One-Click Downloading of an Entire Album From a Website

[ektia]

Like a lot of people on this forum, I have been posting MP3 files of my songs on the Internet. It's easy to do. You just upload the MP3 files to a file hosting/sharing service, and then post the files to your blog or website.

I just completed an an album of songs, so I posted all of the songs on the album to my blog. But if someone wanted to download all of the songs on the album, they would have to separately download each individual song. That can be very time-consuming and inconvenient for them.

What I'd like for someone who is visiting my blog to be able to do is to download all of the songs on my album with one click, so they wouldn't have to perform multiple downloads. Does anyone know how to do this?

[computa]

do a zipped version to download entire album

[ektia]

Originally Posted by computa

do a zipped version to download entire album

Are you saying convert all of the MP3s to a single .zip file? (I don't have much experience with .zip files.)

[travisgarrison]

Originally Posted by ektia

Are you saying convert all of the MP3s to a single .zip file? (I don't have much experience with .zip files.)

"convert" isn't exactly the right word... "encapsulate" might be more accurate. While a .zip archive usually reduces file size, it also has the added benefit of bundling together several files into a single file.

If you're on a Mac, you already have this capability built in to OSX. Copy the files you want to zip into a folder with an appropriate name. Right-click (or control-click) on the folder icon, and choose Compress "FolderName" That will give you a zip file that will unzip to give the end-user a folder identical to yours.

It's been a while since I've zipped on a Windows machine, but as memory serves you will need to install something such as WinZip to help you through this process.

[ektia]

Originally Posted by travisgarrison

It's been a while since I've zipped on a Windows machine, but as memory serves you will need to install something such as WinZip to help you through this process.

Thanks, I'll try that.

[MikeTSH]

Originally Posted by ektia

Thanks, I'll try that.

No you dont. Right click the file(s) then go Send To Compressed folder. WinRAR is another option, rar files are more efficient compression, but less people have them, and Mac and PC has zip stuff auto build into them.

[theblue1]

Second that on the zip format. Do not use Stuff-It, which is an enormous pain for Windows users.

The zip format is the closest thing we have to a lingua franca of data compression.

Unless my memory is failing, the album download of Radiohead's In Rainbows came in a zip format.

The zip data compression format does not reduce the size of a collection of mp3s in any sort of significant way, as a rule. But it also is entirely transparent: there is no further data loss.

[ektia]

Originally Posted by theblue1

Second that on the zip format. Do not use Stuff-It, which is an enormous pain for Windows users.

The zip format is the closest thing we have to a lingua franca of data compression.

Unless my memory is failing, the album download of Radiohead's In Rainbows came in a zip format.

The zip data compression format does not reduce the size of a collection of mp3s in any sort of significant way, as a rule. But it also is entirely transparent: there is no further data loss.

Blue1: No one on this forum can beat you in the "clarity of expression" department.