Help

Buying

How do I buy music on PlayFi?

You can by tracks off PlayFi any time you encounter a tracklet.

To purchase it, simply click the buy button. Once you buy it, it goes into your library. For more purchasing options click the menu to the right of the buy button.

What quality do I get the music in?

On PlayFi you can buy music in the quality that you prefer. If you are an audiophile like us you probably want your music in high definition lossless formats. If you carry around a large music library of your phone or iPod you may be happy to download smaller sized mp3s.

Currently there are 4 available quality tiers that you can buy your music at:

• HD: This is high definition loseless formats. The audio files are at least 88.2k 24 bit. When you purchase HD you can download your audio in FLAC or Apple Loseless.
• CD: This is again an uncompressed audio file but at CD quality, 44.1k 16 bit.
• Portable: When you buy the portable version you can download mp3 or ogg files that use variable bit rate encoding.
• Streaming: Streaming gets you just the Cloud version of the track, which means you can listen to the song from PlayFi as many times as you like but you cannot download the track.

To purchase your music at particular tier click on the purchase menu that is to the right of the buy button on any tracklet.

You can set up a default tier in your account settings page. This will make the buy button always use that tier.

I just bought a track at the HD tier, does that mean I automatically get the CD, portable and streaming as well?

Yes. Any tier you purchase automatically entitles you to all the tiers below it. So you can buy a track at HD and have full downloading rights to the mp3 version, as well have full streaming permissions on the track. This way you don't have to waste time converting your music files.

Some tracks and albums are not offered at all the quality tiers... Why?

This is for the same reason that tracks are priced differently. The available tiers is completely determined by the artist or label selling the music, not by PlayFi. If you want to purchase a track but it is not available at the quality you like, we suggest you get in touch with your artist and give them feedback!

Why should I pay more for a higher quality release?

In short, higher quality music means a groovier, more enjoyable musical experience, and truer to what the producers of the music intended.

Files like mp3s are great because they are very small in size, and it means you can fit a lot of music on your computer or iPod. The down side is that they use LOSSY compression, which means some of the audio information is lost when the file gets compressed. If you play mp3s through your headphones on a loud train you probably won't notice a difference but if you are pumping your mp3s through a decent sound system at home, or at a party, you are probably doing the producers of the music an injustice. You may notice the bass notes to be unclear and mushy, vocals to be a bit lispy and the drums hits to be weak.

Can I upgrade from one tier to another?

Yes. Any time you purchase music at a tier, you can always upgrade it to a higher tier by going to the purchase menu, which is just to the right of the buy or download button.

The price for upgrade will be discounted so you don't ever pay more than you have to.

What are the payment methods?

You can pay with credit card or PayPal.

Does PlayFi store my credit card details?

Yes. When you choose to make a purchase with your credit card your details are securely stored on the eway payment gateway server. This way you do not need to re enter them next time you make a purchase.

Do I get receipts for my purchases?

Yes, we will email a receipt to you every time your credit card is billed. If you have opted to use PayPal as your payment method then paypal emails you a receipt for your purchases. In addition to this you can always view your entire purchase history online, on the purchase history page.

I just bought some tracks but my credit card hasn't been billed yet, why?

PlayFi will only bill you once your purchases exceed . This actually applies to both credit card and paypal payments. We do this to minimize transactions costs.

I accidentally bought a track I don't want - can I cancel the purchase?

No, PlayFi does not refund purchases. We always ask for your confirmation before putting through any purchase, even if you have your credit card details stored with us.

I just bought a track, but now I want to buy the whole album. Do I need to pay the full price for the album?

No, PlayFi cleverly discounts the album for you so that you never end up paying more than you have to. You will see the price update automatically after you have made a track purchase.