As of now, you cannot buy MP3s in a store on a CD. Therefore, you can either make them yourself or get them from others who have made them.

Making MP3

To make your own MP3s, you need a CD with music, a computer with a CD ROM that supports digital audio extraction (also called ripping, most CD ROMs support this), space on your hard drive, and mp3 ripping software. The process than is simply putting your CD in your computer CD drive and then running the mp3 ripping software. Each software program has its own way of letting you do this and you will need to become familiar with each program. Search rippers to get started with and use.

Getting MP3s from Others

If you don't want to make your own MP3s, you can get them from someone else. The most popular ways include using file sharing software (similar to Napster) and downloading them from someone else over the Internet. Although this method is popular, there are some risks. Most music is copyrighted and if you don't own the CD of the songs you want to acquire, you will technically be breaking the law. Also, there is the risks that downloading files over the Internet will contain viruses or other unwanted material although the majority of files will probably be safe. Other ways of getting MP3s is from free MP3 sites like EMusic or by copying files from another person's MP3 format CD that they have created.

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