enjoying music online

Enjoy listening online

Music ~ Spoken Word

Radio ~ Downloads ~ Podcasts

www.lancashire.gov.uk

More than any other art or media

Music has moved online

• CD sales continue to decline• Internet speeds have improved• New services are available

It has become so much easier to download or listen online

(if you have access to the internet…)

You can listen or play music on computers and lots of

devices

The internet is the World Wide Web of information and entertainment

Which means that,

whatever your tastes or interests,

you should be able to find something you’ll like

We’d like to offerjust a few tips and suggestions

on how you can access this world of listening –

easily, cheaply and safely

We will show some examples of the services available online

Many other similar services are available

Radio

Rather than having to buy and download songs and albums,

you can listen to a lot of radio broadcasts online…and for free

The BBC, for example, now has all their channels/stations and

programmes online

Available via their Radio iPlayer

• You can listen live to the current programmes as they are broadcast

• Or ‘listen again’ to most programmes for up to 7 days

• And many programmes are also available as ‘podcasts’ (more on these later)

If you go to the websites of many other local, national or international radio stations, you’ll also find you can listen live there too

Or from some, download a podcast

There are also dedicated internet radio stations that are only available online

There are also other online ‘radio’ serviceswhich will let you listen to a continuous

selection of music based on the artists or genres you tell them you like

On most of these, it’s free to listen

But you may need to register (using a valid email address) and login to listen.

Registration is usually free and will enable you to save your preferences or share your interests with

others

Most of these websites make their money from advertising

So the music will be regularly interrupted by adverts (like normal commercial radio) or show a lot of

adverts or chances to click and buy the music you like on the screen.

Stay Safe Online

When online, if you are asked to give financial details (e.g. a credit card number):

• Only do so with a website/company you know is reputable

• Don’t give any details unless you intend to buy from them

• Beware of trial membership offers, because unless you cancel before the trial period finishes you will be immediately and automatically charged.

Downloading music

A lot of people no longer buy music they like on CD

It’s often cheaper and easier to buy online and download the music you like to your computer

In fact it’s so easy that ‘shopaholics’ should beware

You can then play on a music system, mobile device or player

Or copy onto a CD if you’ve still got a CD player

The main sites where you find and buy the music you like are now ‘household names’

like Amazon, iTunes and Play.com

But there are also specialist music sellers and even some artists or bands that will sell their music direct to you from their website.

Stay Safe Online

• Only buy from a website/company you know is reputable

• Don’t enter any personal or financial details unless you know the site you’re visiting and the computer you’re using are secure

• Use a credit card (rather than debit card), if you’ve got one (this offers some protection)

• When possible, use a service like Paypal, so you can shop without sharing your financial details

There are also sites offering free music downloads, copying or ‘file sharing’

BUT most sites offering free music downloads and ‘file sharing’ are illegal

They are stealing the music and if you download from themyou are stealing too

Under UK law, your illegal downloads can be tracked.

Some people have been prosecuted for illegally downloading.

And you can have your internet access cut off if you’re caught.

But, apart from the illegality, sites offering to give any music you like for free are

dangerous to visit

There is a very high risk of the free files offered being infected with viruses or ‘spyware’ that will try to

steal your private information from you computer

Stay Safe Online

• So, take care even searching for or visiting sites offering ‘free music downloads’

• Make sure your computer is properly protected with security software and everything is up to date

• Use a service that will tell if a site is reliable, like the free Site Advisor

This will show a site’s reputation in your search results

And warn you is you try to visit a known dodgy site

If you want to buy music online

Choose a reputable company and create an account.

You can then browse, buy and download your music easily and safely.

You’ve bought the musicso, if something goes wrong on your computer,

you can go back and download it again

Some services, like Amazon Cloud Player, also enable you to listen to any of the music you’ve

bought online anytime by just logging in.

Podcasts

• A podcast is either an audio file that you can listen to on the internet or download to a portable player such as an iPod

• They are usually episodic and regularly available, e.g. once a week

• Some are actually broadcast radio programmes• Some are created especially for the internet• Most are available for free

The BBC, for example, releases a lot of it’s programmes as podcasts

But, for copyright reasons, will remove all but excerpts of any music. News, weather and other such

‘live’ information is usually also edited out

Another example, is the Guardian newspaper

whose journalists put together a lot of ‘magazine programmes

Podcasts are easy to listen to online

Or download to listen to later on your computer or music player

You can also get free software that will let you ‘subscribe’ to your favourite podcasts

tell you when the latest one is available or even download them automatically for you

If you enjoy listening to spoken word

You can also borrow and download audio books free from our Digital Download Library

We can help you

www.lancashire.gov.uk

Enjoy listening online

You can listen online or download your podcasts on our People’s Network

computers

Our Library computers are available for free for up to two hours a day

(But don’t forget your headphones!)

Even if you can’t

Use a computer

or don’t feel confident going online

Your Library

has regular free courses and sessions to help people get the online skills they need

We start with the basics

including that all important email account that you’ll need to register for online

services

You learn at your own pace

completing a short series of online practical bitesize courses

When you’ve mastered the basics

there are more advanced courses available to suit your needs or interests

We have staff and volunteers available

to help you at any stage

We start with the basics

• How to use a keyboard and mouse• How to search and explore the internet• How to keep in touch with email• How to stay safe online

• Shopping and managing your money online• Understanding public services online• Job hunting online• Socialising online• Photos online

and you can go on to learn things like

Find a course near you…

lancashire.gov.uk/events

Through our Digital Library

you can gain access to the best online resources

You can find out more about music

from subscription sources that we’ve paid so you don’t have

our Good Web Guide

lists the best websites and online help

You can contact us

library.online@lancashire.gov.uk

www.lancashire.gov.uk

www.lancashire.gov.uk/digitallibrary