DIGITAL MUSIC 101

Buying CDs has become a thing of the past. Caitlin Gordon asks if digital downloads are the way to go.

Type "download music" into Google and hundreds of sites pop up, advertising free downloads. This might seem great but it may not be. Many free download sites are illegal and don't pass the profits along to the singers, musicians and composers.

How can bands continue making songs and albums if they don't get any money out of it? The answer is they can't. In a nutshell, free download sites are ruining the music industry. In a small country like New Zealand, our own bands are greatly affected. Also, lots of free download sites are riddled with viruses that can crash your computer.

That's not to say that all online download sites are illegal and make no profit for the artists. But where can you go online to download music safely and legally?

Your first stop might be the Apple iTunes store. Perfect for the iPod user, you can access the New Zealand store directly from the iTunes main screen or via www.apple.com/nz/itunes). It costs just $1.79 to download a song, or from $17 for an album. It's easy to use, has useful tabs for finding other songs you may like, is world-renowned and safe to use. You can pay by credit card, which can be dangerous via the internet, but using an application on your computer via a secure connection makes it quite a bit safer.

MUSIC ON CREDIT

If you can't find everything you want on iTunes, check out DigiRAMA (www.digirama.co.nz). It's 100 percent New Zealand owned and operated and focuses on Kiwi music, though it does have overseas artists too. The cost per download is $1.75 per song, $3.50 per music video and $17 per album. It has the official New Zealand weekly charts for finding out the most popular songs. Also, like iTunes, it has useful tabs for helping you to find music you want to download, such as a search engine, genre sorting and ‘Listeners also bought', a bit like Amazon.

You pay for the songs using a credit-based system. You purchase ‘ezi pay' cards available from New World, Pak n'Save, Paper Plus and Life Pharmacy. These cards have a certain number of credits on them and you then use those credits to buy songs on the website. This is a safe way to download, as you don't need to put your own or your parents' credit card details online. It's also a good way for parents to give their kids a budget for downloading music. The ezi pay cards can also be bought via your mobile phone - the credits are sent to your online DigiRAMA account.

Watch out, though: the credits do expire four months after your last purchase, so make sure you use them up before that.

Amplifier (www.amplifier.co.nz ) is another place to go to download Kiwi music. You can learn about New Zealand artists and music, watch video clips, listen to Kiwi songs, catch up on local music news and legally download local music. Songs are $2 each, albums are $19 and CDs (which are couriered to your house) are $29. Payment types include Visa, MasterCard, cheque and internet banking.

So remember: don't rip off musicians by illegally downloading their songs. Go for the paid option every time.

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CUTTING EDGE DOWN SOUTH

Southern Institute of Technology has just purchased a hi-tech new sound desk for its Bachelor of Audio Production students to use - the same model that Jack Johnson owns! It's an SSL AWS 900SE+ console - the first one of its kind in New Zealand - valued at around $160,000. It is used to record and produce music and it's revolutionary because it works with the analogue equipment outside the box (eg. instruments and microphones), as well as working with the digital world inside the box. The console is also compatible with many audio software programmes used within the industry. The students say they are "stoked to get the best possible experience with industry equipment".