A music download refers to the transferring of a music file from an internet facing computer or website to a users local computer. This term emcompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copywritten material without permission or payment if required.
Legal music downloads typically involved the a purchase of a song or album available for downloading on the Internet. Downloading music first became popular with file sharing technologies such as peer-to-peer networks, with people breaking copyright laws by not paying for any of it. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claimed that this practice was damaging the music industry, and a series of law suits led to many of these networks being closed down. However, those who support such technologies argued that the music industry said the same thing about recordable tapes and CDs, and even when recorded music came out as before then artists got their money through live performance, and that the industry should embrace the advancements in technology rather than enforce prohibitions on the practice. Very little publishable academic research has been done to clarify this form of massive consumer behavior.
There is a great deal of freely available music online, which is distributed by the copyright holders for various reasons. (For instance, some university orchestras have high-quality recordings of their performances.) This fully legitimate free music is often overlooked by the popular media and is hardly a new development on the Internet. Music stores
The second phase of music downloading was the online music store, whereby songs could be downloaded at a price. In 2003, iTunes saw the popularity of legal digital downloads skyrocket. Other online websites include URGE, Napster and MSN's Music store. Ad-Supported music stores are now starting to show up such as Spiralfrog and Qtrax which don't charge for music downloads but instead, sell advertising space to pay for the music downloads. The sales of downloaded music has now surpassed the sales of 'physical copies' in some countries; this has been indicated in the UK where Crazy by Gnarls Barkley reached the top spot in the UK Singles Chart based on download sales alone[1].
Music downloads offered by artists
Some artists allow their songs to be downloaded from their websites, often as a short preview or a low quality sampling. Others have embeded services in their sites that allow purchases of their singles or albums, as demonstrated by Metallica's official website.
In addition to this and to music stores, peer-to-peer downloading programs or websites such as Limewire, Kazaa and many others are very popular. Additionally, Torrent filesharing is another common method of peer-to-peer transfers. There is much controversy relating to filesharing due to copyright restrictions that apply to recorded media. and developed by varun kumar saxena.
[apnaghar][1]----------
A song is a relatively short musical composition. All songs contain vocal parts that are accompanied with the human voice, commonly accompanied by other musical instruments (exceptions would be scat songs) and feature words (lyrics). It is typically for a solo singer, though may also be a duet, trio, or more voices (works with more than one voice to a part, however, are considered choral). The words of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "popular music songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lieder, etc.) or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc).
Colloquially, song is often used to refer any music composition, even those without vocals (though in music styles that are predominantly vocal-based, a composition without vocals is often called an instrumental). In European classical music, however, this usage is considered incorrect and "song" should only be used to describe a composition for the human vocals.
Cultural types
Art songs
Art songs are songs created for performance in their own right, or for the purposes of a European upper class, usually with piano accompaniment, although they can also have other types of accompaniment such as an orchestra or string quartet, and are always notated. Generally they have an identified author(s) and require voice training for acceptable performances. The German word for song, "Lied" (plural: "Lieder"), is used in French and English-speaking communities to refer to the serious art song, whereas in German-speaking communities the word "Kunstlied" (plural: "Kunstlieder") is used to distinguish art song from folk song ("Volkslied"). The lyrics are often written by a lyricist and the music separately by a composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form. They are often important to national identity. Art songs feature in many European cultures, including but not limited to: Russian (romansy), Dutch (lied), Italian (canzoni), French (mélodies), Scandinavian (sånger), Spanish (canciones). There are also highly regarded British and American art songs in the English language. Cultures outside of Europe may have what they consider to be a classical music tradition, such as India, and thus feature art songs.
Of the romantic music era, the art song is considered one of the most distinctive music forms developed. The accompaniment of pieces of this period is considered as an important part of the composition. The art song of this period is often a duet in which the vocalist and accompanist share in interpretive importance. The pieces were most often written to be performed in a home setting although today the works enjoy popularity as concert pieces. The emergence of poetry during this era was much of what inspired the creation of these pieces by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert and other period composers. These composers set poems in their native language. Many works were inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. An art song with a German text is often referred to as a Lied. The romantic art song was often reflective of the popular poetic notions of despair created by places, legends, nature or lost love. Some composers would interpret the poem literally and create music which imitated the music and imagery of the music. The vocal melody was created to reflect the form and emphasis of the poem. The mood of the piece would often be summarized in the closing piano section called a postlude. To reflect the stanzas of a poem, the composer could use strophic form to reuse music for each stanza. Another method would be to write new music for each stanza to create a unique form, this was through-composed form known in German as durchkomponiert. A combination of both of these techniques in a single setting was called a modified strophic form. Often romantic art songs sharing similar elements were grouped as a song cycle. (Kamien, 217–18)
Folk songs
Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every, if not all, culture(s). For more on folk songs, see Folk music.
For a list of influential songs, see:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
Other types of music
Pop Music
Music genre strictly created for commercial purposes. Often uses instruments such as drums, guitars, etc. Emcompass all popular music and crosses over genres such as rap, reggae, and rock.
External links
Songs Base - Lyrics
Lyrics songs base for free
Resources for Songwriters and Music Publishers
Cuesheet - a film and TV tip sheet
Extrem Music
Song Structure and Components
Indie 911 - Tip sheet for artists and songwriters
myHitFactory - Tip sheet for music publishers and songwriters
New On The Charts - research service and tip sheet
American Songwriter Magazine Founded in 1984, bi-monthly publication celebrating the craft and business of songwriting
Major Music Publishers
EMI Music Publishing
Warner Chappell
Sony ATV Music Publishing
Universal Music Publishing
Major Independent Music Publishers
Peer Music Publishing
Bug Music Publishing
Chrysalis Music Publishing
Kobalt Music Group
Pigfactory Music Publishing
Performing Rights Societies in the USA
BMI
ASCAP
SESAC
Mechanical Rights Societies in the USA
AMRA
Harry Fox Agency
