A Web-based service that sells copyrighted songs and albums for a fee. With Apple's iTunes being the most popular, an online music store is a legitimate music distribution organization that pays royalties to the music's copyright holders. Even Napster, which became infamous in the early 2000s for facilitating illegal copying, became a legitimate service in 2003.
Following are some of the major online music stores in alphabetical order. For music information in general, visit mp3.com. Contrast with
peer-to-peer network, which allows people to share music, whether copyrighted or not. See
music streaming service.
Major Labels
eMusic.com
iTunes.com
Napster.com
Rakuten.com
WalMart.com
Independent Artists
CDbaby.com
LiveDownloads.com
MySpace.com