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Step by Step Guide

There are just five simple steps to download the latest music available on the internet from Tesco:

  1. Find your tracks
  2. Buy the tracks you want to own
  3. Download your recordings to your computer
  4. Play your favourite music whenever you want
  5. Transfer your recordings to your personal media player or burn to CD

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Music Downloads : A Step by Step Guide

Click here to make sure your PC is ready to download music from Tesco Digital

1. Find

I know what I'm looking for

Type the name of the album or song - making sure it's spelled correctly - into the I'm Looking For box and then click the Go button. We'll search our library of artists, albums, singles, tracks and videos to find the music downloads that you're after and then display the results. Click on the category you're interested in (Albums, Singles and so on) to see more details. If it's an album or single, click the cover or name to see the track listing. If it's an individual track from an album, you'll see it listed in the middle of the screen. You can listen to a 30 second clip of any track for free by clicking the Play button next to it.

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I want to download songs from a specific artist or band

Type their name into the I'm Looking For box and click the Go button. Again, we'll list results along the top by Artists, Albums, Singles, Tracks and Videos, but underneath you'll see the artist in their own featured panel (along with any other artists they've collaborated with). Click their name to open the Artist Profile page or any of the other links in the panel to go straight to their albums, singles, or track listings. From the Artist Profile page, use the tabs at the top to browse Albums, Singles and Tracks. Albums and Singles are displayed in a nifty carousel ordered by date of release, and you can use the arrows to scroll through them. Click on an album or single in the carousel and we'll display some more information about the release and list the tracks underneath it. You can listen to a 30 second clip of any track for free by clicking the Play button next to it.

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I like a particular kind of music

Make sure the Music tab at the top is selected and hover the cursor over the Genres menu. Click the one that you're interested in to see music in that genre. Here you'll find the Top 10 music downloads in that genre as well as new albums, singles and tracks; we've also highlighted albums that are either current favourites or all-time classics. Alternatively, mouse through the carousel for more ideas or check out our playlists - where available - to see if our taste matches yours.

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I'm looking for inspiration

Start at the Home page and check out our highlights in the centre of the screen. Click on a cover, and then flip it over to find out more about the album and artist - buy it there and then, or click on the links to explore other music by the same artist. Alternatively, click the Music tab at the top. From here you can browse New Releases where we list the pick of the latest albums and singles, our Charts, where you'll find the top 40 album and single chart downloads, and explore 15 different musical genres from Blues to World Music. Alternatively, click the News tab to read the latest top music stories. Because of the way the site is designed, you'll find plenty of opportunities to wander off the beaten track in search of something to get your musical mojo going.

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2. Buy

I want to choose an album

Good. Just click the Get Album button. If it's available in both MP3 and WMA versions, choose which one you want. (Remember that MP3 files will play on anything, while WMA files won't play on iPods, or really cheap - or really old - music players. If you're still not sure, click the Help me choose link). Once you've decided, click the Buy button to add the album download to your Shopping Basket.

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I want to choose a song

Great. Each song has a Buy Track button next to it. Click this to add it to your Shopping Basket. (Note that because of licensing agreements, some tracks can't be purchased individually - you have to buy the whole album; what the hey, it's still cheaper than the high street). Remember that tracks may be available in both WMA and MP3 formats, so make sure you choose the right one.

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I want to choose several songs from different albums

That's fine. Mosey around to your heart's content; just add songs to your basket as you go.

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I want to download songs or an album, but not right now

Just click the Save for later button and it'll be added to your Saved Items list. Move these into your Shopping Basket if you decide to buy them, or remove them completely if you change your mind.

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I want to re-arrange what's in my basket

OK. If you've changed your mind and want to remove an item from the basket, just click in the empty box next to the item to put a tick there, and then open the drop down list in the same panel and either remove the selected items, or move them into the Saved Items list. Then click the Go button. Similarly, select any item in Saved Items and then open the drop down list there and choose whether to put it into the Shopping Basket or remove it completely. Then click the Go button.

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I want to pay for what's in my basket

Right this way. Once you've sorted out the music downloads in your basket, click the Checkout button. If you're an existing customer, you can log in with your email address and password. If you're a first timer, you'll need to register.

