Greetings humans and aliens alike!
The old CD Swap was great, and I still have my discs. I'm taking TheGovernor to work with me tomorrow, f'r instance. However, it's clear that music exchange and listening in general has moved beyond disc-based operation.
In any case, I wanted to float the idea here of starting a digital music swap because exchanging music with others is a great way to find and appreciate new types of music and artists. Also, it encourages a sense of community on the site, so that's good, right?
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1) How will it work?
That's a great question. Right now, my idea is for us to simply email mp3s to each other. Gmail, for example, has a 10MB limit per email for sending files (is that still correct? i think so). A 10MB limit obviously has disadvantages -- one file per email (mostly) is the biggest. However, Gmail is free; they offer a crapload of storage; they have never seemed to care much about what I'm sending.
Of course, you don't have to use Gmail, you can use whatever email service you like, Hillary. However, I would think it would need to be able to handle at least a 10MB file. That size still allows for a decent bitrate and length of song.
2) What are the other options?
Create a playlist with YouTube links. Send the links to the videos/songs by email. Simple, efficient. The major disadvantage here is that the receiver then does not have a physical copy of the song. Yes, there are ways to get them from YT, but not everyone knows about those or wants to do that.
Another disadvantage to YT is that not all songs are there. Some groups actively remove content from the site due to copyright concerns and etc. If you want to send The Beatles or Radiohead, you may be out of luck.
3) What about torrents?
Possible, yes, but would seem to involve more work than the options above. Then there's the whole "possibly getting banned/fined by your ISP and/or sued" thing.
4) What about combining 1) and 2) then?
Fine with me, but I'd like input from other users who would like to participate in the swap.
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My main focus here is to keep the music swap simple and fun. Going digital also (almost totally) eliminates cost, so that's a positive.
Another positive is that with cost virtually eliminated, everyone can swap with everyone else instead of having to break up into smaller groups (still talking about music here -- not sex).
And if old timers like me want to turn YT links into physical copies and burn CDs, they can do so at their leisure while reminiscing about the olden days and telling everyone how much better music swapping was back then. :)
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So, please let me know what you think and if you want to participate in the new, improved Stripcreator Music E-Swap. Thanks!
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Chicken Feather Bed Bugs Bunny Hop Sing Out Side Street Walker Texas Ranger Cookie Dough Boy Wonder Years
