Where Do You Download Cheap/Free Music?

I'm still searching for a reliable source of music. Lately I've been really into EDM, chill, reggae-ish island electronic mumbo jumbo. I can occasionally find a good mix with free download on Youtube, but it requires jumping through some hoops.

Soundcloud has the occasional free download as well, but again, the occasional hoop jumping is necessary.

I want someway I can get new music without streaming. I want to take it with me offline. I also don't want a subscription, but I also want a source that isn't all mainstream $20 albums.

Isn't that kind of copyright infringement-ish?

PM me...the answer is hiding in plain sight

Edit: RealMiniParker's on the right track, but ixnay on outubeyay secretly being the new apsternay.

Yes and no. Much of the stuff I'm looking for is done by DJ's as they are remixes and stuff.

I'm also interested in non-infringing ways to download DJ's mixes and such. Back in the day you could find them readily but somehow the proliferation of methods of sharing music has resulted in a fragmentation of sources which means it's even harder to find mixes now.

dculberson wrote: the proliferation of methods of sharing music has resulted in a fragmentation of sources which means it's even harder to find mixes now.

this

A friend of mine uses Mixcloud.com to share his mixes. I don't know if it offers downloads or not.

Thanks, Gameboy.

'I have a friend' who has used youtube to mp3 converters that you find online. Its pretty quick and easy to use, not sure on the infringment-ness of it though

I don't, I have Spotify premium for $9.99/month.

It's so worth it, since it let's you download songs/playlists onto your phone so you can listen even when not hooked up to the INternetz.

I sometimes go to thrift stores. CDs for a $1

z31maniac wrote: I don't, I have Spotify premium for $9.99/month. It's so worth it, since it let's you download songs/playlists onto your phone so you can listen even when not hooked up to the INternetz.

My only issue with this is that when you stop paying the $9.99, your music goes with it.

I'm gonna give it a whirl to see what it has to offer.

I get a lot of music direct from the artists on places like Bandcamp or from their own personal sites. It's usually cheap (a few bucks for an album), you can download whatever format you want including Flac/lossless, and most of the money goes to the artist. Plus a lot of them are happy to have people listen to their music and just release stuff for free. I've also gotten vinyl & cassettes off Bandcamp which are never gonna see any major retailers.

I release my own stuff on Soundcloud and always offer downloads, but I'm not hugely enthused about the direction the site is taking lately - may jump ship to something else soon.

I discover artists I like from DJ mixes on Youtube, soundtracks (games, indie films, etc), remixing, online radio stations, podcasts, and in general from the demoscene.

Also there are sites around like Spacesynth.net for just about any genre you like or indie labels that release a lot of free downloads (<-- get the latest Wright & Bastard album from that last link if you're into DnB, it is magnificent.)

It's really rare that I bother with anything from a big dinosaur label or celebrity pop artist these days, and if I do it's usually vinyl.

In reply to Jay:

I have just started using Soundcloud. What do you not like about it and how do I find you on there?

scardeal wrote: I sometimes go to thrift stores. CDs for a $1

I've been trying to do this lately as well. Easier said than done. No DRM!

I can't justify a streaming service with a monthly fee. The price of spotify + data would cover 1 album a month. At that rate I'd probably have most of the music I want in 3 years.

Plus I berkeleying hate needing an app to access my music. Total regression. Same with Audible vs. non-drm audio books.

There's a local radio station the plays Dj scratch and sniff late on Saturday night. He does hip hop and alternative remixes that rock. Would love to find his stuff.

edizzle89 wrote: 'I have a friend' who has used youtube to mp3 converters that you find online. Its pretty quick and easy to use, not sure on the infringment-ness of it though

You have a "friend" that does this? That's crazy--I have a "friend" as well who mentioned this possibility. Small berkeleying world.

Bandcamp / Monstercat allows you to give your price for albums/single and get FLAC and other high quality downloads. I find most of the music I like to listen to off Youtube channels and a few have links to the artist/songs on bandcamp/Monstercat. If no link I try to find the song/album/artist myself.

The latest song I've acquired because of Youtube/Bandcamp:

Hollow Mind

Actually it's because of my new headphones that I have been buying more songs lately. Fostex TH-X00 Purplehearts; so much bass yet it is absolutely precise and extremely tight, good clear mids, and insanely detailed and nicely forward highs that know how to keep from going over the edge. Overall a very detailed yet smooth listening experience with bass that will resonate your head - absolutely in love with them. Only headset that I would like better, save for that glorious bass, would be the Stax Lamda series...

Have you tried NoCopyrightSounds on youtube? There's a free download link in the description of each video, and all the music is authorized to be distributed free of charge and free of copyright.

Way back deep in the last century, my friends and I would take turns buying new music that we liked and the rest of us would borrow the 33-1/3 RPM LP and copy it on a cassette tape. Not sure what you crazy kids do nowadays. I still buy CD's, but not frequently.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: In reply to Jay: I have just started using Soundcloud. What do you not like about it and how do I find you on there?

Basically that they were forced to knuckle under to the big dinosaur music lables & their copyright lobby goons (especially GEMA in Germany, which is one of the sleaziest organizations involved in the whole mess.) They put a bunch of "copyright claim" mechanisms in place and the labels immediately started using that as a weapon, mass-deleting mixes, remixes, songs with a lot of samples, etc - anything they could vaguely point their fat fingers at. GEMA has a long history of slamming fake & really dubious copyright claims on Youtube for stuff they don't even own and causing huge headaches for the actual creators to clear it up, and now they have the tools to do that on Soundcloud too.

Don't get me wrong - it was a great site and there's still a really vibrant community of musicians on there (I still post tracks there as do most of my friends) but it's become a battleground for the dinosaur industry who are fighting tooth and nail to kill independent music, and I don't want any part of that.

My stuff (out of date, working on new tracks w/beter production quality but nothing is up there yet) : jmph

G_Body_Man wrote: Have you tried NoCopyrightSounds on youtube? There's a free download link in the description of each video, and all the music is authorized to be distributed free of charge and free of copyright.

This is where I have gotten some background music for videos. They also have some good stuff to use as background music in the shop.

Dusterbd13 wrote: There's a local radio station the plays Dj scratch and sniff late on Saturday night. He does hip hop and alternative remixes that rock. Would love to find his stuff.

The modern rock station here plays that on Sat nights too. Drives me batty, I wish they'd just play a song, not 5 songs at once. I forget often, am listening to a song I like, then all of the sudden the chorus is a completely different song.

In reply to Jay:

Thanks for the explanation.