It used to be difficult, expensive, and/or near-impossible to get the song you wanted in the right key.
Pay someone to transpose it for you, or spend hours to do it yourself. That’s if you could find the song in any key in your local music store.
That’s all changed. It’s suddenly ridiculously easy to get your song in your key. The major publishers offer solo songs on download services, with push-button transposition. (Sheet Music Direct, Music Notes, etc.) All legally available so the composers make a living. You can choose from a variety of accompaniments, from Real Book-style to fully notated.
Instead of buying an entire songbook for one song (like we used to), you can buy a single song, usually for $3-$4. Easy, Legal, and Inexpensive!
Buy it in the wrong key? It’s not a bank account killer to buy it again. But consider: the first page is usually visible, so you can try it in different keys before you buy.
Attention singers: there is now no excuse for not having your song in the right key. If you bring a song in the wrong key to an audition, I now consider it a sign of your lack of diligence. That’s a big strike against you in an audition.