A method for compressing digital content from a source, using a
compression scheme selected from a group of available compression
schemes, storing the compressed content at a central location, and
retrieving the compressed content at a remote location. The method uses
the steps of: a) at a remote location, prompting a user for and
validating a user name and password; b) at a remote location, reading the
source and prompting a user for tracks to be compressed, the user then
identifying selected tracks; c) at a remote location, prompting a user
for a compression scheme to be used to compress the selected tracks, the
user then identifying a selected compression scheme from a group of
possible compression schemes; d) at a remote location, compressing the
selected tracks using the selected compression scheme; e) transmitting
each selected track after compression through a communications link to a
central location; f) storing each selected track in a digital content
database at a central location; and g) at a remote location, retrieving
tracks from the digital content database through a communications link to
the central location.