August 4, 2011

Free Music Websites

It is getting harder and harder to find free stuff on the web. But the great web authors at About.com are hard at work finding out such things for us. Below is their great list of free music websites. For many of us having the music on our music players is preferred. But many times leaving the song mix to websites like Pandora, Shoutcast, Boomer Radio, and local radio stations on the web is easier.

Top 5 Free Music Download Sites

By , About.com Guide
Sites with an extensive selection of free music downloads are the dream of any serious pop music fan. Unfortunately, legal downloading of most mainstream pop music requires purchasing the song in question. Many of the top sites offering music for purchase will offer an occasional song for free download, or you may pay a monthly subscription for a wide access to music. However, there are a number of web sites that promote lesser known pop artists or classic pop recordings by allowing free downloads of hundreds or thousands of songs. These are five of the best of these sites.

1. Jamendo

Jamendo logoCourtesy Jamendo
Jamendo opened its doors in 2005. It is based in Luxembourg but is a multilingual site accessible to users around the world. The music available is free to download and licensed through Creative Commons and Free Art licenses. Over 32,000 albums are available to download. The site incorporates tags and reviews to help find music. It also accepts donations to artists and has implemented a system to give 50% of advertising revenues to participating artists.
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www.iMesh.com

2. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive logoCourtesy Free Music Archive
The Free Music Archive was launched in April 2009. The site was launched by Jersey City radio station WFMU, but personnel from additional radio stations and labels serve as curators for the music in the archive. The site describes itself as "a social music website built around a curated library of free, legal audio." It currently hosts over 22,000 songs.  The New York State Music Fund has assisted in financing the creation of the archive. The Free Music Archive also provides the opportunity to donate directly to compensate participating artists.
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3. Dogmazic

DogmazicCourtesy Dogmazic
Dogmazic is a free music download manager based in France. It was created in 2004 and maintains a database of work by roughly 2000 artists. The site does not carry advertising.
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4. Internet Archive's Audio Archive

Internet Archive's Audio Archive logoCourtesy the Internet Archive
The Audio Archive is a sub-project of the Internet Archive, a project which aims to collect and make available archived "snapshots" of Internet content for access to researchers and the public in general. The Audio Archive is a collection that includes audio books, news broadcasts, and old time radio shows as well as music. The music collection numbers over 50,000 recordings all available for free download. Among the treasures included are live concert recordings of the Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon, and Smashing Pumpkins.
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5. CC Mixter

CC Mixter logoCourtesy CC Mixter
CC Mixter is a social music site that encourages remixing to create new musical content. A key component of that mission is making available a library of over 10,000 samples that can be freely downloaded and then used, with tools made available on the site, to create entirely new musical compositions.
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Free Music Download Sites

By , About.com Guide
Free music on the Web really does exist; as long as you're willing to listen to music other than what's on the radio and top 40 (for the most part). Here are a few places on the Web where you can find free music to share, listen to, and download onto your computer or mobile device.
  • del.icio.us system:filetype:mp3: I came across this nifty little trick a while back; you can find all the mp3 files tagged at del.icio.us this way.
  • Pandora: I was in on the beta testing of Pandora and I LOVED it. You can create as many specialized radio stations as you want on Pandora, and it will evolve to your specified changes. Right now I have a George Winston, David Wilcox, and a Mindi Smith station. Sweet!
  • Internet Archive: Audio Archive: an absolutely mammoth collection of all styles of music.
  • NPR in Concert: Full concerts by various top artists, they've got James Brown and Sinead O'Connor on there right now.
  • Earplug: Earplug is a twice-monthly email magazine dedicated to electronic music in all its incarnations. Every issue features a hand-picked selection of music news, cultural spotlights, tip sheets, CD reviews, and original features, as well as previews and reviews of important festivals and live events across the globe.
  • Amazon Free Music Downloads: All sorts of eclectic music on here, not only from independents but mainstream artists as well.
  • Soundclick: One of my most favorite sites to find some good tunes; each artist has their own page within the Soundclick network.
  • GarageBand: Again, another great place to find emerging artists, and each artist has their own web page, forums, etc.
  • JazzPromo.com: hundreds of unique independent jazz CD's here. The free stuff is all here.
  • Mutopia:All music in the Mutopia Project is free to download, print out, perform and distribute. There are now 579 pieces of music available!
  • AMClassical: free classical music mp3 downloads; a wide variety of styles available.
  • Mozart250: this site is in Danish, but you can download lots of great Mozart pieces here.

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