I'm looking for individual track mp3's from film scores

August 23, 2008 10:02 PM

Is there a way to buy individual film score tracks without buying the album?

I've been looking for some film scores to add to my collection but have been stymied.

On iTunes, a number of soundtracks are classified as "album only," meaning one has to pay $9.99 for the entire CD; though I only want one track, I'd have to pay for all the others -- which strikes me as very contrary to the spirit and purpose of iTunes. Amazon doesn't sell these titles individually or at all.

I'd like to give the composers some money, but not $10 for one track. I have thought of buying the CD's used, but the ones I found are close to $10 and thus not a solution.

Does anyone know of a site to acquire any of the following? They're all main title themes:

Rudy
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Days of Heaven
For Love of the Game
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Those are all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for your help.

posted by Flying Saucer to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

There are any number of reasons a track on iTunes might be marked "Album Only". Here are three.

1) iTunes automatically prices any track longer than 10 minutes as Album Only, due to a complicated thing called Mechanical Royalties
2) The song publisher may not have granted the right for the label releasing the music to sell the tracks individually, which is in fact a separate right than being able to sell them within the context of the album.
3) The labels releasing the titles may not have re-approached the music publishers for the individual track rights before delivering the titles to itunes due to either time or relationship restraints.

Sounds like at least two of them may be applicable here.
posted by softlord at 4:13 AM on August 24, 2008

You may be able to find some sort of movie title themes CD, though the tracks you listed don't have much in common.
posted by niles at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2008