3.4 Free (and Legal) Music on the Web
MP3 files don't have copy restrictions built into them (as AAC and WMA files often do), which is why MP3 is the format of choice for trading and sharing. Thousands of Web sites offer MP3 files to download, as a quick trip to http://Google.com will tell you. Some sites offer music posted by bands and musicians who want to make their songs free to anyone who wants to listen. Other sites stockpile copyrighted works and bombard you with pop-up windows for all manner of services (including adult material).
Here are a few sites that offer free and legal MP3 files:
http://Music.download.com. The venerable http://MP3.com site was bought and sold, but a free download site from its sister company CNET is on the way. Scheduled to debut in early 2004, the site promises to provide a place for independent artists to share their music freely with once and future fans (http://music.download.com). PasteMusic. For the mere act of signing up for the Paste mailing list, you can download free full-length songs by the site's featured artists. Why are the songs free? The bands hope you'll get hooked enough to purchase the whole CD, which you can also buy here (http://www.pastemusic.com). FreeSoloPiano. If you think the sound of ivories being tickled is just the thing for your iPod, the free solo piano works available here could be a gold mine (http://www.freesolopiano.com). Vitaminic. One of Europe's major sites for new music and musicians using the Internet to promote themselves, Vitaminic hosts thousands of free MP3 files that span both the globe and the genre list (http://www.vitaminic.com). Internet Underground Music Archive. Dedicated to helping new musicians get heard, the IUMA site offers up free tracks of everything from hip hop to New Age (http://www.iuma.com). FreeKidsMusic. MP3 files aren't just for grown-ups anymore. The FreeKidsMusic site hosts scores of MP3 files just for kids and plenty of information about the artists (and albums) who make them available (http://www.freekidsmusic.com). Peoplesound. With a search engine that can find music with a similar sound to that of established rock stars, Peoplesound's MP3 collection not only includes pop music, but classical, reggae, folk, urban, jazz, and dance (http://www.peoplesound.com). Amazon.com. The once humble online bookseller now hawks everything from consumer electronics to the kitchen sink (really!), and has a collection of free MP3 files from popular artists to download. They reportedly still sell books, too (http://www.amazon.com).
NOTE
Be careful out there, Windows fans. If you're downloading any type of file from the Internet, including MP3s, make sure your computer's antivirus software is up to date. Worms, viruses, and Trojan horses could get into your computer and wreak havoc if unleashed. A firewall program is also a good idea in these days of rampant malicious code. (No Macintosh virus has ever been found in these files.)
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