Download American Idol Songs

From LoveToKnow Music

Do you want to download American Idol songs? Given that American Idol is one of the most popular shows around, many people do. The good news is that the songs from American Idol are widely available for download, so Idol fans can always get their fix.

Download American Idol Songs – What You Need to Know

Downloading American Idol songs can be a little tricky. Finding songs released by former Idol contestants after their stint on the show or original tracks performed on the show is relatively easy, but finding downloads of Idol performances themselves can be a little bit harder. There are two reasons for that. First of all, obviously the songs were performed on TV, and unless the company formally releases them in CD/MP3 format, you’ll be left with a recording that someone made during the show broadcast and put up on a file sharing network.

Second, because the vast majority of Idol performances are cover versions, this brings another set of problems. Other people own the rights to the song, and the royalty and licensing laws that apply to the selling of recorded music are different than for performing a cover version live. That means that the company behind American Idol may have secured the proper licensing and paid the appropriate fees for a performer to sing a cover version of a song - this doesn’t mean that they have the rights to release the recording of that performance and sell it for profit.

For these reasons, many Idol song downloads are essentially bootleg versions, and most people download them from P2P file sharing networks. The Recording Industry of America announced in late 2008 their plans to stop filing lawsuits against people sharing copyrighted material via these file sharing networks, but be aware that this doesn’t mean that using these services can’t be risky. Negotiations are underway between the music industry and internet service providers to block internet access to people who access file sharing networks, and you always run a higher risk of downloading virus infected files on these networks than other downloading services. Millions of people use these networks safely and without any hassle, but you should know the risks before signing on.

Download American Idol Songs – Where to Find Them

The following sites are all great places to get American Idol downloads. Some of the sites have officially released tracks of performances by the contestants during the program, some of them have music released by the contestants after the show wrapped, and others contain a little bit of both.

iTunes – iTunes is probably the best place on the net to get a selection of American Idol related music. Fox and Apple came to an agreement in early 2008 for iTunes to have exclusive rights to carry a selection of American Idol performances and videos. There is a fee for the service, of course, but tracks are uploaded the day after broadcast, so you won’t have to wait long to get your songs.

GreenBande – This blog posts links to American Idol performance downloads.

AOL – AOL’s American Idol page offers some downloads of performances, though not everything can be found here.

As previously stated, the legal avenues for downloading Idol songs are fairly limited. But if you’re feeling inspired to hear the original versions of the songs your favorite Idol contestants cover, check out these sites:

Music on Download.com – This site has tons of free downloads and links to downloads for fee. You’ll also find artist information, videos, photos and more. This is a great place to get to know the original artists behind your favorite Idol songs!

Amazon.com – For fast, easy and cheap downloads with the click of a mouse, Amazon is hard to beat. They have just about everything you could want in their download store. You’ll need a credit card and to sign up for an account.