Listen to Music for Free Online

Are you looking for new music? If you have internet access - the world is your oyster.  Digital music is all over the place right now, which can be both good and bad.  It’s great to have so many avenues to discover great music, but it also makes it difficult for fans and artists alike. Friends are always asking me – How do you find good music?  Like many others, I waste a lot of time on the internet trying to find musical inspiration. After all, exploring the endless possibilities the digital revolution has provided us all can be very time consuming. However, that’s part of the fun – you can get lost in an endless musical sea. So, whether you're streaming downloading or simply exploring - you're sure to find something of interest, but where do you start?

"Image courtesy of Feelart via FreeDigitalPhotos.net"

Streaming Music Services

It seems like many of the options available today overlap in some way, because there are services that offer streaming, subscription, reviews, social media and download options. It’s hard to say one service is better than another, because many of them are currently evolving and may change at any time to beat out the competition. The expansion of streaming music services has grown quite a bit in the past five years, possibly as a direct result of consumers opting for smartphones with unlimited data plans. For this very reason, people are embracing “the cloud” more and more, because it can free consumers from the constraints of backing up their entire music library onto compact discs or external hard drives. Major players are getting into the game with Google, Apple and YouTube set to launch their very own streaming subscription music services very soon. Of course, the success or failure of many of these services will depend on whether or not the licensing agreements are fair on both sides of the fence.  

Related Article: A Free-Market Fix for Music Copyrights by Jerry Brito via Reason.com

What's so great about this service?   Earbits is a streaming music service built by musicians and music lovers. No commercials, ads or subscription fees – just great independent music handpicked from around the world. So, if you want to discover the best indie music online - check out this great free music streaming service.     Related Article: Earbits' Social Currency Lets Fans Get Music While Artists Get Data by Eliot Van Buskirk via Hypebot

What's so great about this service? Did you hear the news? Billboard has added YouTube streams to their charts. According to Billboard, there’s often a direct connection between YouTube streams and top selling downloads. Who hasn’t heard of the “Harlem Shake” by Baauer and "Gangnam Style” by PSY? These two songs quickly became internet memes with a little help from parodies. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery.   UGA Men's Swim & Dive Harlem Shake   GANDALF STYLE! - Original Parody New Version! (The original parody video had over 11 million views, but Universal claimed copyright infringement).   Related Article: What’s Billboard’s No. 1? Now YouTube Has a Say by Ben Sisario via NYT

Music on Social Media

Music is very social! Well, this isn't exactly a new concept, but one well worth mentioning.  Sharing online discoveries via social media has become almost second nature that many of us probably don’t even think about it very much before we hit share.  Some services are set up to share what we’re listening to automatically – i.e., Spotify via Facebook. Yes, there's an app for all of these.

• Facebook: Many musicians now have Facebook pages, friends share music on their wall and Facebook music apps make discovering great music easy.

   

• Pinterest: Share or disover music content by exploring an abundant variety of music related content - images, video and audio clips.

   

• Soundcloud: Follow musicians, upload your own creation, stream, share and comment on what you discover.

   

• Twitter: Follow your favorite musician, music magazine or Twitter Music. When exploring the web - tweet your new discovery.

   

Music Download Services

• Amazon: There's a wide variety of free mp3 downloads available every single day and some of the selections are actually pretty good.

   

• AOL - Yes, AOL ... the “You’ve Got Mail” people are still around and every day they provide a selection of free mp3 downloads.

   

• Artist Direct: If you're looking for free music downloads by well-known and not so well-known artists, then this is where you want to go.

   

• Google Play: Every day there are several free songs available for download in mp3 format via Google Play. Users can also upload their entire music library (within reason) and enjoy the freedom of music on the go, accessible from your mobile device or through your browser.

   

• Free Music Archive:  Free Music Archive is an interactive library of legal audio downloads directed by legendary freeform radio station WFMU.

   

• MP3.com:  They have a variety of music genres, free mp3 downloads and a great blog to delight and inspire die hard music fans.

   

• Noise Trade: This service offers musicians a great way to find new fans by offering free music downloads. Fans are able to discover great music for free (or they can also provide tips - optional) and share it via email, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. They even have widgets, which is a great way to share music on websites.

   

Widget from Noise Trade:

FAQs

Is it safe?

