At mp3.com, fans can select and download tens of thousands of complete songs in MP3 format, then use shareware mp3 players to hear "near CD quality" at virtually no cost. Real Audio versions of each song allow a preview before committing time to downloading the MP3 version.

Getting your music on mp3.com is free of charge. They have a simple, non-exclusive agreement that can be terminated by you at any time. You do need to invest the time to encode the music from your CD or demo using one of the freeware or shareware MP3 encoders that are available from the mp3.com site. The mp3.site also guides newcomers in the techniques of ripping songs from CDs, encoding the music, and uploading it to the site.

mp3.com can set up a page for you with biographical information. You might choose a handful of 'singles' from your CD as giveaways to upload, with the idea that you may drum up some additional CD sales from people who would not otherwise be exposed to your music.

Finally, consider that a large percentage of the visitors to the site are really attracted to MP3 because it's free. They are not looking to spend money, so they probably won't spend money.