According to the first aspect, the present invention provides a music distribution method for downloading, in response to a request from a user, music data for one or more musical pieces included in the latest hit charts from a server storing a lot of music data, comprising the steps of determining whether music data to be downloaded from said server are already stored in a terminal of said user, and downloading, from said server to said terminal, only music data that are not stored in said terminal. According to the second aspect, the present invention provides a music distribution system comprising a server for storing a lot of music data, and means responsive to a request from a user for downloading, from said server, music data for one or more musical pieces included in the latest hit charts, wherein said downloading means including means for determining whether music data to be downloaded from said server are already stored in a terminal of said user, and means for selectively downloading, from said server to said terminal, only music data that are not stored in said terminal.