  1. If you're not already registered with us, type your e-mail address into the bottom box and click Continue. When the next page appears, fill in the form moving between the boxes by clicking there with the mouse. Be sure to fill in all the details. Remember that passwords need to be at least six characters long and should always include at least one capital letter. When you're done, click Continue.
  2. If you're already registered, type in your e-mail address and password into the empty boxes at the top and click the Log in button.
  3. At the next screen, enter a discount code if you have one (if you don't, just ignore it) and click Continue.
  4. At the next page you can click the Pay by Credit/Debit Card button if you're an existing customer. (note that we only accept UK credit or debit cards).
  5. New customers should fill in their payment details in the form below, using a UK credit or debit card. This is completely safe and we'll look after your details as if they were our own. If this is the card you'll normally use to shop with us, click in the empty box next to Save this as my default Credit/Debit card to put a tick there. Click Continue when you've finished.
  6. At the next screen, check everything's OK. If it isn't, you can return to any of the previous screens by clicking the relevant heading (you can see them, concertina'd above the Confirm Order screen in front of you). Remember to add your Clubcard number - purchases are worth points - and then click the Terms and Conditions link. Give them the once-over (there's no funny stuff, we promise) and then close the box by clicking the little 'x'. Back at the Confirm Order screen, tick the empty box to accept the Terms and Conditions and then click the Confirm Order button.
  7. Once your payment has been accepted, your card issuer may make a further security check. That's fine. Just let it do its stuff and you'll be ready to get your purchases in a jiffy.

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3. Download

I'm ready to download my purchases

First we'll check to see if you've got the Tesco Download Manager - this is a little free program that makes it easy to manage your purchases (and even re-download tracks that get lost or damaged).

If you haven't got the Tesco Download Manager:

  1. Click the Install Tesco Download Manager button (or download it here). You may see a security warning. This is nothing to worry about.
  2. Click the Run button
  3. You may see another security warning. Again this is nothing to worry about, it's just your PC being over-protective.
  4. Click the Run button again
  5. Read the license agreement and click the I Agree button
  6. After a moment, the Tesco Download Manager will be copied to your PC
  7. Click the Finish button.
  8. Click the Continue button and then proceed to the next section

If you have got the Tesco Download Manager:

  1. Click the Launch Tesco Download Manager button.
  2. The program loads and begins downloading your purchases - as each one is copied to your PC it'll be flagged as 'Completed'
  3. Once everything's been downloaded, you can double check they've arrived safely by clicking the My Music button or play any of your purchases there and then by clicking the Play button - they'll load and play in the program of your choice - Windows Media Player unless you've specified otherwise.
  4. What do the other buttons do? Help takes you to our help pages while Clear tidies up Download Manager ready for your next shopping trip.
  5. Close Download Manager by clicking the 'x' in the top right corner
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Something went wrong. One of my purchases has been lost or damaged either when I was downloading it or afterwards; I either can't find it or I can't play it

  1. No problem. One of the reasons we ask you to set up an account with us is so we can track your purchases in case something goes wrong.
  2. Just go back to the Tesco Entertainment site, click on the My Account link at the top and sign in if you need to.
  3. See the side panel on the left? Click the View Order History link.
  4. The next screen displays a summary of the all items you've ever bought from us arranged a bit like a bank statement. Use the page numbers at the top to display older or newer orders and when you've found the one you want, click on its order number to open the Order Details page.
  5. Scroll down until you see the item you want to download again. Notice that each item is assigned a number of licenses, which indicate the number of times it can be downloaded again. When this number hits zero all your licenses are used up and you'll have to buy the track again.
  6. Click the Download button. After a moment, the Download Manager will get the item again and download it to your PC.
  7. The next time you visit the Order Details page, you'll see that you've used up one of your licenses by re-downloading the track.
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4. Play


Before you do anything else, we'd recommend you make sure you've got the latest version of Windows Media Player - it's version 11. Click here for instructions.

I want to play my music downloads

  1. Click on the Windows Start button, then choose All Programs and select Windows Media Player from the menu. The program keeps an eye on your My Music or Music folders (the name changes depending on whether you're using XP or Vista) finds any digital music that's there and adds it to your music library.
  2. When you first buy a music track from us, we create a Tesco folder inside the My Music/Music folders, so Media Player can find your purchases. To add the items you've just bought, click the big Library button and choose Add to Library. (What follows is a bit of a pain but you only have to do it once, after which Media Player keeps an eye out and adds new purchases automatically).
  3. When the dialogue box opens, click the Advanced Options button
  4. Next, click the Add button
  5. If you're using Windows XP, click the My Documents folder, then click the My Music folder, scroll down and click the Tesco folder and then click OK
  6. If you're using Windows Vista, click the Main User folder, then click the Music folder, scroll down and click the Tesco folder and then click OK
  7. Finally, back at the Add to Library dialogue box, click the OK button to finish
  8. Media Player will then add any songs in the Tesco music folder to its library
  9. When it's finished, click the Close button
  10. Use one of the categories on the left to display the contents by Artist, Album, Song, Genre and so on.
  11. Find your purchases in Windows Media Player, click on them and then click the Play button.

