Affordable Music

I have complained in the past that music needs to be less expensive. I’m not really thrilled by CDs that are $15.99 and up. I wouldn’t mind paying a small amount per song, or a reasonable amount per CD. Now, it appears there are at least two options that fit into my price range.

My record club, BMG Music Services is now offering CDs for $7.99, with no shipping or handling. Now that’s a good deal! I could go for that. The problems I have with BMG is that their selection is somewhat limited, new CDs are not available until months after they are released, and sometimes big artists also command higher prices. So if you want the latest from Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Aaliyah, Fifty Cent, Hilary Duff (I just had to sneak her name in), Justin Timberlake and a bunch of other top artists, you won’t find it here. In fact, it’s not just the new stuff, you wont find most of these artists’ works here.

A new service has just started, run by MusicMatch. MusicMatch sells a very highly regarded MP3 player for your computer (there is also a free version). Now, through the MusicMatch software, you can download songs at 99 cents each, or $9.99 for an entire CD, with very few restrictions as to what you can do with it then. You can definitely burn it to CD or transfer it to a portable MP3 player. That sounds good, but here’s the catch. There is a small monthly fee. I haven't signed up yet, and so I can’t tell you if the artists I really want are available through this service, and the MusicMatch web-site doesn't really say what artists are available. But I’m still interested, if they do have the artists I want, it sounds like it might be a good deal.