B L E E P

I like iTunes... I love the whole vertical integration of it - store to iMac to iPod... Sweet! However, I don't really like DRM - I like to futureproof my tunes and know that if I buy a CD I can use it on my iPod or iMac or iBook or multiple Sony music hi-fi. As a result, I tend to buy in Fopp rather than on iTunes.

However, BEEP is a great alternative to iTunes in that it only deals in non-DRM'd high bitrate MP3s rather than AAC. It's 99p per song and approx £6.99 per album. Catalog isn't as diverse as iTunes but if you like Warp, Domino, Ninjatune, Leaf etc then its the place to be for download goodies.

Bleep files have no ‘DRM’ or copy protection built in. We believe that most people like to be treated as customers and not potential criminals - DRM is easily circumvented and just puts obstacles in the way of enjoying music.

As a promo, BEEP are offering a sampler for free:

A New Year's selection of 9 tracks for 2006, free to all registered Bleep users. Contributing artists and labels incude Dexter (Clone), Jimmy Edgar (Warp), Mara Carlyle (Accidental), The National Trust (Thrill Jockey) Kero (Detroit Underground), Wisp (Sublight), Battles (Warp), Nectarine No9 (Creeping Bent) and Skeletons & The Girl Faced Boys (Ghostly).
The release is priced at zero: add to basket and checkout.
No payment details are needed, just an email address and password from new users, existing users login as normal.

If you dig leftfield tunes, check it out...