I’ve ordered a download! NOW WHAT?

The Product

SLG albums are sold as individual CDs so that they are affordable to anyone.  You can buy 1, 2 or all of the CDs in an album.

In order to sell just one CD at a time, each CD is zipped and packaged separately.  When you buy a whole album, you are, in essence, buying a set of packaged/zipped CDs.

What Happens When I Order?

You will receive two emails: an order confirmation and an email with links to download the zipped files.  Sometimes the download email goes into spam or a promotions folder because of the live links.  Never fear, go into “Order History and Product Links” in your SLG account and you can download the files from there.

How Do I Download?

Clicking on the links in the download email or in your account will prompt them to download to your device.

Finding them:

Once they are downloaded, they go into storage.  This can get tricky since devices can store them in different places.

• On phones you can check your storage in downloads or the Files App for Apple.
• On PCs, they “usually” put them in the downloads folder. A search on your PC for “downloads” can help you find that folder.

Unzipping / Extracting the Compressed Files

Once the folders are downloaded, they will need to be unzipped or “extracted.”

There are several ways to do this.  If you have never done it before and don’t want to figure it out, seek help from someone in the younger generation or try a web search for “unzipping on ___ (your device type/name)” and there will usually be a YouTube how-to video you can follow.

Below are some different ways to unzip files if you are willing to give it a go.

Unzipping on PCs

PCs typically will open the files in an extraction folder.  Clicking the extract button will unzip the files and put them where you direct them to go.

Often you can click on the file in the extraction folder to open it and then simply drag the opened folder onto your desktop and it will automatically unzip them.

You can also left click on the zipped folder and in the dropdown menu there will be a phrase like “extract all” or “un-compress files” or “unzip files” – that also works.

There are also free unzipping programs that you can download and have them unzip the files for you.  However, most modern PCs already have this function built in without adding additional software.

Unzipping on PHONES

If you are unzipping on a phone, it is a little more technical since there are so many different phone types.

• Apple: they used to use the app called iZip to unzip files, but we have been told that newer iPhones have an unzipper built into the files app system.  So, when they are downloaded and clicked, they are unzipped. Older phones may still require you to download a specific unzipping app.

• Android: May or may not have an unzipping app.  There are so many Android models that you may have to do an internet/Google search to see if your model has one or not.

• Generic Solution: there are hundreds of unzipping apps in both app stores.  So you can pick one, download it, ignore the ads and tell it to “find files”.  It will find all the zipped files, extract them, and put them into storage for you all nice and neat.

CAN I LISTEN NOW?

Now you have nice neat unzipped CD folders with all the tracks in MP3 form. Lots of tracks!

Some people choose to play the MP3s from the file folder.  This is not a very efficient way to play them since you have to click on each track.  (Did I mention that some of the CDs have LOTS of tracks?)

The best thing to do is to use a “media player” to listen.

Most PCs have one installed, some phones have one installed, but again, there are hundreds of free ones in the app stores and on the Internet.

It is best to add the MP3s to a playlist, music/audio player, media app, MP3 player or iTunes (on a desktop computer and then sync to your phone if needed).

Opening the player and clicking on something like “import” or “find audio files” or “add music files” should add all the unzipped audio to the playlist for you so you can start listening right away.

iPhone Users

If iTunes is your go to player, please note that Apple will NOT let you add the MP3s directly to iTunes on your phone.  They insist that you add them through iTunes on your computer and THEN sync to your phone.  Sorry, but there is nothing we can do about that one.

– A Workaround: download a simple music/audio player from the app store and use that to play the files on your phone to bypass iTunes.

Steps:

• Download album from your account on www.theSLG.com.
• Unzip CD files in “Files” app on mobile device (typically, tapping the zip file will automatically unzip it, but it may be different on each device).
• Open music / audio player app.
• Most of these apps have an “import” button. Please select this option and proceed to select the files you wish to import from your downloads.
• The audio files should now show in the music / audio player app.

If you really don’t want to add a player, it is possible on a desktop computer to highlight all the tracks in a folder and left click and choose “Play” or “Open” from the dropdown menu – that should play a whole cd at a time . . . but still, opening them in a media player is an easier way to listen to a whole album nonstop.

BACK TO TOP

RECAP

So, to recap:

1. Download
2. Unzip
3. Add to media/music player
4. Enjoy

We hope this helps explain the process.

Tips

Arthur’s Tip: Find a youngster and ask them to do it for you.

Denise’s Tip: Google and YouTube have lots of “how to” videos, so a search for your device name plus “how do I” can go a long way to prevent a feeling of powerlessness.  If you still feel powerless, write Denise@TheSLG.com and she will kick the powerlessness on down the road for you.