• Play music CDs
• Create MP3 music files from your music CDs
• Build a music library
• Enter music track information
• Listen to Internet Radio

How to play music CDs with MusicMatch.

To play a music CD in Windows XP:

1. Insert the music CD into the CD/DVD drive on your computer. The first time you insert a CD, the Audio CD dialog box opens.

2. Click Play Audio CD using mmjb, select Always do the selected action, then click OK. MusicMatch opens, the CD begins playing, and the names of the music tracks appear in the playlist area. The next time you insert an audio CD, MusicMatch plays the CD automatically.

To play a music CD in Windows 2000 and Windows 98:

1. Double-click the MusicMatch icon on your desktop. MusicMatch opens.

2. Insert the music CD into the CD/DVD drive, and then click the CD tab. The names of the music tracks appear in the playlist area.
   

3. Click Play.

Creating music files. Using the MusicMatch program, you can copy the tracks from a music CD to your computer hard disk as MP3 files. Here are some terms that you need to know before you get started:

• Bit rate is the number of bits required to store one second of music. CD quality is 128 kilobits (128,000) per second. A high bit rate gives you better sound quality but the file size is also larger.
• MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) is a standard for digitally compressing high-fidelity music into compact files without noticeably sacrificing quality. MP3 files end in the file extension .mp3.
• Ripping is the process of copying a music track from a music CD and storing it on your hard disk.

How to create (or rip) MP3 files.

1. Open MusicMatch.

2. Insert a CD into the CD/DVD drive, and then click REC.
   

3. In the Recorder window, select the tracks you want to record, and then click REC. The tracks that you selected are copied as MP3 files to the computer's hard disk drive.

Building a music library

You can add music tracks to your music library by:

• Creating MP3 files - When you create MP3 files from the tracks on your music CD, MusicMatch automatically adds these files to your music library.
• Dragging and Dropping - Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer or your desktop to the music library.
• Downloading files from the Internet. When your are connected to the Internet, MP3 files that you download are automatically added to your music library.

How to change the music library display settings.

1. Double-click the MusicMatch icon.

2. Select Options, then Settings. The Settings window opens.

3. Click the Music Library tab.
   

4. Select the categories that you want to display in the columns.

5. Click OK.

Editing track information

If you are connected to the Internet and are listening to a music CD, MusicMatch automatically downloads and displays track information from a database on the Internet called CDDB (CD Database). This database contains information on thousands of artists, albums, and track titles. After you add a CD track as an MP3 file to your music library, you can edit track information.

How to edit track information.

1. Create an MP3 file.

2. Right-click the file, then select Edit Track Tag.
   

3. Enter information such as track title, lead artist, album, genre, etc.

4. Click OK. After you enter this track information, it is displayed in the MusicMatch playlist, music library, and recorder.

Internet Radio

Using the Radio feature in MusicMatch, you can listen to Internet Radio stations. To listen to an Internet Radio station:

1. Connect to the Internet.

2. Click Radio. The Radio window opens.
   

3. Click Station Selector. A window opens that lists radio stations by music format, city, or country.
   

4. Select a radio station, then click Play. MusicMatch connects to the station.