Free Music
By Tanita Sidhu
Everyone loves a little music in their lives, but being the penniless students that we are, nobody likes to pay for it. That is not to say that we automatically become criminal downloaders, but we should be entitled to enjoy a bit of salsa, soul, or ska, without breaking the bank.
Luckily, there are those few who make music available to everybody, whilst still respecting music laws, record labels, and most importantly, the artists. And to the following music machines, I am eternally grateful.
Although a relatively new programme, Spotify has fast become a must-have for all music-lovers. Free to download and easy to navigate, it is one of the easiest ways to access both old and new records. As all Spotify users will have heard by way of the frequent advertisements there is the option to pay a monthly fee and listen to your carefully crafted playlists offline, without adverts. However, you can sing along to all your favourite music without paying a penny just so long as you can manage to ignore the messages from Roberta every 10 mintues!
If you are a little reluctant to download applications to your computer, Last.fm is a great online music site. Sign up in a few mintues and you have a wealth of tracks at your fingertips. One aspect of Last.fm that puts it a cut above Spotify is its recommendation feature. Click on any artist that you love and it will shuffle their tracks with a selection of other music you might like. Start rating your favourites and its suggestions become more tailored and precise. It is a fantastic site to use if you are looking to expand your musical horizons, but not your credit card bill.
When it comes to finding unsigned bands it is hard to know where to start. Garageband.com is a comprehensive site that allows independent artists to share their records, and listeners to uncover the future gems of the music industry. You can browse by genre, and each group of artists comes with a short ‘sounds like’ list to help gauge whether you like might them or not, based on already popular music.
Of course it is possible to find new artists through social networking websites such as MySpace, which also enable aspiring musicians to quickly promote and establish themselves. Whilst this is can be a very good way to discover original material, you don’t have the luxury of being able to create playlists to listen to at the touch of a button; and you have to wade through the profiles of countless wannabes to get to the genuine stuff.
For those who are more interested in live music, archive.org has hundreds of live performances from a massive variety of singers and bands that are just waiting to be heard. Whether you are in to Smashing Pumpkins, Against Me!, or Damien Rice, you are bound to find some little acoustic pieces of heaven online.
Alternatively, if you have a certain penchant for music videos then stick with what you know and YouTube them! It is so simple to search for songs, and it always comes up with a list of related recommendations. The best thing about YouTube is how often you come across an intimate acoustic set or a live cover by some of your favourite artists. After all, being a music fan isn’t always about listening to new music, sometimes it is more exciting to discover an unexpected side of an already beloved musician.
Despite all of these new-fangled ways to explore the world of music, you could always just kick it old school and tune that dusty radio! The easiest way to hear the most up-to-date pop singles is to listen to an FM station, even a small local one. And when you are feeling really retro you could always dig out an old cassette and record straight off the radio…
By Tanita Sidhu
Everyone loves a little music in their lives, but being the penniless students that we are, nobody likes to pay for it. That is not to say that we automatically become criminal downloaders, but we should be entitled to enjoy a bit of salsa, soul, or ska, without breaking the bank.
Luckily, there are those few who make music available to everybody, whilst still respecting music laws, record labels, and most importantly, the artists. And to the following music machines, I am eternally grateful.
Although a relatively new programme, Spotify has fast become a must-have for all music-lovers. Free to download and easy to navigate, it is one of the easiest ways to access both old and new records. As all Spotify users will have heard by way of the frequent advertisements there is the option to pay a monthly fee and listen to your carefully crafted playlists offline, without adverts. However, you can sing along to all your favourite music without paying a penny just so long as you can manage to ignore the messages from Roberta every 10 mintues!
If you are a little reluctant to download applications to your computer, Last.fm is a great online music site. Sign up in a few mintues and you have a wealth of tracks at your fingertips. One aspect of Last.fm that puts it a cut above Spotify is its recommendation feature. Click on any artist that you love and it will shuffle their tracks with a selection of other music you might like. Start rating your favourites and its suggestions become more tailored and precise. It is a fantastic site to use if you are looking to expand your musical horizons, but not your credit card bill.
When it comes to finding unsigned bands it is hard to know where to start. Garageband.com is a comprehensive site that allows independent artists to share their records, and listeners to uncover the future gems of the music industry. You can browse by genre, and each group of artists comes with a short ‘sounds like’ list to help gauge whether you like might them or not, based on already popular music.
Of course it is possible to find new artists through social networking websites such as MySpace, which also enable aspiring musicians to quickly promote and establish themselves. Whilst this is can be a very good way to discover original material, you don’t have the luxury of being able to create playlists to listen to at the touch of a button; and you have to wade through the profiles of countless wannabes to get to the genuine stuff.
For those who are more interested in live music, archive.org has hundreds of live performances from a massive variety of singers and bands that are just waiting to be heard. Whether you are in to Smashing Pumpkins, Against Me!, or Damien Rice, you are bound to find some little acoustic pieces of heaven online.
Alternatively, if you have a certain penchant for music videos then stick with what you know and YouTube them! It is so simple to search for songs, and it always comes up with a list of related recommendations. The best thing about YouTube is how often you come across an intimate acoustic set or a live cover by some of your favourite artists. After all, being a music fan isn’t always about listening to new music, sometimes it is more exciting to discover an unexpected side of an already beloved musician.
Despite all of these new-fangled ways to explore the world of music, you could always just kick it old school and tune that dusty radio! The easiest way to hear the most up-to-date pop singles is to listen to an FM station, even a small local one. And when you are feeling really retro you could always dig out an old cassette and record straight off the radio…