7 Great Sites for Downloading Music Legally in 2012
With so much going on currently with copyright lawsuits and illegal download, a lot of people no longer know where they can download music illegally and whether or not it’s even an option anymore. Rest assured, there are still some excellent sites on the Internet that will enable you to download free music legally without having to worry about whether or not you are breaking any laws.
Here are seven excellent sites that allow you to grab music from the Internet without paying for it and while staying on the right side of the law as well.
1. Last.fm
This is probably the best and most popular music-related social networking site that never seems to get talked about much. Last.fm keeps track of what you listen on a daily basis and displays that information for other users to see. It is also a great place to talk about artists and albums and to discover new music you might like but have never heard of before. While you can’t really download full albums for free on Last.fm most of the time – though it does happen on occasion when smaller bands offer up their full albums for free download – you can download a large variety of free mp3s that are being offered in the site’s “Free to Download” section. You will be sure to find something you like among the thousands of free songs offered.
2. Jamendo
Though not many are too familiar with it, Jamendo has been a great place to discover new music for well over six years. Jamendo is great for both fans and artists. While the artists choose to make their music available for free, fans can donate money if they like the music in order to support the artist. Jamendo features over 25,000 bands and artists and is becoming one of the best places to find and download free, new music online. It also supports BitTorrents to make downloading full albums faster and easier.
3. Amazon
Just about everyone knows that Amazon is one of the largest online retailers in the world, but not many know that you can get free music on Amazon as well. While the amount of free music that is offered is not that large, there are 20 categories that you can choose, and unlike smaller sites like Jamendo, Amazon offers free songs from popular and very well-known artists, as opposed to new and yet-to-be-discovered groups.
4. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is fantastic for both artists and music fans. Many bands are turning to Bandcamp to sell their music independently, but there are also tons of bands and artists that are giving their music away on Bandcamp as well. It is free to join and you will be able to stream every song posted on the site and freely download a large number of songs in excellent quality. Bandcamp is posed to be one of the best and most-visited music sites in the near future.
5. Free Music Archive
This is another great site that works with musicians and allows them to distribute their music freely if they wish to do so. A lot of the music featured on this site comes from cutting-edge artists based in New York, and generally, it is more of a site for people who are interested in new, exciting and experimental music more so than what’s on the radio. Thousands of songs from hundreds of artists are already available on this ever-growing site.
6. MadeLoud
This site is not only great for discovering and downloading new music for free, but it also makes it easy for you to share what you have found with your friends using the MadeLoud “Facebook Connect” feature. You will have to register on MadeLoud to use the service, but it won’t cost you anything. It is yet another fantastic outlet for new musicians and artists to share their stuff with a new and growing audience as well.
7. Purevolume
Purevolume is a site that has become very popular with indie and alternative rock and hardcore bands. There are almost half a million bands and artists registered here today and most of them give their music away for free. If you don’t think that artists sharing music for free is effective, you should know that hugely popular bands like Paramore and My Chemical Romance got their start within the Purevolume community.
So as you can see, downloading free music from the Internet is still possible without having to worry about being prosecuted for copyright laws. As long as you know where to look for it, you can download, enjoy, and share thousands of new artists and songs free of charge.
About the Author: Cindy Pearson is a blogger at the PDF Tips & Tricks blog. She loves all things Internet and technology-related and enjoys sharing handy tips and tricks with other Internet enthusiasts.