The controversy surrounding P2P file-sharing, which enabled users to obtain music from alternative sources, has been discussed for some time; simply put it is illegal. The trouble with using such platforms is that the files you download are often substandard and detract from the original recording. If the quality of the file is poor, how can you get a good representation of the composition as the artist intended? Or at least, as they think you should hear their audio.

Songbeat is a new solution that enables to find, listen and download audio files from your desktop, all for free. It uses music search engines to locate files on the Internet so there is no access to the drives of other Songbeat users, or to yours either. You can use it to organise, label and filter music in the Songbeat library then burn your files directly to CD as well as save and record live streaming from online radio stations.

This is a new, more secure way of finding and downloading music for free but such services should be used with caution. Although this application is completely legal and downloading music is not fundamentally illegal, it is a user’s decision to discern whether or not they have the right to download a particular streamed audio track.

Note that streaming files is free but the trial only offers 25 free downloads.