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June 30, 2008 6:50 AM PDT

Get a free MP3 album from Rhapsody

by Rick Broida
(Credit: Rhapsody)

Watch out, AmazonMP3: Rhapsody just joined the DRM-free MP3 club. The music-subscription service's new MP3 store sells individual tracks for 99 cents and albums for $9.99. And if you're one of the first 100,000 folks to create an account by July 4, you can get a free album.

Strings? You do have to provide a credit card when you set up your account, and you have to install Rhapsody's MP3 Download Manager (Windows only), which can automatically add downloaded songs to your iTunes library. With that done, you'll immediately find a $10 credit in your account. (Note: You have to use it before July 4.)

As with AmazonMP3, Rhapsody's MP3s come free of copy protection, meaning you can use them with iPods and every other player on the planet. However, Rhapsody lets you preview full tracks before purchasing, whereas AmazonMP3 limits you to 30-second snippets. However, Amazon definitely has the edge in pricing, with many tracks and albums selling for $0.89 and $8.99, respectively (to say nothing of some sweet daily deals).

Of course, a free album is a free album, so hurry to Rhapsody and grab an account. You've got absolutely nothing to lose--and Brendan Benson's awesome Alternative to Love to gain. (What can I say, I'm a fan.)

Originally posted at The Cheapskate
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog.
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by Zen-Masta June 30, 2008 8:42 AM PDT
I agree, this will probably be bad for amazon. I tried amazon mp3 before and found it to be a hassle because their whole service is web based. Sometimes the links didn't load and when you tried to do it again it resulted in a double purchase I got 5 free songs cause I bought a zune from amazon but only ended up getting three because it messed up. Customer service fixed it but I didn't trust it to work after that. Client based software like yahoo (now rhapsody) and itunes is the way to go.
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by Galley June 30, 2008 4:52 PM PDT
Mac users do no need to download any software. The album downloads as a standard zip file.
Reply to this comment
by rickbroida July 2, 2008 5:43 AM PDT
I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with the selection thus far. No Raconteurs, no Iron and Wine, limited Decemberists... had a hard time finding an album I really wanted!
Reply to this comment
by marsilies July 2, 2008 1:23 PM PDT
Both of those bands are on there, as The Raconteurs and Iron & Wine.

http://mp3.rhapsody.com/theraconteurs
http://mp3.rhapsody.com/ironwine
Reply to this comment
by rickbroida July 2, 2008 2:08 PM PDT
D'oh! Should have clarified. The Raconteurs are there, but no albums are available for purchase -- only some interview thing. As for Iron & Wine, I did a search for "Iron and Wine" and found nothing. Bad search engine. Bad!
by marsilies July 2, 2008 1:27 PM PDT
Also, you don't have to install the download manager on Windows; the option to download your order as a zip file is right below the option for installing the download manager.
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