Questions:
[go] What does the download membership get you?
[go] Do I also get streaming?
[go] What download formats do I get?
[go] Are there any download limits?
[go] Can I really download everything?
[go] How do I download music?
[go] Can I burn CDs?
[go] Do you use copy protection? DRM?
[go] What rights do I have to the music?
[go] How do I downgrade to the streaming membership?
[go] How do I cancel my streaming membership?
[go] Does it work on Linux? Mac? Windows?
[go] Does it work with Firefox? IE? Others?
[go] Can I use my own music player? (winamp? iTunes?)
[go] How are your musicians paid for my download membership?
[go] Can I share the music I download?
[go] Are there any desktop programs for using Magnatune download membership?
[go] How much of a discount do I get if I get a one year membership?
[go] What is the lifetime membership?
[go] Can I share my membership with others?
[go] Can I keep the mp3s I download if I cancel my membership?
Answers:
What does the download membership get you?
You get to listen to everything on the Magnatune web site, without any commercials, and anything you want to download you can do so as if you had paid for it.
You get all the download formats that you normally would if you bought the album individually (ie, for $8). We offer MP3 and WAV files, and a variety of other formats as well. All without copy protection (DRM).
You can also download a PDF of the album artwork.
Yes. The download membership also lets you use everything the streaming membership gives you.
What download formats do I get?
MP3- high quality VBR as well as 128k MP3 (lower quality)
WAV files - perfect quality
FLAC format - perfect quality
AAC files - high quality iTunes only
OGG Vorbis - high quality, open source format
Are there any download limits?
There are no download limits, you are free to download whatever albums you like at any time.
Can I really download everything?
Yes!
However, please do not use a download robot against the Magnatune web site, because that places a huge load on our server. You need to do download the albums yourself in a web browser.
When you are on an album page on Magnatune, simply click the "download" button. The next page will give you zip files of all the various download formats for that album, as well as a PDF of the artwork.
Yes, you can burn CDs from the downloaded files
If you are doing that, we recommend you download the WAV format of the album, so that your CD is an exact duplicate of the master CD, and sounds perfect.
Do you use copy protection? DRM?
We never, ever use copy protection: that would be evil.
What rights do I have to the music?
You can play the music just as if you had purchased it individually from a store.
Put it on your computer, transfer it to your iPod, copy it to a USB key and take it to work, whatever you like.
We expect that you will want to share some of the great music you find with your friends, and that's great!
However, please don't give a friend more than one album from your download membership per month, as we would like to strike a balance between helping you tell your friends about Magnatune, and having your friends sign up with their own membership. Use your own judgement.
Please do not put your downloads on a peer-to-peer network such as Limewire.
How do I downgrade to the streaming membership?
First cancel your download membership, and then sign up for a streaming membership.
How do I cancel my streaming membership?
Go to
http://download.magnatune.com/member/
and click the "cancel" link.
Does it work on Linux? Mac? Windows?
Yes, because we are simply a web site, and do not use any copy protection, everything works on all operating systems.
Does it work with Firefox? IE? Others?
Yes, all web browsers we have tested work.
The only exception is the iPhone Safari browser, which does not support Flash or audio playlists, and so does not work.
Can I use my own music player? (winamp? iTunes?)
When you are streaming music from our web site, you can click the ".m3u" link to play the music in your own music player.
The downloads from our web site are plain MP3s and should work in every music player.
How are your musicians paid for my download membership?
50% of your monthly membership is allocated to pay our musicians.
From that, half is paid to the musicians you stream while listening online, and the other half is paid to the musicians whose albums you download each month (divided equally based on which albums you downloaded). If you stream an album more than once, the musician is paid for each listen. In the case of the lifetime membership, musicians are paid as if you had a five year membership, so that they get paid sooner rather than later.
Can I share the music I download?
We expect that you will want to share some of the great music you find with your friends, and that's great!
However, please don't give a friend more than one album from your download membership per month, as we would like to strike a balance between helping you tell your friends about Magnatune, and having your friends sign up with their own membership. Use your own judgement.
Please do not put your downloads on a peer-to-peer network such as Limewire.
Are there any desktop programs for using Magnatune download membership?
Not yet, but this summer the open source program Amarok will come out with version 2, that has extensive support for Magnatune streaming and download membership, is free, and will run on Windows, Linux and Mac.
The Linux program Rhythmbox supports Magnatune very well, but only the free version of the Magnatune streams: it does not have any membership support.
The free music player Songbird supports Magnatune through a plugin, but only the free version: it does not have any membership support. The Magnatune plugin is available via the Songbird plugin menu choice as well as at http://addons.songbirdnest.com/extensions/detail/226
How much of a discount do I get if I get a one year membership?
If you paid quarterly for your download membership, you would pay $216. If you pay one year in advance, you pay $192, a savings of $24, which is equal to an 11% discount.
What is the lifetime membership?
This is a one time fee which lets you use the download membership forever.
Can I share my membership with others?
Sorry, but only one person may use your download membership. We may cancel your membership if we find many people using it at the same time.
Can I keep the mp3s I download if I cancel my membership?
Yes, you may keep the MP3s you download forever, even if you cancel your membership.
