How to Download Free Music

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.

Step 1: Figure Out What You Want To Download

1. Make a list of artists you may want to listen to.
2. 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.
3. 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:

• Indie: Stereogum | Gorilla vs. Bear | You Ain't No Picasso | Brooklyn Vegan | I Guess I'm Floating
• Pop/Rock: My Old Kentucky Blog | Aquarium Drunkard | Emo Freak's Delight | I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
• Hip Hop/Soul: So Much Silence | Soul Sides | Hip Hop Ruckus | The Rap Up | Biff Hop
• Electronica/Dance: Digital Eargasm | Discobelle | Acid Girls | Missing Toof

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

1. Go to the Music Blog aggregator The Hype-Machine.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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)

1. Go to the web site SeeqPod
2. Type in the name of an artist or song into the search box.
3. Click the "Search" button if you want to search for that exact artist.
4. Click the "Discover" button if you want to search for music that is similar to that artist.
5. Browse through the results of your search and choose a song you want to listen to.
6. 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.
7. Continue to add songs into the audio player in order to create a custom playlist.
8. In order to save your playlist, create an account by completing the free sign-up process.

How to Find Music Using Elbo.ws

1. Go to the Music Blog aggregator Elbo.ws
2. Type the name of an artist or song into the "Keyword" search box.
3. Look through the list of artist matches and click on the one that best matches your search. This will bring up a list of blog posts that mention your search term.
4. At the top of your search results, click on the heading "Tracks". This will bring up a list of only those tracks that match your search term.
5. Find one that interests you and click on the listing in order to view the blog post and download the song.

How to Find Music Using del.icio.us

1. Go to the Social Bookmarking site del.icio.us
2. Create a custom search by typing http://del.icio.us/tag/system:filetype:mp3 into the URL box. This will bring up a list of all of the MP3s on del.icio.us.
3. In order to search for music from a specific artist, add "+ArtistName" to the end of the URL. (i.e. http://del.icio.us/tag/system:filetype:mp3+Radiohead)
4. Search through the results and click on a link in order to play the track.
5. Right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As" in order to download the file.

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Step 3: Use Google To Find Free Music Downloads

1. By typing a specific string into the Google search box, you can access open indexes of music that are available for download. For instance:
2. Typing in: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3 will bring up a list of MP3 directories
3. While typing in: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3 "White Stripes" will bring up directories that contain songs by The White Stripes.
4. Copy and paste the string above into Google, while replacing "White Stripes" with another artist.
5. Browse the directory results for MP3s you want to download.

Step 4: Search Retail MP3 Sites For Free Samples

1. Record Companies will often upload sample tracks or audio clips onto MP3 sites in order to generate interest in a band and give people a sample of their sound.
2. Open up the iTunes Music Store. If you don't have it already, download it here.
3. Go to the section labeled "FREE ON iTunes" and browse through the list of available tracks. Check back on a regular basis to find new free downloads.
4. Some other legitimate sites that offer free MP3s include PureVolume, GarageBand and SoundClick

Step 5: Check an Artist's Official Site and MySpace Page

1. Go to the official site for the artist you are interested in. Many artists will have an MP3/Audio/Multimedia section that offers free samples of their work. Some may require you to register, while others may only be available for listening.
2. Go to MySpace Music and find the artist's official MySpace page (if they have one). Some bands will allow fans to download a song or two directly off their MySpace page. Look for the "Download" button underneath each song. If the button is in bold, then the song is downloadable. (Note: Unsigned bands are more likely to offer free downloads on MySpace than established artists)

Finding Music With Bit-Torrent

• Bit-Torrent file sharing protocol allows multiple Internet users to download and distribute large amounts of data at the same time.

Choosing a Bit-Torrent Client

1. To use Bit-Torrent, you must first download a Bit-Torrent client
2. There are a wide variety of Bit-Torrent clients.

• • The Official Bit-Torrent client from the protocol's designers
  • Azureus
  • Torrent Swapper
  • Burst! (PC Only)
  • Tomato Torrent

Using Your Bit-Torrent Client

1. Download and install your chosen client
2. Leave the program open on your desktop when downloading music

Finding and Downloading Songs

• Now that you're ready to download torrents, it's time to start looking for them on the Web

•   Beware of "honeypots"
• Some sites have been set up to trap users looking for torrents
• TorrentSpy has been ordered to track and log all of its visitor activity

