Free Music

I was telling someone the other day about free content to fill up their iPod.
There's plenty of it out there if you know where to look. Here's a few places to try:

1) iTunes always has free tracks. They change them periodically. Some are good. Some are not. But hey, they're free. And it's not just music. There's often free television shows and short films as well. Just poke around. What do you have to lose?

2) archive.org
The live music archive has some great artists, both widely and slightly known
including Jack Johnson, Los Lonely Boys, & Infradig. These are bands that are known as "tape friendly". They don't tend to get upset (or litigious) if you record live shows and pass 'em around. Just beware the sound quality varies GREATLY from recording to recording.

3) Subpop Records is doing something pretty amazing. They're giving away a few unrestricted MP3 files for most of their artists. And these aren't the filler you'd expect. They're the choice tracks from some of their most well-known artists like The Shins. You like their new single, Phantom Limb? Don't buy it on iTunes. Download it for free. Other artists include Sleater-Kinney, The Postal Service, Wolf Parade, & Iron and Wine. I recommend The Great Salt Lake by Band of Horses.

4) KEXP Song of the Day podcast gives you a new song each day from some artists you'll know: Death Cab for Cutie, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and some you've never heard of. Who knows....maybe you'll find your new favorite band.

5) Even better, in my opinion, is the KEXP Live performances podcast. You get up to 40 minutes of live music from acts like Beirut, M. Ward, Jose Gonzalez, Billy Bragg, and one of my favorites, Drive-By Truckers.

6) Myspace is another place to go. Some artists, like Jason Harrod, offer free downloads of a few of their songs.

7) Finally, go to the pages of the artists themselves or their labels. Great bands like R.E.M. and Sigur Ros make free MP3s available on their sites. If you go to Anti, you can download SEVEN Tom Waits MP3s absolutely free, including three great tracks from his latest, the amazing three-disc set, Orphans.