Free, Legal Music Online

Almost everyone has heard about the massive crack down on Internet music piracy that has been occurring over the past few years. Napster was taken down (although it has now returned as a pay service), other file sharing programs now require users to pay for a license and the RIAA and other similar organizations are doing their best to hunt down copyright offenders and put an end to their crime sprees. The consumers on the other hand argue that their actions hurt nobody, that there is no damage done to anyone by their not buying an album. Furthermore, they claim, MP3s allow them to sample a CD before purchasing it, thus actually helping sales.

I'm not here to argue the pros and cons. Basically it's not worth it, as neither side of the argument will ever see the opposition's point of view. What I'd like to do is take a look at the completely free and legal alternative to 'stealing' music. Those wonderfully talented musicians who are willing to put their creations online to download for free, solely for the joy of spreading their creations to the masses.

Free music is surprisingly easy to come by, even music by famous bands. Sometimes it needs to be 'streamed' from the Internet, meaning that you can only listen to a song while you're online, but with the ever-growing popularity of broadband Internet this is really no longer a problem. Sites such as MP3.com and purevolume.com provide free music by almost any band you can think of, although there is a large amount of it that has to be streamed and not downloaded. A search for 'free legal MP3 downloads' will reveal a huge number of pages to visit.

For something specific, try visiting the artist's website, or the site of their record label. These will often offer a few sample tracks to download for free. It's not quite as convenient as having access to every song that you want, but it's not a bad alternative.

But how about we forget about the mainstream for just a while and move towards the alternative? Towards the hopefuls, the talented bands that have yet to be 'noticed'. There are a huge number of these smaller bands out there that are sticking their stuff online for any and all to listen to, just so that they can be heard. These can be easier to find, because most MP3 sites will be filled with these smaller acts. A great place to start is http://www.garageband.com/ or the aforementioned http://purevolume.com

The great thing about smaller bands is that you can often find bands that come from your local area and then go and see them play live. Being able to see a favourite band live more than once a year (or lifetime) without expending huge amounts of money and time is pretty cool. Many music search engines will let you search for bands of a particular genre in a particular area, which makes it all quite easy.

A fairly major contributor to the online music scene is the remixer. These people take other tunes and redo them, often in a techno style because one person can do this competently. Chief among the tunes selected to be remixed are those old ditties that used to play through the simplest of sound chips on now aging consoles: the video game theme songs. People now go and grab the main tune line from an old favourite and fill it out, making real the work our imaginations used to do for us to turn the single tone melodies into orchestral masterpieces. A few good places to start are http://remix.kwed.org and http://remix.overclocked.org as well as a personal favourite band http://machinaesupremacy.com

I hope this has given you something to think about. It's not hard to come across illegal MP3 rips, in fact it's often hard to avoid them, but if you give the free music scene a look you may find something completely different and new that will really do it for you. With web hosts already being penalized hugely for illegal content being stored on their servers (having an entire server taken down because of one inconsiderate user is damaging and irritating beyond belief) and moves being made to charge ISPs for the content being accessed by their users, it makes more sense than ever to get out there and grab yourself an awesomely original and completely legal music collection.

Daniel Punch
http://www.m6.net
Daniel Punch is a University student gathering a large music collection to keep himself going during those long nights of 'study' (also known as 'playing video games')

---

Dont Censor the Music and Artistic Expression

Ann Powers said: "Don't censor the music and artistic... Read More

An Interview with Jon Bon Jovi ? 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Cant Be Wrong

The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept... Read More

Piano Chords and New Age Music

There are basically two ways you can compose a piece... Read More

1973 Interview with Paul McCartney - Forming Wings

July 6, 1973 Birmingham EnglandSteven: Has it been difficult for... Read More

Bluegrass Music - Alive and Well in the Appalachians

One of the Appalachian Mountain region's greatest contributions to the... Read More

Guitar Humidification

Problems with humidity can lead to heartbreak for the classical... Read More

Beauchamp Brings Diversity to Music

Everyone has a talent. For Miami, Okla.'s, Brian Beauchamp, it's... Read More

50 Cent G Unit

His lockjaw delivery makes him look as gangsta as Marlon... Read More

Composing George Winston Style

If you're a fan of New Age piano, no doubt... Read More

6 Tips for Organizing Your Music Files

If you're a digital music fan, you probably have problems... Read More

Adults Can Learn to Play the Piano Too

Are you well past puberty and have always had a... Read More

5 Sure Fire Ways to Get Radio Play for Your ?Independent? Music!

You have to find radio airplay time if you're going... Read More

The Acoustic Guitar

The steel-stringed acoustic guitar is usually credited with being developed... Read More

Reaching For The Soul Zone

Every searching artist wants to get there. It's that magical... Read More

Shut Up And Sing

What is it with these performers and their politics? Do... Read More

Micing a Kick Drum

This months tip deals with micing kick drums.You wouldn't believe... Read More

How to Get Past Creative Blocks

When I first began playing the piano and improvising, there... Read More

1959 Stratocaster Vintage Guitars

Mid 1959 Stratocaster vintage guitars have a slab rosewood fingerboard... Read More

How Has Eminem Risen to the Top?

How is it that a little white boy from Kansas... Read More

Health and Beauty Tips for Your Brass: Keep It Shiny!

Did you know that the health and beauty of your... Read More

Living Life Loud

Change is good. Just ask the millions of unsigned artists... Read More

How Any DJ Can Increase Their Gigs and Profits By This Simple Strategy

The DJ industry is very competitive. There are many DJ's... Read More

New Age Music - How Its Made

Different styles of music have different "sounds." We can all... Read More

How to Organise a Gig or a Live Music Event - the Budget

Three times in the last month I've been asked the... Read More

Suzuki Violin Vs Traditional Violin

The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way... Read More

The Bagpipe and Its History

You may have heard that bagpipes are a Scottish invention;... Read More

Play The Piano Like A Pro

Meet the 12 Major Notes:1. C (do)2. C# - Db... Read More

Sheet Music ? Violin and Other String Instruments

The violin is a bowed stringed instrument and is the... Read More

Do You Know What a Didgeridoo Is?

Do you know what a didgeridoo is? There are so... Read More

Guitar Practicing or Guitar Playing?

Just because you're holding your guitar doesn't mean that you're... Read More

Interview With Josh Epstein of Vision Music USA

Vision Music USA is a proactive and progressive music service... Read More

Shopping For Your First Drum Set

Your first drum set purchase is very exciting! You have... Read More

Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano

Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some... Read More