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How do Media Player's controls work?

  1. Pretty much like a CD player. Click the big Play button to play an album, a track or a playlist (see below) and then click the Pause button to temporarily stop playback.
  2. The arrows either side of the Play button skip back and forward one track at a time
  3. The button with the crossed arrows will 'shuffle' what's currently playing into random order, the circling arrow button repeats whatever is being played.
  4. For more information, just load Media Player and press the F1 to open the program's Help file.

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I want to make a compilation

  1. Windows Media Player calls these playlists. To start, make sure you've got some music in the library and then click the Create Playlist link at the top of the left hand column in the player window.
  2. Type in a name for the playlist and press Return. Media Player creates an empty playlist on the right of the program window and all you have to do is scroll through the library, find the tracks, albums or artists you want to add (use the categories on the left of the player window to choose which way you want to the library to display) and then drag them over to the playlist with the mouse and drop them there.
  3. Add as many tracks as you like and when you've finished, click the Save Playlist button.
  4. To listen to your compilation, find it in the playlists on the left hand side of the player window and double click to load it into the main window.

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5. Go

I want to make a CD to play in the car

  1. To create a CD, load Windows Media Player, pop a blank recordable CD in the drive and click the big Burn button on the toolbar. This creates an empty 'Burn List' on the right of the screen.
  2. Drag tracks, albums or playlists (see above) into this list to create your compilation.
  3. Keep an eye on how full the disc is getting by watching the little gauge at the top (CDs created like this hold about 80 minutes of music) and order the tracks how you like by dragging them around with the mouse.
  4. When you're done, click the Start Burn button at the bottom of the Burn List window. Make coffee while Media Player does its stuff.
  5. When it's finished, the CD will eject, ready to play.

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I want to add CDs I already own to my music library on the PC

  1. Pop your music CD into the drive.
  2. Depending on how your copy of Windows is set up, you may see a little dialogue box offering to rip the audio CD using Media Player. Click Yes and the process starts automatically.
  3. If you don't see the dialogue box, load Media Player and it will recognise the audio CD and - if you're connected to the Internet - find both the track listing and the cover artwork and display them in the main window.
  4. Click the Rip button at the top, make sure there are ticks beside each of the tracks you want to copy to your PC and then click the Start Rip button. Media Player does the rest.
  5. When it's finished, click the Library button and then click the Album or Artist category in the list on the left to locate your newly ripped CD. In this way you can combine the CDs you already own with new song and album downloads from Tesco Digital to create a complete digital music library.

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I want to copy music to a portable music player

  1. Sure. Some players come with their own software for ripping and burning CDs as well as organsing your music library. They'll come with instructions that explain what to do.
  2. For those that don't, many act just like USB keys - the little chewing gum-sized disks that plug into a home PC and are taking the place of floppy disks for transferring files. That means when you plug them in, they open a window and you can just navigate to your music folder and drag and drop songs onto them however you like. Populating your music player like this is easy but you may not be able to control the order the tracks play back in.

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I want to put music onto my iPod

  1. First, only MP3 songs from Tesco Digital are compatible with your iPod - if you buy WMA songs, they won't work.
  2. Next, you have to get your music into iTunes first. This is the software designed by Apple to get songs on and off your iPod.
  3. To add a single song to iTunes, go to the File menu and choose Add File to Library. When the dialogue box opens, double click the My Music folder (or Music folder if you're using Windows Vista) and then double click on the Tesco folder inside that. Find the song, select it and then click the Open button.
  4. To add a number of songs (or a whole album) click File, choose Add Folder to Library, navigate to the Tesco folder and then select the folder that contains the music you want to add. Click OK to add the songs to the library.
  5. Occasionally, songs or albums will be added without the album artwork. Just right click on the song in the main window and choose Get Album Artwork to add it.

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I want to synch my music library with a portable player like you can with an iPod and iTunes

If you bought your portable music player within the last 12 months, there's a very good chance that it'll sync with the songs you've stored on your PC using Windows Media Player just fine, though the process varies slightly depending on how much music your player can store. Really big ones can sync entire libraries so both the PC and the player always have all your songs. If you have a smaller player you can either choose the albums, songs and playlists you want to synchronise yourself or have Media Player's Shuffle feature pick them for you. The first time you connect your player, you'll be taken through a simple, one-time set up process. For more information, open Windows Media Player, click the Sync button and choose Help with Sync.

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FAQ

These are the big frequently asked questions customers want to know about downloading media: