I've done a lot of downloading. Napster, AudioGalaxy, LimeWire, Gnutella, Shareaza, Kazaa, Morpheus, BitTorrent, Edonkey, SoulSeek and they are all pretty much given over to pr0n. For the last few years, there's been this whole Spy vs. Spy junk going on with keys and encryptions and all that. Some time ago, I gave it up, mostly. As an always listening and studying musician (I believe musicianship is 90% listening anyway), I NEED access to music.
Without getting into a discussion on ethics/morals/legality (I really don't want to talk about all that), let me say that the Rhapsody service is worth every dime.
If I host something, it's something I've already downloaded or ripped. Most of the time, I'll just reference the song title and artist, and sometimes, the actual recording session. At 13 bucks a month, I get almost all of what I need from Rhapsody. If I need something rare, I still have all that other stuff and in a pinch, I'll wade through a river of slime to find that rare recording but mostly, I'm onboard with the paid service.
Without getting into a discussion on ethics/morals/legality (I really don't want to talk about all that), let me say that the Rhapsody service is worth every dime.
If I host something, it's something I've already downloaded or ripped. Most of the time, I'll just reference the song title and artist, and sometimes, the actual recording session. At 13 bucks a month, I get almost all of what I need from Rhapsody. If I need something rare, I still have all that other stuff and in a pinch, I'll wade through a river of slime to find that rare recording but mostly, I'm onboard with the paid service.