Downloading recordings via the internet is the most revolutionary to happen to music since Thomas Edison perfected a method of putting it onto a cylinder disc over 125 years ago. The internet is the record shop of the future, and the sale of downloaded tracks will soon surpass those of physical records all over the world. It has already happened in the world’s biggest record market, the USA, where downloads outsell CD singles by about 20-1, a ratio that is increasing all the time. The media may now be full of stories of doom and loom regarding singles sales, but it won’t be long before they are reporting regular million-plus sales of downloaded tracks. The fact that, figuratively speaking, there will be a record dealer in everyone’s house must mean that future download sales will break sales records previously set by vinyl, cassette and CD singles.
For those of you who may still be download virgins and are worried about doing it for the first time, have no fear. Simply open up your favorite search engine –goggle or yahoo, for instance- and type in the name of any of the scores of sites where music can be downloaded, such as iTunes , MSN, Music Match, Music Now, MyCoke,or Napster. Once you get to the site, the actual downloading is made very simple. On your first visit you may need to fill in your personal details before you can order tracks, but on the subsequent visits you will be able to quickly get down to the business of downloading music. You will be amazed at how many tracks are available to you and how easy it is to purchase them. All you need to do is key in the track you require and the artist who performs it.