Thursday 25 August 2011

Soundscrounge 1.0

Soundscrounge 1.0


Soundscrounge is a freeware Windows application which allows the user to download audio samples, tracks and effects from some of the biggest audio publishers & distributors on the net. Soundscrounge currently rips and downloads audio from the following websites:


From the readme:



Soundscrounge

About

Soundscrounge is a Windows application designed to make downloading sample tracks and audio files from various popular websites both quick and easy!

Currently Supported

At the time of release, Soundscrounge can be used to download audio files from the following websites:

·                     http://www.soundsnap.com
·                     http://www.sfxsource.com
·                     http://www.pond5.com
·                     http://www.audiomicro.com/
·                     http://www.musicbeyond.com/
·                     http://www.soundcloud.com
·                     http://www.soundboard.com

How To Use

·                     Note: All audio files downloaded with Soundscrounge are saved to the Soundscrounge "Downloads" folder.
·                     When a file has finished downloading, a pop up message box will appear to let you know!

Downloading from Soundsnap.com

To download audio from Soundsnap, you'll need the Sound Node number. This is easily obtained by hovering your mouse over the audio samples "add sound to favourites" icon. Alternatively, the Sound Node number will sometimes appear in the page title. Once you have the Sound Node number, simply type it into the "Soundsnap Node Number" box in Soundscrounge and click Download.

An example, where the bold text represents the sample node number you'd type into Soundscrounge:

http://www.soundsnap.com/favorite_nodes/add/128983


Downloading from Sfxsource.com

To download from Sfxsource, locate the Product ID number of the sample - this can be found by visiting the sample page on the sfxsource website and checking the page title, for example, where bold text represents the Product ID number you'd type into the "SFX Source Product ID Number" in Soudscrounge:

http://www.sfxsource.com/previewframeset.cfm?Product_ID=49682

Downloading from Pond5

To download from Pond5, locate the number of your desired sample. This can usually be found by simply mousing over the sample preview player on the Pond5 website. You'll see, for example, a link which looks like this (the bold text represents the number you'd type into Soundscrounge):

http://www.pond5.com/sound-effect/210039/typewriter-bell.html

Downloading from AudioMicro

Simply copy the page URL of the sample you want to download from the AudioMicro site, for example:

http://www.audiomicro.com/reflective-memories-beauty-the-minstrel-boy-royalty-free-stock-music-409

Paste the entire link into the "Audio Micro Sound Effect URL" input box in Soundscrounge and click Download.

Downloading from Beyond Music Library

·                     Important: Make sure you manually type the Library ID number in. Pasting the ID nuber will not work, as the string needs to be parsed based on individual character input - something I didn't have time to implement a workaround for.

To download audio from the Beyond Music Library, simply locate the ID number of the track you want to download. This can be found by hovering your mouse over the track Title in the preview player or by visiting the track page on the Beyond Music Library site. For example:

http://beyond.sourceaudio.com/#details?id=132900

The above text, in bold, is an example of a Library ID sample number.

Downloading from Soundcloud.com

To download from Soundcloud, go to the actual URL of the track you want to download, for example:

http://soundcloud.com/beatles/free-as-a-bird

Copy the complete URL and paste it into Soundscrounge, then hit Download to download the mp3.

Downloading from Soundboard.com

To download from Soundboard, you'll need the complete URL containing the .aspx address of the soundboard you want to download. For example:

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/puritysounds.aspx

Copy the URL and paste the complete address into the Soundscrounge "Soundboard .aspx URL" box, then click "Download". You may need to wait a couple of seconds for Soundscrounge to list all of the samples available in the soundboard. When this is done, the list will appear in Soundscrounge. This cotains all of the audio files available based on the .aspx address you entered. To download, just click on a track in the list and click the "Download" button below.

Achtung!

Soundscrounge is not intended for uses of copyright infringement. The files downloaded by Soundscrounge can be obtained manually, Soundscrounge merely aims to quicken the process. The purpose of this application is to allow the user to download the 'preview quality' audio files which are streamed to the user, stored on the users computer or otherwise made available by various websites via the preview feature. If you really like a sound, please consider buying it - but then again, let's be honest - at the ridiculous prices some of these sites are charging, I completely understand if you can't or won't do this.





3 comments:

  1. Where is the download link?

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  2. So do you pay royalties to the producers and musicians that get ripped by this software? There is music there that is not for download otherwise there would be a download link. So you should be responsible for paying those artists royalties.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Robert

    I also sell audio samples and tracks on a few of the sites which Soundscrounge is compatible with. Not sure why I would 'pay royalties' to the artists being 'ripped' by Soundscrounge. That's a fairly bizarre statement, likely written in bitterness. The software merely automates a process than can be performed manually. From the documentation:

    "Soundscrounge is not intended for uses of copyright infringement. The files downloaded by Soundscrounge can be obtained manually, Soundscrounge merely aims to quicken the process. The purpose of this application is to allow the user to download the 'preview quality' audio files which are streamed to the user, stored on the users computer or otherwise made available by various websites via the preview feature. If you really like a sound, please consider buying it - but then again, let's be honest - at the ridiculous prices some of these sites are charging, I completely understand if you can't or won't do this."

    • Regardless of the final sentence, the initial sentence still resonates loudest: "Soundscrounge is not intended for uses of copyright infringement."

    • "The purpose of this application is to allow the user to download the 'preview quality' audio files...". ie. Soundscrounge grabs the low bit rate preview file which is usually further 'protected' with an advertising audio overlay (eg. Pond 5 audio samples contain a female voice intermittently saying the words "Pond5.com").

    • As I've said: I record, create and sell my own audio on a few of these sites. Software like this is completely harmless to providers. Greed and unfair pricing, however, can absolutely decimate sales.

    In closing, I'd imagine the software is largely defunct nowadays. It was written and released almost 2 years ago. It's likely that several, if not all of these audio sites have changed their web code and the way the audio is streamed.

    ReplyDelete