How to Download Free Music
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 20:32
Introduction
Far from putting your favorite musician out of work, downloading free music can help you discover new artists and give you a better idea of which albums you actually want to go out and buy. But be wary. Just because a song is available online, doesn't mean it's legal. Try to make sure that the music you download is being offered legally by the band's record company, or the artist themselves. Here are some tips on how to find and download free music online.
Be Careful What You Download The information on this page is meant to show you ways in which you can easily find and download music that is legally available online. However, many of these methods can sometimes turn up results for illegally pirated material! Make sure to review the online piracy information posted on the official RIAA website, and be careful what you download.
Step 1: Figure Out What You Want To Download Make a list of artists you may want to listen to.
View lists of upcoming CD releases on sites like Billboard.com and Metacritic. Does your favorite artist have a new album coming out? If so, they may have some free songs available.
Listen to the radio (whether it be online, digital or terrestrial). Are there any songs that have caught your attention lately? Didn't catch the name of the band or song? Many radio stations will keep a record of recently played songs on their website.
Step 2: Search MP3 Blogs Music fans from all over the world have begun to keep logs of some of their favorite music and post MP3s for their readers to download and listen to. These are called MP3 Blogs. Here are a few of the most popular music blogs, grouped by genre:
Indie
Stereogum: Music Blog: MP3 Downloads, Videos, News, Giveaways
I Guess I'm Floating: Music, News, Music News, and Music/News of the Rock and/or Roll Variety
Gorilla vs. Bear: Homepage
You Ain't No Picasso: Homepage
Brooklyn Vegan: Homepage
Pop/Rock
My Old Kentucky Blog: Homepage
Aquarium Drunkard: MP3 Blog, Music Blog
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends: Homepage
Hip Hop/Soul
So Much Silence: Homepage
Soul Sides: Homepage
Hip Hop Ruckus: News, Music and more from Independent and Main Stream Hip Hop Artistry
The Rap Up: Homepage
Biff Hop: Biff's Hip-Hop Section
Electronica/Dance
Digital Eargasm: ++[ DIGITAL EARGASM ]++
Discobelle: Homepage
Missing Toof: Knocking Out Dentals Since 2006
Resident Advisor: RA: Music
MP3 Blog Aggregators MP3 Blog aggregators scan the most popular music blogs and filter them into a searchable MP3 database. Aggregators allow you to search for music by artist or song, as well as explore some of the most popular MP3 blogs online. Here is how to use a few of the most popular:
How to Find Music Using The Hype-Machine Go to the Music Blog aggregator The Hype-Machine.
Type the name of an artist or song into the HypeMachine search box. This will pull up a list of blog posts that match your query.
Click on the name of the song in order to view the original blog post, where you will usually find the link to the song in question.
MP3 blogs will usually only host specific MP3s for a week or two. Since The HypeMachine lists blog posts in chronological order, you will have a better chance of finding available songs at the top of the list.
If you just want to listen to the tracks on the results page, click on the button that says "Pop-up Flash Player." This will launch a stand-alone music player that will stream the available songs on the list.
How to Find Music Using SeeqPod
(Note: Although SeeqPod does not allow downloading, it is a great place to listen to new music)
Go to the web site SeeqPod
Type in the name of an artist or song into the search box.
Click the "Search" button if you want to search for that exact artist.
Click the "Discover" button if you want to search for music that is similar to that artist.
Browse through the results of your search and choose a song you want to listen to.
Run your cursor over the far-right corner of the song listing and click on the green arrow. This will add the song into the audio player and should cause it to begin playing automatically.
Continue to add songs into the audio player in order to create a custom playlist.
In order to save your playlist, create an account by completing the free sign-up process.
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