There are many reasons the iTunes Music Store is great. To get you pumped up, here are a few:
The one hit wonder You know what I mean that group or artist who put out one great song and that's it. Before the iTunes Music Store, if you wanted to own such a song, you usually had to buy a CD with 11 less-than-good songs to get the one you wanted. Not so with the iTunes Music Store. You can buy individual songs, so you only pay for the music you want.
Try before you buy You can preview any music in the store to make sure you know as much as possible about a song before you actually buy it.
It's legal Unlike many other sources of online music, the iTunes Music Store contains only music that is legal for you to buy and download.
It's convenient Because you access the iTunes Music Store through iTunes, shopping for music is easy and convenient.
You can find the music you want You can search for specific songs or browse entire genres, artists, and more.
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Ever hear a song on a commercial or TV show you like? You can often find and buy such a song in just a few minutes.
Immediate gratification Because music is immediately downloaded to your Mac, you don't have to wait for a CD to be delivered.
It's cheap Individual songs are only $.99. When you buy a CD's worth of songs, the price gets even lower and is usually less than you would pay elsewhere. Plus, there are no shipping costs.
Music allowances You can create music accounts that enable someone to purchase music up to a certain amount per period (such as per month). This is a great way to put a cap on the amount someone spends on music in the iTunes Music Store. Because it is so fun and simple to buy music this way, it is easy to get carried away. You might even want to put yourself on a music allowance.
Gift certificates You can purchase iTunes Music Store gift certificates and send the gift of music via email to someone who uses iTunes. This is a great way to buy music for people even if you aren't sure of the music they have. They can jump into the iTunes Music Store and purchase the music they want.
Podcasts In the iTunes Music Store, you can subscribe to thousands of podcasts and download them to your iTunes Music Library and an iPod. Most of these are free.
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To learn how to subscribe to podcasts, see "Subscribing and Listening to Podcasts" on page 254.
Pick and choose Because you can buy individual songs, you can pick and choose among songs from a specific artist. Even when you like an artist, sometimes collections from that artist might have only a few songs you like. Rather than getting stuck with several you don't like, you can buy only those you do like.
