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Free Music

started by ahunter (03-11-2007, 18:13)

ahunter

03-11-2007, 18:13

Where is everyone getting music from these days?

I tend to do Piratebay.org for albums and torrentspy for random tracks. Any gems i’m missing out on? I know that Oink is in trouble and i’ve never been very good at getting invited to closed file sharing communities. can anyone invite me to HPJ?

elliott_castro

04-11-2007, 19:44

isohunt and good ole lime wire is the basis of my music collecting

PJebsen

02-01-2008, 03:26

“Free music”? I’m sorry - but this strikes me as a sick concept.

ahunter and elliott_castro: Are you ‘independently wealthy’? Meaning: Are you able to afford to give away your professional knowledge for free?

In case you have to work for a living: Why do you promote illegal websites like Piratebay and LimeWire? (Do you seriously think that your favourite musicians’ work is worth less than yours?)

My favorite website for legal downloads is EMusic.com ...

Liron

06-01-2008, 17:29

@PJebsen

I used to buy music from Emusic, but canceled my account since they were putting too many restrictions on what I could purchase within Israel. Albums which were distributed in Israeli record shops were “unavailable” in my “region” according to emusic, which made no sense.

I now buy some of my music physically (if I must spend a few additional and get the album art), but most of the music I listen to isn’t in the record stores. I sometimes buy iTunes Plus music, which have great prices and no DRM, but under NO circumstances do I purchase any albums released by major labels, unless the proceeds go to charity.

I don’t think that the practice of downloading music off the internet casually is a “sick practice”. On the contrary - everything changed since Napster entered the picture, just look at the billboard charts, which indicate that large record company superstar pop artists are loosing sales, and independent bands are gaining increased popularity. This, I believe, is largely due to the spread and viral nature of “wild west” digital distribution - the kind that doesn’t spread through emusic or itunes, the kind you don’t need a credit card for. This DOES eventually translate into sales. Just because the major record labels are losing money and selling less records doesn’t mean the indie labels are.

I support my favorite artists with my feet - I buy tickets to their shows, show up, bring my friends, and buy merchandise. I buy the albums if I like them, and 30-second previews don’t always make the cut for me.

I strongly recommend reading the following article. http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/2007/10/when-pigs-fly-death…

Liron edited this post 06-01-2008, 17:41

Liron

06-01-2008, 17:59

As for some actual free music, if you sign up for the intro.de mailing list, you get a coupon code for 3 free tracks from the german itunes store: http://www.intro.de/ixmas/

If you have an American iTunes account (get one here if you’re outside the US: http://tinyurl.com/27dx6p) you can follow this blog for itune’s periodical free tracks and TV shows: http://freeitunessongs.blogspot.com/ or click on the following link to open the US iTunes free tracks/videos page to see what’s on offer: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewRoo…

You can also get free tracks from last.fm, who offer them periodically: http://www.last.fm/music/+free/

Liron edited this post 06-01-2008, 18:07

PJebsen

06-01-2008, 19:23

@Liron Tocker: I guess I was a little cranky when I wrote my last reply … I worded it a little more strongly than I would today. ;-)

But my main point remains the same. You see, I earn my living as a journalist - meaning, I sell the copyright to my work to my employer or, when I work as a free-lancer, to my customers. I don’t want to give away my work for free (especially not without being asked), and I’m pretty sure many musicians feel the same way about their work and the coyprights they own.

(Liron, I noticed that you have a copyright notice on your website as well … ;-) )

PJebsen edited this post 06-01-2008, 19:23

Liron

06-01-2008, 21:48

@PJebsen (off topic)

My site is copyrighted Creative Commons “by-nc-nd 2.5”: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/

I have also released a few iconsets and graphics under the GPL: http://liron.de/extras/gpl.txt

I never said I had anything against copyright - copyright, however, doesn’t have to mean “under lock and key”.

