Fwd: Ideal Bite: Tune Up

May 27, 2009

dailyTo: cyndikrallSent: 5/26/2009 3:31:30 A.M. Pacific Daylight TimeSubj: Ideal Bite: Tune Up

May 26, 2009

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GETTING MUSIC ONLINE

Tune Up

If 10,000 Biters download an album instead of buying the CD, we'll avert the weight of a small car in plastic production.

Does your music collection need an oil change? It does if you're still buying trunk loads of CDs, since they're made from petroleum-based plastic. But you can download almost any song you wanna hear, often for free (legally, even), making CDs pretty much obsolete. Filter that.

Rockin' the auto body shop. There's more music on the Internet than any music store could hold, plus sites such as Pandora make it easy (and free) to hear music you like anywhere there's an Internet connection. More oil for lubing. CDs are made from petroleum-based polycarbonate, and oil is a finite resource. Avoiding inflated prices. Like that sketchy mechanic who charges you up the wazoo, CDs cost more. (The average price of a CD is $18; most albums cost $10 on iTunes.) Most of us have even started extending this tip to renting our movies online and watching them via our computers (and while we like to pretend it's because we're so eco, it's really just a helluva lot easier and cheaper). Digital music sources:

Last.fm and Pandora - type in artists and/or songs, and they'll create a personalized radio station just for you. Hype Machine - site that automatically collects new songs getting buzz on music blogs across the web to keep you in the know. Imeem - a music-based social network with user-created playlists; like Facebook for music lovers. Opentape - if you have your own website, this free software makes it easy to create and share mixes with your friends. Amazon MP3, eMusic, and iTunes Tunes for Trees - download songs legally, usually for $0.99 or less. Ideal Bite iTunes Mix - tooting our own horn: Download our mix of songs by eco artists ($13). Getting rid of your CDs:

GreenDisk Technotrash Pack-IT - recycle any electronic waste in your home (up to 20 pounds) through this mail-in service ($7). Ripstyles - it'll convert your CDs, cassettes, and records to digital audio for you, and recycle the jewel cases, boxes, and sleeves ($1/CD). DIY Bite: Many nonprofits such as Goodwill will take your old CDs, DVDs, and computer games. You can also try exchanging them for cash or new media in used movie/music shops, or online.

In 2008, U.S. album sales dropped by 14% over the previous year; concert ticket sales rose by 7%.

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