1. Visit The Pirate Bay, the largest and most trusted torrent "tracker"
2. Click on "Browse Torrents"
3. Click on "Audio"
4. You will now see a list of the most recently updated torrents in Pirate Bay's system
5. The column marked "Size" indicates the size of the file
6. The column marked "SE" indicates the number of users currently "seeding" this file (See Step #12)
   

   Figure 4: Torrent browsing on Pirate Bay
7. To download, click the name of the file you wish to access
8. You will see an information page giving a quick rundown about the file
9. Click "Download This Torrent"
10. Your Bit-Torrent client will pop up on screen and begin the download
11. Most clients include a "% Downloaded" so you can watch your file's progress
12. Once your download is complete, it is considered polite to continue to "seed" the file for other users

• Seeding: Continuing to upload the file to other users even after you have finished with your download
  • Generally, the more users are seeding a file, the faster it will download to your computer

Other Torrent Trackers

• • Mininova
  • Bit Torrent Monster

Peer-to-Peer Downloads

• Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks allow individuals to share files with several participants at once
• There are several different operational peer-to-peer networks, each with multiple applications, or clients, allowing access

Choosing a Peer-to-Peer Network and Client

1. The largest P2P networks are Gnutella, ED2K and Soulseek

• Popular Gnutella clients:
  • Lime Wire
  • Acquisition (Mac Only)
  • Morpheus (PC Only)
• Popular ED2K client:
  • eMule (PC Only)
• Popular Soulseek clients:
  • Official Soulseek Client (PC Only)
  • SoulseeX (Mac Only)

Getting Started

1. Download and install a P2P client
2. Go to the System Preferences or Options
3. Designate a "shared" folder on your hard drive. Content from this folder will be made available to other users on your P2P network, so be sure that there's nothing there that you wish to keep private

Getting Past a Firewall

• If you're using a Wireless Router to connect to the Internet, chances are it comes with a Firewall installed

• Firewalls will sometimes block your computer's access to peer-to-peer file sharing networks

1. Go to the "options" or "preferences" menu in your P2P client and look for the "port" or "listening port" setting
2. You'll need to know which port the client will be using in order to set up your router (Ports are usually three-to-five digit numbers)
3. Log on to the router from your computer
4. Instructions for most routers can be found here at PortForward
5. Look for the headings Application or Configuration in your router's menu and click
6. Enter in the same port number from your P2P client and, if possible, enter in the name of your P2P client so you'll remember why you left open this port later
   

   Figure 5: Port Forwarding on a Linksys Router
7. Click "save"
8. Your router should now be set to allow for P2P downloads

Downloading Over a Peer-to-Peer Network

1. Search for new music
   

   Figure 6: Using Soulseek to Find New Music
2. When you see a song you want to download, just double click, and it will usually begin downloading or queueing automatically
3. If many users are attempting to access one set of files at the same time, an online queue automatically forms, and downloads will start on a first-come first-served basis
4. Monitor your queued or pending downloads as disconnections or hiccups are common
5. Most clients allow for multiple simultaneous downloads
6. Check the files you have downloaded before burning to a CD, as occasionally they will be incorrectly labeled or of low quality

Getting the Most Out of P2P Downloading

• Be specific; overly general searches can produce too many results
  • Instead of "Prince," try "Prince Purple Rain"
• Once you're downloading a song from another user, most P2P clients will give you the option to view all of their shared content. Try right-clicking on their username.
  • This will enable you to find whole albums to download rather than individual songs
  • Likewise, if you find another user with similar musical tastes to your own, it can be a great way to discover new music
• Most P2P clients have a chat option
  • Network chat rooms are a good way to find other users with similar taste, and to see who is online and what music they have to share

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Articles About Downloading Music

• Google News: Download Free Music
• The Net Tips: Music Category
• Last.fm Blog: Free the Music
• American Chronicle: Free Music Downloads For iPod

Other Free Music Resources

• Audio Search: SkreemR  
• Upload & Share Playlists: Anywhere.FM
• Independant Artist Downloads: Jamendo
• Streamlined Google MP3 search: G2P
• Independent Music Search: Ioda Promonet  
• Listen, Remix, Reuse: Creative Commons  
• Recommendations and Downloads: iLike
• Music Licensing and Downloads: Magnatune

•   WARNING: It is illegal to download copyrighted material without permission. See the RIAA's website for more information.

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