It’s summertime and the weather is hot. And one of the best joys is sitting around and listening to music. Or, if you’re ambitious, doing yard work, or even going out for a run. Frankly, I’m more the sitting around type, but to each their own. Whatever you choose – music tends to make it more fun. Just please don’t blast it really loud and annoy your neighbours.
Here are some great options for finding free music online – without breaking the law.
- Freegal . Freegal contains music from the Sony catalog, and you can download up to 3 songs per week free of charge. Freegal is a service that your local library signs up for, so check out your local library Web site and see if they have a link you can use. You must access it via your local library’s link – the general link I’ve posted here will not provide access. I’ve gotten some great workout songs from here.
- Jamendo. Jamendo has been around since 2005, and offers everything from Celtic music to triphop (that’s not a typo – apparently it’s a type of music). The music here is not managed by performance rights organizations, and you can download as much as you like. The artists do retain some rights (through Free Art licences) and if you really like someone, you can donate to them.
- Free Music Archive. They describe themselves as “ an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads.” The site description suggests a variety of uses for the music available there, including pod-safe audio for podcasters, instrumental music for radio and video producers, pre-cleared samples for remix artists, and of course, new sounds for people looking for new stuff for their playlists. Its music really runs the gambit – everything from “old-time/historic” to electronic and experimental.
- Dogmazic. This site is a free music download manager based in France. The site is available in English, but a fair amount of French creeps in. Great site to check out if you’re interested in looking into more European music than North American. Or just willing to take a flyer on something – after all, it’s free!
- Internet Archive’s Audio Archive. This site has a little bit of everything. It contains over two hundred thousand free digital recordings, including concerts (such as the Grateful Dead), book and poetry readings, radio shows, and original music uploaded by their users. It also offers audio books.
Happy listening! Do you know any free music sites that I’ve missed here?
I haven’t used any of these sites, but I think I prefer the radio type websites such as pandora or shoutcast radio. Then I don’t have to spend much time searching out my favorite bands. I can just turn it on and listen whenever. The Free Music Archive does sound interesting if I were to ever make any videos to promote my blog. Which site do you use the most?
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I admit, I haven’t really looked into these options. Thought it to be quite a hassle when I could use youtube to mp3 converters, but then again, that’s stealing, isn’t it?
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I haven’t heard of any of these, awesome! I usually stream this Vancouver radio station The Peak at work for free. It’s great for local bands
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Hey MM – thanks for the other ideas for music sites. I use Freegal the most – haven’t really looked into the other ones much yet.
I really should look into that more..
Young Investor – hmmm..that’s an interesting ethical question. I guess technically it would be.
Mo – Glad you enjoyed the list. Another streamer!
What a great post. Thanks.
I honestly didn’t know about any of these sites. I am definitely going to have to check them out.
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Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I love the info you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .
. Anyhow, great blog!
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Hello, I’m new to blogging and websites in general and was wanting to know how you got the “www” included in your domain name? I see your web address, “http://mycanuckbuck.com/2012/07/how-to-find-free-music-online-legally/” has the www and my domain looks like, “http://mydomain.com”. Do you know the best way I can change this? I’m using WordPress platform.
With thanks
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