Money Changes Everything

October 16, 2006 6:27 PM

EightiesFilter: Where can I buy LEGAL song downloads of slightly(?)-out-of-the-mainstream eighties artistes like The Brains, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Tonio K., The Church ("The Unguarded Moment" full band studio version) for my iPod?

Striking out with iTunes and emusic. Prefer one-stop shopping.

posted by ZenMasterThis to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

Emusic, perhaps, and Rhapsody certainly has The Church material for sale.
posted by undule at 6:42 PM on October 16, 2006

Response by poster: Rhapsody looks interesting, but I don't see any a la carte option. Am I missing something? (Please be patient; I'm an iPod newbie).
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:25 PM on October 16, 2006

For music that's long out-of-print, it won't be on those services unless the copyright owner goes out of their way to make it available. Maybe you want to write the artists and tell them how easy cdbaby.com makes it to add their music to itunes, etc.

Hm. I might have some old Tonio K. CDs that I haven't listened to in a decade or two.
posted by winston at 7:36 PM on October 16, 2006

Best answer: Unfortunately, the easiest legal solution is likely to be purchasing the CDs used via ebay or Amazon, and ripping them yourself.
posted by fings at 8:02 PM on October 16, 2006

I use Yahoo! Music Unlimited for all of my streaming and buying needs. $5 a month all you can stream and 79 cents if you wish to purchase.

If you are having trouble finding certain artists it's very possible their stuff is not going to be available anywhere.
posted by dgeiser13 at 8:21 PM on October 16, 2006

This is for an ipod, right? Yahoo, rhapsody, and any other company that has copy-protected music won't be able to sell you anything that will play on your ipod. It's part of apple's market strategy to make iTunes the only compatible software for the iPod.

If it's not on iTunes, sad to say that fings is right. The only legal option is buying the cds and then ripping them.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 9:27 PM on October 16, 2006

emusic or Audio Lunchbox are pobably your best bets.
posted by unmake at 11:24 PM on October 16, 2006

Best answer: I like eMusic as much as everyone else, but the poster says that iTunes and eMusic aren't getting it done. ZMT, as kingjoeshmoe says, don't use Rhapsody or any other major online service if you need to put the music on your iPod. You can't use any services that sell WMA-formatted music. You need MP3. Unfortunately, unmake is probably right that Audio Lunchbox is the only legit online option left. Frankly, you won't find one-stop shops to do what you want unless you go to Amazon, order the CDs, and rip them yourself.
posted by smorange at 11:55 PM on October 16, 2006

Best answer: I would second the suggestion of Ebay/Amazon to actually buy the CD/Record. Ebay, at least, allows you to set up a search that will email you whenever something unusual that you are trying to get hold of comes up. This can be good for more obsure acts.

I would also recommend LastFM - you can set up a stream of radio that is like or which matches a particular artist.
posted by rongorongo at 3:18 AM on October 17, 2006

Used CDs are kind of a grey-market area.

Basically, (obDisclaim: I work at a major label, which i always say when responding to these things) labels have a MASSIVE backlog of titles to work through the frustratingly lengthy legal process that leads to being able to sell our catalogs digitally (my friend Sam who works at Legacy Recordings has multiple thousands of records yet to get up, and thats just from our in-print side, and i'm sure its the same everywhere)...

Not that i'd ever advocate piracy, but I'd say if you really really wanted the music, I'd acquire it how you acquire it, and then when it finally gets up on itunes or rhapsody, get rid of your old files and buy it from one of them, so that the artist gets payment.
posted by softlord at 7:01 AM on October 17, 2006