Downloadable items

To purchase downloadable items you must have registered with the shop. Pplace your order in exactly the same way as you would for a physical product. You will receive a notification email containing a link for your download. This link will be active for a limited period (usually 7 days) during which you can download the item up to three times (in case of connection failures).

Downloading
Files are usually downloaded to a 'Downloads' folder. If you have changed this default setting then we think you probably know what you are doing anyway and need not read on. Most of our downloadable items will be contained in a zipped archive file. To unarchive, right-click on the zip file and select unzip (or just double-click on Mac OSX). This will create a folder containing the individual, unzipped files. For audio downloads these will be MP3s - drag the unzipped MP3s in to your preferred music library application. If the zip archive contains PDFs, you may need Adobe Reader (available from www.adobe.com) to view them; on Mac OSX PDFs will open in Apple's Preview application.

MP3 Encoding
HackettsongsMP3s are encoded with the universally acclaimed LAME encoder using the highest quality settings, usually at 256kbps. We have yet to meet anybody who can reliably hear a difference between these MP3s and the original recordings.

Copy Protection
Hackettsongs MP3s are DRM-free. This means that there is no copy protection and no password or authorisation process required to listen to them. We trust you to do the right thing by the artist - please do not distribute copies of your downloads.

File Sizes and Dial-up Connections
Some downloadable items, particularly audio products, may have relatively large file sizes. Because of this, we would not recommend download purchases to customers with dial-up internet connections.

Protecting your investment
Beyond the expiry date of your download link it is your responsibility to protect your investment with whatever backup strategy suits you. We would advise that your download files exist in at least two, physically separated places - for example on your main computer AND on a backup hard-drive or CD/DVD.