How to make my music files downloadable.

[gabor]

How can I make my own songs in mp3 residing on my website downloadable for anybody?

Thanks.

[Vasili]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

You are currently using various formats that are not able to be downloaded or copied by visitors, such as Flash for Videos ....

If you were to convert whichever videos you select for general (universal) sharing to a WMV or AVI file, visitors could themselves right-click and SAVE TARGET AS to their own hard drive.

To share an MP3 file, it would have to be available as a complete, linked file (not via a player) that is distributable (not just playable), as in needing a distribution method - as in shopping cart.

If you wish to provide paid downloads, you would need to incoprporate a shopping cart script onto your Blue Voda created website, or (and the better suggestion, IMO) opt to link to a shopping cart in another directory of your account where you have loaded Soholaunch, osCommerce, ZEN, or CUBE cart via Fantastico! (in your VodaHost Account Control Panel) for free that all allow digital downloads/delivery. It could be as simple as a 1 or 2 page shopping cart .... whatever is needed to get your goods into the consumer's hands easily, right?

[Tom Finley]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Use FTP Manager to upload your mp3 files. You might want to put them in a folder named "music" or such. Then you link to them (text or image) like this: http (etc) www yoursite.com/music/songtitle1.mp3, for each song.

[gabor]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Thanks, Tom, but I meant downloading, not uploading... (That has been done, my music is safely residing in my FTP, and plays in WMA and Quicktime players - as well as an embedded flash player - on my pages. Regular mp3 format.)
What I actually mean is a file-download by a user (better yet: a file transfer from my site to his C:drive - peer-to-peer file share, like say Shareaza/Kazaa).
PG

[Tom Finley]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Right, sorry. If you post an mp3 as a text link you can inform your viewers they can down load by right clicking and choosing 'save link as" or equivalent.

(I realize that's not elegant!)

[gabor]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

That should work to some extent - but still not a formal file transfer, I'm afraid.
I'm still looking for an answer to that, especially because I'll want it to become a pay-for download at some point. And that should work on the same technical principle.
Thanks anyway!

[Vasili]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

See post #2 above.

You can set digital downloads "Free" to begin with, and later establish a price if you desire ...

[gabor]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Welcome back Vasili,

(Your post has disappeared for a while - now it has returned...)

The videos - we can leave them out now. (But thanks for the info. I'm using .swf files on a WM Player.)
And - at the moment - I didn't want to use the shopping cart method because the setup of my pages. That is, say, you're viewing a visual/music page, the music is playing and you decide that you want it - it's free. There should be a simple (?) method offering a download link on the page for that music file. In some format - I don't know.
How? (An option to the shopping-cart distribution method).
Think of Kazaa of old.

[navaldesign]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

You need a downloader script, that is, a script that will force the download instead of opening the player.

[gabor]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Thanks Navaldesign,

Any suggestion how to handle a downloader script?(What is it...?
Does it relate to the "shopping cart?)

[Vasili]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

You need a downloader script, that is, a script that will force the download instead of opening the player.

Yes ... exactly why I mentioned a 'distributable' method .... much easier for Users to deal with simply adding a full-blown, pre-written and ready-to-go feature such as a free shopping cart to install rather than wrap their heads around installing and administrating a script or series of scripts as an added element to their BV websites.

Sometimes too much technical know-how is more than overkill, it is simply unwanted.

Gabor mentions the possibility of eventual evolution to paid downloads, so why not simply start with a cart from the beginning, one that can be set for free at first and then later with a price for each???

If the "look and feel" of the cart is sooooo much of an issue, there are so many choices of templates available that already come close to what his site looks like that by the time comes to really develop his cart, his customization skills will have intersected with his overall intention and it will not be an issue!

IMO

[navaldesign]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Create a page with the download links. The links should have this format:
download.php?id=1
download.php?id=2
etc,
where 1, 2 ........ n are integer numbers each one corresonding to each of the files that you want to allow download.
Then, create a php file with this code:

Code:
<?php
error_reporting(0);
$folder = "strangefoldername"; // This is the folder where your files are, make its name rather strange like "hJ68bkG9"
$file[1]= "filename1.mp3";
$file[2]= "filename2.mp3";
$file[3]= "filename3.mp3";
// Add as many as necessary
$file_name = $file[intval($_GET['id'])];
$file_path= $folder."/".$file_name;
$file_type = filetype($file_path);
$data = file_get_contents($file_path);
$file_size = strlen($data);
header("Pragma: public");
header('Expires: '.gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s').' GMT');
header("Cache-Control: must-revalidate, post-check=0, pre-check=0");
header("Cache-Control: private",false);
header("Content-type: Application/ $file_type");
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=$file_name");
header("Content-Description: Download PHP");
header("Content-Length: $file_size");
header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary");
echo $data;
?>

Copy the code in Notepad, Save As, select File Type: All files, and save as download.php. Of course, you need to change the first lines to include the real filenames.
This code will "read" the file and output it to the browser as download.
Please note that this script will fail if the stat() function is disabled (VH usually has it enabled)
If that is the case, the script should include a second array with the MIME filetypes of the files. test and we can see

[gabor]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Thank you, Gentlemen!

So, I will accept your approach - both...

To Navaldesign: huh?...
To Vasili: your point is valid, I'll try the *%#!! shopping cart...

[navaldesign]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

What does "huh" mean ?

[Vasili]

Re: How to make my music files downloadable.

Try Soholaunch .... more 'User-Friendly' for first timers.
By the time you swap out the Header image, change the colors of the borders and lines, swap out the background with your stars image, your Soho cart will pretty much look just like your BV site.
Just follow the Tutorials and it will be easier than you think.