Where to buy actual .mp3s

[Flying Mullet]

Is there anywhere online where you can buy a song in the actual .mp3 format? I can't find anywhere that lets you download the song in actual .mp3 format. I know I can burn the music to a cd and rip it back off in .mp3 format, convert the song once I download it, yada yada yada... But it would make my life so much easier if I could buy the actual .mp3.

<b>And don't bother posting if you're going to give some crap response about pirating the songs. I loathe people who steal music and try to justify by saying the record companies already make so much money. I'll just find you and kick your teeth in before I beat you within an inch of your life.</b>

[Shoeberto]

There used to be (might still be, even) Russian MP3 download sites that allowed you to download unDRMed MP3s for a very low price - something about Russian label laws or something; I remember them coming under a fire a while ago for something or other, but they were really popular all around for offering MP3s at relatively cheap prices as opposed to something like iTunes which, while still pretty cheap, is DRMed out the wazoo and in their proprietary format.

[Roto13]

<b>And don't bother posting if you're going to give some crap response about pirating the songs. I loathe people who steal music and try to justify by saying the record companies already make so much money. I'll just find you and kick your teeth in before I beat you within an inch of your life.</b>

I don't try to justify it. :P

[Dr Unne]

If you are concerned about the legality of things, be aware that some places which sell MP3s are of questionable legality themselves. http://www.allofmp3.com/ is the Russian site in question, and they are being sued in various countries. ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5140788.stm )

Buying the CD and ripping it is probably often cheaper than buying a whole album worth of MP3s, depending where you get it. And it's more reliable, in that you can re-rip the CD if you delete your file. And it's the most assuredly legal way of doing it. And you can pick any format you want on top of MP3. And a CD isn't lossy-encoded, so you're getting your money's worth in that regard. And it should only take 10 or 15 minutes to rip the whole CD; there are plenty of programs that can do it in one or two clicks. If I was ever going to buy music (which I'm not) I'd buy the CD. I would be initially doubtful any place exists which legally sells mainstream music in DRM-less formats.

[Killy]

Aternatively, buy the song in DRM-format (the one you dislike the less) and then download it free on some Mp3 sharing program/whatever.

[rubah]

I think using something to remove DRM from songs bought from itunes or somewhere would be about as legal as your suggestion :p

(it does work pretty well though)