM?? THANK YOU
I used to have Limewire but when I found out it was illegal I quit using it! What you have to do to get them into iTunes is:
1. Open Your Limewire library and iTunes.
2. Go to Limewire and drag the song from there to iTunes.
3. You have to drag it to the taskbar without letting go hold it there til itunes pops up the drag it to the word Library on iTunes when that lights up (mine is blue) you can let go!
4. The song should now be in your iTunes Library! (sometimes it takes me like 2 or 3 times so don't give up)
I hoped this helped everyone!
LimeWire is a well good program, definetely better than the iTunes Music Store.
With LimeWire: It's free! It's not in that shitty M4A format (you can download MP3s on LimeWire).
You can get full-length films and tv shows on there aswell.
Who cares that it's illegal, millions of us do it.
"My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself.
Thoughts?"
Nice guys always finish last
all you have to do is do a little research on the net (ask google/jeeves), you will find out that limewire is 100% legal, its just the technicalities that could gget you into trouble. Limewire does not download or upload to or from any server. With a P2P (peer 2 peer) network all files are sent to and from personal pc's only, granted the files do go through your service provider's servers but the actual files are stored on your personal computer. If you use limewire for personal use and do not sell burnt cd's you wont get into trouble. But say you downloaded limewire onto a administrative computer/server and it helped to distribute files to others you could get into trouble. Dont complain, its the laws :)
to billybob just go on youtube and search the song name and hear the music video gosh free and legal
I periodically download songs from Limewire and then drag to Itunes which I use to organize all of my music. I notice that Itunes frequently deletes the files and there is an ! to the left and I get a message stating the "file cannot be located". Is this a designed program feature or am I doing something wrong? This of course never happens when I purchase the music through the Itunes store. If you have a tip on how to prevent this that would be great. Thanks in advance
Never go with Limewire to download copyrighted content because it's illegal and people don't make money out of it! Please support our artists! One-Purchase on the iTunes store is really easy! I always use iTunes and don't say that I'm a loser from doing that!
limewire is bad in my own opinion. their songs are good sometimes but other sometimes they will skip. itunes is probably better. limewire i dont trust and itunes lets you preview b4 buying.
I love limewire, i can and do download any song I want, I just could not afford to do that if i had to pay $.99 per song, oh wait actually i could but then i would have to budget my money and not waste it on other things i enjoy. Its great for movies too. Seems to me the record companies cant afford to sue everyone for so called "illegal" downloads so they go after an easy target and try to sue them for a ridiculous amount of money, if they want to sue me that's fine, in fact i look forward to the day they try but you have better odds of getting hit by a car than getting sued by Sony for limewire use. If you cant get to sleep at night because you are worried about ripping 10 cents off Britney Spears or P Diddy I suggest you go to Itunes, if however your heart does not bleed over such trivialities go Limewire!
i use limewire all the time and i think about those poooor famous musicians that i downloaded there songs and about how they cant afford to buy there third solid gold house thanks to people like me. makes me smile every time.
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I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by
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My issue is, I have both iTunes and Limewire, but I usually want to hear the song in it's entirety BEFORE actually purchasing it from a store like iTunes. I use Limewire as a way to listen to the whole song, instead of just a 30 sec. clip of it.
There isn't anything that I have on Limewire, that I haven't purchased the original to, but I'm worried that authorities will take no perspective on that if they ever start prosecuting the 'small fish' like myself.
Thoughts?