Do P2P Networks Offer Legal Mp3 Music Downloads?

P2p networks have been all the rage since Napster first began. After it's initial troubles with the legal departments of various music labels it finally reinvented itself and now p2p music downloads services are everywhere.

Kazaa, Limewire, Morpheus and the rest.

Firstly, what is p2p? P2p stands for peer-to-peer. That is, a service or application that allows you to share files with your peers. Essentially music download services that function like this allow me to access your music collection and download a copy of any track I like and vice versa you can download what you like from my collection.

The important thing to remember is that these are *copies* that I am downloading, not the original.

And so, the short answer as to whether p2p networks offer legal mp3 music downloads is no.

The software and networks themselves aren't illegal, but they can (and generally are) used in a manner that isn't legal.

If you decide to use a piece of software of this ilk you must be aware that you probably *are* breaking the law. Furthermore, mp3 music downloads like this aren't always what they seem.

Sometimes you can download and open a file only to discover it is a virus, trojan, worm or similar. These can seriously impact the performance of your computer and also your own personal security. Viruses and suchlike can transfer personal details from your computer to those of hackers.

If you access, for example, your bank statements online you could find that a virus is recording everything you do on your computer and that username and password you use to access your account could soon be winging it's way to a gang of criminals in a foreign country.

Definately not good.

If you are looking for legal mp3 music downloads there are quite a few choices available. Emusic, Musicmatch, Itunes and Napster to name 4 honest, legal sites that still offer great value for money but also a much better customer experience.

Of these, my own personal favourite would be Emusic as their service is so easy to use.

You start off with a free trial to see how you find it - but trust me I think you will be quickly won over by their service.

After that you pay a minimal monthly fee and for that get to download unlimited mp3 files. And, within reason, you can do what you like with these files. You can't, I'm afraid, sell them or copy them and give them away to others. But you can listen to them on your PC, or burn them onto a CD to listen to wherever you happen to be, or download them onto an mp3 player to listen when out and about.

Many of the other legal mp3 music downloads sites still offer great service but have a range of different packages and prices depending on what you want to be downloading, how often, how many and what you want to do with them once they're downloaded.

Emusic keeps it really simple so that's where I suggest you start your serch for legal mp3s but incase you want to look into the competition, here are a few other links which may be of use to you...