


There’s also a forum with other music enthusiast discussing the music industry and the best in new tunes.įree Stash at – For religious jam fans, the Free Stash at is the book of hymns. Managed by the freeform radio station WFMU, Free Music Archive guarantees access to legal singles and album downloads without paying a dime. While some performances are free, a $2/month membership unlocks thousands of songs from up and coming artists.įree Music Archive – This site lives up to its name with a treasure trove of music from independent artists. This websites studio-quality acoustic sessions and iconic cover art designs offer an experience more valuable than fan audio recordings. Featuring bootlegs from the recent CMJ festival and recordings throughout all five boroughs, NYC Taper fills the need for big city shows anytime, even on your mobile phone.ĭaytrotter – Daytrotter’s original recordings are becoming the standard for younger music blogs looking to beef up their video repertoire. NYC Taper – Some of New York City’s biggest (and smallest) shows find their way into this library of live performances. With their Tiny Desk Concerts, the World Café program, recordings of concerts and exclusive first listens, NPR offers downloads for those willing to branch out and listen to something new. NPR Music – Garrison Keillor and Terry Gross aren’t the only good things to come from talk radio: NPR has become one of the best sources for new musical discoveries. Recordings can be hit or miss, but vigilant searching can turn up incredible performances and rare gems. It also has an entire section dedicated to the Grateful Dead, complete with nearly 10,000 shows. Live Music Archive – The Live Music Archive has nearly 100,000 audience and soundboard recordings from shows available to stream and download. Live recordings of concerts are plentiful, as well as mixtapes and live sessions. You might not be able to get your hands on a new, full-length album without paying for it (but you should support the musicians and pay for it!), most bands offer up a free track to download on either their official website or on the record label’s website.

There are many ways to download music, free and legal, whether you scour the blogosphere, check out artist websites or sift through live recordings.

While it is, admittedly, incredibly easy to download almost any artist or album for free, in most cases, those downloads aren’t exactly legal.