You can find out more about the Creative Commons here: http://creativecommons.org and an example to Creative Commons in the music business here: http://creativecommons.org/wired

Liron edited this post 06-01-2008, 22:00

Liron

06-01-2008, 22:03

Anyhow, let’s get back to free music! We could branch off a thread concerning the music downloading debate :)

Magnatune:
http://magnatune.com
To download music from Magnatune’s catalog, choose the “Podcast” licensing option for the track you want to download.

The Hype Machine:
http://hypem.com
Listen to and download music popping up on music blogs (mainly indie).

Liron edited this post 06-01-2008, 22:18

Phil Chambers

Admin

06-01-2008, 22:40

The Piratebay isn’t illegal in Sweden… :)

aLii

Admin

06-01-2008, 23:22

Not sure if this stuff is all legally free, but you can find a bunch of interesting, out-of-print, and completely unavailable music for free on this blog:

http://fm-shades.blogspot.com/

Aleksandr Lossenko

16-01-2008, 00:06

TorrentLeech.org is where I get my stuff :)

Aleksandr Lossenko edited this post 16-01-2008, 00:07

Citadel

17-04-2008, 04:24

Hi all:

IMHO, this is all a transitional phase. Getting stuff for free diminishes it’s value to the recipient (most often unconsciously) although paying the high major label prices for sub-par compositions IS insulting. The result of the paradox is where we are now. Eventually, consumers may discover that ‘free’ isn’t really ‘free’ and the hidden cost is that the quality of music will suffer and you’ll have to spend a lot of time browsing and sampling to find the nuggets worth your listening, downloading, titling, filing and burning time - amidst all the throwaway freebies.

Look back a bit before the labels took control. It was the DJ who brought in new music - and many listeners trusted specific DJ’s recommendations. Now we have internet radio (my favorite is http://www.last.fm/) and the listener makes his own playlist (i.e. radio station) without commercials and with only the music they want to hear. They seem to be the new breed of DJ’s.

All of the old models will probably die a slow death (major label dominance, radio station playlists, live ‘pay to play’ policies, etc.) and while that takes place (with wailing and gnashing of teeth), there will be this ‘free-for’all’ willy nilly middle-space where we are now.

Eventually, it should go back to listeners ‘wanting’ to support their favorites via purchase power - because by that time, everyone will be so burnt out on the getting ‘something for nothing’ fad that will have flooded the online sites and personal players with tons of garbage - they’ll not have the time in their busy lives to find those rarities worth stealing, or rather, ‘sharing’. When they find something ‘worth the money’ they will understand it is up to them to promote it and support it - or it will go away.

Give it time, it should all work itself out and I firmly believe it could level the playing field and up-the-quality of music for decades to follow. It’s hard to see, being in the midst of it, but maybe we’re on a ‘cusp’ - at the brink of true balance…

Rejyna
Citadel ®
http://www.citadelband.com

The unabashed self-promotional blurbs follow:

Two Rockin’ Citadel ® songs are free at:
http://music.download.com/citadel/3600-8625_32-100974744….

If ya want, we’ve got some ‘Live’ freebies here:
http://www.last.fm/music/Citadel®
and more here
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Citadel

or, for some full-length songs to add to your playlists, go here:
http://www.last.fm/music/Citadel+®

or, Google ‘citadelsongs’ or ‘citadelband’ and take a few hours to sift through all the sites we’re on (now counting 500+)

or, take a risk and only a few minutes (literally) to purchase our stuff at: http://www.cdbaby.com/all/citadel
in physical (CD) form or as a download…

or, last but not least on iTunes, Napster, PayPlay, Tradebit, etc…

Our policy is to give as much stuff away for promotion as plausible - we don’t make music to get rich and famous - but we love it when someone likes our stuff enough to buy it. It’s not the money…it’s the thought that counts.

PJebsen

13-08-2008, 16:07

I just found a nice legal source of free music - We7.