Computer viruses are everywhere – even on legitimate websites, so be smart and invest in good Antivirus protection for your computer.

Is it legal?

A good rule of thumb - steer clear of peer-to-peer music sharing websites. These websites are notorious for Trojan viruses and copyright infringement. If you're not sure about a website's legitimacy - just don't use it.

Is it fair to the artist?

While free music downloads may seem unfair to musicians at first glance - it can often help them gain new fans. So, if you discover someone great (for free) – share it with your friends and help out a struggling musician in the process.

Related Article: Case Study: Is Free Music Worth It? by Nick Roberts via Hyperbot

THE NIELSEN COMPANY & BILLBOARD’S 2012 MUSIC INDUSTRY REPORT

Resources:

• About Digital Music (n.d.). About Digital Music. Retrieved from http://www.whymusicmatters.org/about/about-digital-music

   

• Bertucci, K. (2012, September 7). Pandora Vs Last.FM (Comparison). Retrieved from http://www.gadgetreview.com/2012/09/pandora-vs-last-fm.html

   

• Bradley, R. & Hempel, J. (2013, March 5). YouTube To Launch Music Streaming Service, Take On Spotify. Retrieved from http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/05/youtube-streaming/

   

• Breen, C. (2012, May 2). Which Music Subscription Service Should You Use? Retrieved from http://www.techhive.com/article/2000051/which-music-subscription-service-should-you-use.html

   

• Brito, J. (2013, March 8). A Free-Market Fix For Music Copyrights: It’s Time To End Compulsory Licensing. Retrieved from http://reason.com/archives/2013/03/08/compulsory-licensing-title-tk

   

• Buskirk, E. (2013, March 1). Earbits’ Social Currency Lets Fans Get Music While Artists Get Data. Retrieved from http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/02/earbits-social-currency-lets-fans-get-music-while-artists-get-data.html

   

• Cheredar, T. (2012, March 27). Streaming Music Services Are Giving The Music Industry A Huge Revenue Boost. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/27/riaa-subscriptions-revenue-increase/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_campaign=safzath

   

• Davenport, T. (2013, February 27). Industry Opinion: Is The New Billboard Chart Wrong To Count YouTube Streams? Retrieved from http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/industry_news/industry_opinion_is_the_new_billboard_chart_wrong_to_count_youtube_streams.html?no_takeover

   

• Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask. Retrieved from http://www.whymusicmatters.org/about/everything-you-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask

   

• Fisher, S. (n.d.). The Top 10 Places To Get Free Music Downloads. Retrieved from http://freebies.about.com/od/computerfreebies/tp/free-music-downloads.htm

   

• Fixmer, A. & Womack, B. (2013, February 25). Google Said Developing Subscription Music Service. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/google-said-developing-subscription-music-service.html

   

• How Does It All Work? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.whymusicmatters.org/about/how-does-it-all-work

   

• Koetsier, J. (2012, September 6). Apple To Start A Pandora-like Subscription Music Service. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/06/apple-starting-a-pandora-like-internet-based-subscription-music-service/ 

   

• Lunden, I. (2013, January 4). Download Me Maybe: U.S. Music Market Up By 3.1%, Fuelled By 1.3B Digital Sales In 2012, Says Nielsen. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/04/download-me-maybe-u-s-music-market-up-by-3-1-fuelled-by-1-3b-digital-track-sales/

   

• Music Subscription: The Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://digitalmusic.org/music-subscription-the-facts/

   

• The Nielsen Company And Billboard’s 2012 Music Industry Report. (2012, January 3). Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/118975417/THE-NIELSEN-COMPANY-BILLBOARD%E2%80%99S-2012-MUSIC-INDUSTRY-REPORT

   

• Prindle, D. (2012, November 27). Best Free And Legal Music Download Sites. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/best-free-and-legal-music-download-sites/

   

• Roberts, N. (2013, February 25). Case Study: Is Free Music Worth It? Retrieved from http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/02/case-study-is-free-music-worth-it.html

   

• Rosenblatt, B. (2012, September 17). Music Subscription Services Go Mainstream. Retrieved from http://copyrightandtechnology.com/2012/09/17/music-subscription-services-go-mainstream/

   

• Sisario, B. (2013, February 20). What’s Billboard’s No. 1? Now YouTube Has A Say. Retrieved from http://www.whymusicmatters.org/about/whats-so-great-about-digital-music