Prior to today, I had never purchased a digital music file online. I still haven't purchased a digital music file, but I have gone through the iTunes Music Store purchasing experience thanks to a free iTunes song card Taryn brought home from the Gap.
I already use iTunes to listen to my MP3s, so redeeming the card was very, very easy. Apple makes it effortless to peruse their library of tunes for sale, review the current top 100 and even check out celebrity playlists. First I searched for Gord Downie's "Hallelujah" from "Saint Ralph" but iTunes didn't carry it. Then, I checked out the new releases and saw Maestro Fresh-Wes' "Urban Landmark (1989-2005)" with his cover of Gowan's "A Criminal Mind". The Maestro would be my first download.
Downloading the track was really easy and the digital file went into C:\Documents and Settings\My Account Name\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Gowan, Infinite & Maestro\Urban Landmarks 1989-2005\. Here is where I lose my positive buzz about the whole iTunes experience. The bit rate is a mere 128 kbps, and worse, the file type is an Apple proprietary M4P. If your player can't read M4P, you're SOL unless you jump through a few hoops to convert the file to MP3. My entire collection is currently comprised of DRM-free MP3 files, except for the one track I downloaded from iTunes. Pity.
iTunes isn't for me, but for your average iPod wearing, iTunes using dude, it's ideal. I'm still surprised by how easy it was for me to create an account, peruse the available tracks and albums and grab a tune I was interested in. Hopefully, a few pennies found their way into Maestro's pocket. I've been a fan since "Let Your Backbone Slide" and "Criminal Mind" is a good tune.
