Is music and TV still available for free?

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By Luke Jovetic
Know Your Money Editor

Downloading has been a consistently hot topic in recent years, with a great deal of debate surrounding the rights and wrongs of using the internet to access music and TV programmes.

The recently announced Digital Economy Act seeks to penalise those who infringe copyright laws and could see web users who download illegally banned from surfing the internet.

The plans will not be coming into place straight away as first, Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, must draw up an industry code for web users, internet service providers and copyright holders about how illegal file-sharing is handled.

However, many people may wish to prepare for the potential changes and ensure the music and TV shows they access online are obtained legally.

How popular is downloading?

According to research from moneysupermarket.com the average Brit has almost £1,200 worth of digital downloads at home, totalling £46 billion for the UK.

With this is mind it may be wise for music lovers to ensure they are not left out of pocket if the worst happens and their mp3s are lost.

Julie Owens, head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Whether it's Beyonce or The Beatles, people don't associate the same value to an MP3 player full of music as they do to a wall full of CDs or vinyl, but it is just as - if not more - valuable in terms of money, so people need to ensure they are appropriately insured.

"Should you lose your downloaded content, some insurers will advise you to contact the site you purchased it from, however, the seller won't always agree to let you re-download your purchase so you need to check your policy covers this type of content."

TV and music available without the need for downloading

A huge range of music and TV is available on the internet for free and legally without the need for potentially time consuming downloads.

Music fans may already be aware of Spotify, a service offering access to more than eight million tracks from a variety of genres.

It states: "Because the music plays live, there's no need to wait for downloads and no big dent in your hard drive. You can listen at any time, no matter where you are."

It is available through a computer and some new mobile phones.

Those of you lucky enough to know somebody already using the service might be able to access Spotify for free with an invitation. This includes some advertising between songs but there are no limits on the amount of music listened to.

Alternatively, Spotify Premium could be an option - at £9.99 a month it offers users unlimited music with no interruption, improved sound quality and an offline mode for playlists.

TV fans might find it useful to access free services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and Channel 4's On Demand.

This allows them to watch a range of top shows from the channel, both old and new through streaming.

Download music at the lowest price

Legal downloading is increasingly falling in price and money-savvy consumers might find that http://www.tunechecker.com is a website worth looking at.

Users can type in a song or album and the site will scan nine major music download retailers to find the best available price. Easy browsing of the UK top 40 albums and singles is also available, as well as a lengthy list of free to download tracks online.

Currently the following retailers are included in the TuneChecker - iTunes, Amazon, Play, 7digital, HMV, we7, Tesco, Orange & Tunetribe.

Important Notice
This guide is intended for general information only and is not intended as, and does not constitute, any form of advice, recommendation or endorsement by us of any particular product(s) or services and you should rely on your own further research and professional advice in relation to your specific requirements and circumstances before purchasing any products or services. Use of this guide is subject to the Terms of Use of the KnowYourMoney site.