The large majority of my music on the web comes from recordings that were first transferred to a regular cassette, and then re-digitized to mp3.

But, what's the logic in doing it like this? Even if someone managed to make an unauthorized copy of my music, he or she is not getting the best sound.

However, you may not need to do this if you have a MySpace.com page (MS) because of the way their player degrades the quality of the mp3. The conversion by MySpace.com artists’ player is notoriously bad.

IMO, MySpace.com has one of the worst Mp3 quality sounds on the web. Their bit rate is very low and my guess is that the specs are between 64 and 96 Kbps and a sampling rate at 22.05 kHz (Stereo). It's a real shame.

The MySpace/SNOCAP store is a separate sound conversion system designed to digitally distribute your music downloads and thus, superior.

But, for a more decent mp3 sound (for free), you should open up a free account with Isound.com. Their Mp3 player specs are higher and it shows. You can also embed this player on your MS page if you like.

There are other online services that offer players so you can sell your music. Most of them have a good sound and are only clips. But, if you offer entire recordings for people to listen free (like me), the Isound.com player could be a good compromise.

Now, I have modified on some of my mixes the eq. This means only my CD masters are a perfect sound (or, as good as they can be). This is in case I need to identify and track down the location where the mix was copied.

If you make all your mixes a bit brighter for MS, then you’ll know, if you heard your music somewhere else, that such degraded but bright sound came from My Space. This eq modifications should be done only to the mp3 coming from your mastered mixes.

If you don’t want your music taken period, you need to make things more difficult for pirates and free downloaders:

-Only offer clips that are no longer than 1 minute or about 25% of the music, whichever is less.

-MS users, since MySpace has a very degraded sound, chances are no one will want to copy you.

-Submit only to radio stations (online or by mail).

- Don’t make it available for review, period.

These tips will not stop anyone from taking music from the internet, but at least you still own the best sound if you want to sell it on CD or in digital distribution.

Another option is to decrease the size at the cost of the stereo image. Mono files sound sometimes good enough to show as previews and reduce the size of your file.

OK, so now you understand why the quality of the mixes varies so much. I love sharing my music with the world, but I am not ready to give away all the hard work that went in the studio.