Lossless Classical Music, We Have Arrived!
Finally! DRM free, lossless classical music downloads are here! Today Passionato, an online classical music download store was launched in the UK. They are offering music from Universal Music and EMI Classics, as well as Naxos, Chandos, etc. In other words their catalog is frickin’ huge. You can download either in high quality 320kbps MP3 (like the DG store) or lossless FLAC. The latter is identical to a CD.
This means that you can instantly download and then burn an exact duplicate of what you would purchase in a store. You previous quality naysayers should now be satisfied.
Currently they have only launched in the UK, so you have to pay in pounds. Also, they seem to be a tad more popular then anticipated: the site frequently is spitting out “too many users” type messages at the moment. This means you might have to wait until late-at-night GMT before being able to explore and download stuff properly.
Despite these initial hiccups, this is great news for the classical music world.
UPDATE: it looks likes you get a whole bunch of free music just for signing up, although most of these tracks are individual movements it includes a complete performance of Saint-Saens symphony No. 3.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Great! I’ve been trying to lose a few pounds. If I succeed, maybe I can buy some Bach with them.
Oh, wait …
September 11th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
The Classical Music Diet
Available in all good bookstores now.
September 12th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Thanks for pointing this out. Looks great.
September 18th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Looks great. Unfortunately, you have to live in the UK to use it! Anyone know a way around this requirement, so I can get it to accept my credit card that has a US address attached to it?
October 13th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Dennis,
Yeah… that detail kinda sucks. This (and EU/USA passport control) is an area where I am glad to have dual nationality and bank accounts. They are apparently going to expand into the US market fairly soon though.