iTunes cuts me checks!

If you are looking for ways to find and download free music from web, then you’re in the right place. Searching for free songs on the internet can be a daunting task. There are so many different devices: Apple iPod, Microsoft Zune, Creative Zen, Archos, Sandisk Sansa, iriver; and so many different audio formats: mp3, aiff, au, atrac, flac, wma, wav, aac, ogg vorbis, etc. that’s it’s hard to keep up.

Don’t despair. Most of the songs that you like are available on the web for free with only one caveat – you gotta know where to look.

We are going to show you the 10 best ways to find and download the music you like. Some of them are pretty simple, some are not. Keep in mind, however, that the tough ones are usually the most fruitful in the long run. In Part 1 of Free Music: How to Find it and Download it, we plan to cover Direct downloading, Google / MSN search strings, Peer to Peer (P2P) downloading, downloading from Newsgroups, and downloading from IRC. In Part 2, we’ll cover: Ripping directly from Media Players, free downloads from Independent and Major record labels, free Public Domain works, and Converting your music into a usable format.

So let’s get started, shall we?

DISCLAIMER: (In an authoritative tone) – Ahem.

We are musicians here at FastandLoud. We don’t officially condone anyone stealing (or borrowing and not giving back) music. However, we don’t condone Sony punking us with bad DRM either. If you find some tunes that you like, buy them. Period. By purchasing physical CDs or downloadable songs, you’ll be putting food on a lot of people’s tables including: recording studios, disc manufacturers, live sound companies, web site developers, printers, truck drivers, middle men, probably Apple somehow, & a few pennies to the actual artist too! Happy hunting.

#1 Web Searches with straight downloads

1. Goto mp3.nl, mp3raid, AudioValley, Mybloop, Kohit, DiggDrop, or goto this FTP search.
2. Search.
3. Download & enjoy.

#2 Google

Method 1 – searchbar strings

1. Goto google.
2. Use the following qualifiers in the searchbar to find what you’re looking for:
-inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified”
3. Tack on a media type (ex. mp3, avi, wma, ogg): -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified” mp3
or multiply media types -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified” +(wmv|mpg|avi)
4. Tack on a band name: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” mp3 “jonas brothers”
5. Tack on “site:edu” to just search all education sites: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified” mp3 site:edu
6. Tack on your specific educational facility address: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified” mp3 site:lsu.edu

Method 2 – searchbar strings for media storage sites

a. Rapidshare

1. Goto Google.com.
2. Use the following searchbar qualifiers:

+inurl:(insert media type) site:(insert site address) (insert specific title – optional) -deleted (optional to remove inactive files)

ex. +inurl:wma|mp3|ogg site:rapidshare.com

ex. with artist name +inurl:wma|mp3|ogg site:rapidshare.com Rihanna

b. MegaUpload

1. Goto google.
2. Use the following searchbar qualifiers: (media type) site: (site address) artist name
ex. mp3|ogg|wma site:megaupload.com

ex. with name mp3|ogg|wma site:megaupload.com hannah montana

Method 3 – sorta…MSN search

1. Goto MSN search.
2. Use the following search bar qualifiers: intitle:”index of” -inurl:.htm -inurl:.html contains:(mp3 wma ogg) “last modified” artist name
ex. intitle:”index of” -inurl:.htm -inurl:.html contains:(mp3 wma ogg) “last modified”
ex with name intitle:”index of” -inurl:.htm -inurl:.html contains:(mp3 wma ogg) “last modified” Cold Play

#3 Peer to Peer

These are some of the oldest in the book and definitely not the safest, but I cease to be amazed at how many people are sharing the Fatboys – Protect Yourself / My Nuts (rock!).

Method 1

1. Download, run, & setup Limewire, Kazaa, aMule, eMule, Filescope, iMesh, KCeasy, kiwiAlpha, mlDonkey, Shareaza, or Zultrax.
2. Search.
3. Download & enjoy.

Method 2 – Torrents

1. Download, run, & setup Vuze – formerly Azureus, BitComet, BitLord, or uTorrent
(here’s a Torrent tutorial & another Torrent tutorial.)
2. Find some torrents on the web via BTjunkie, Bushtorrents, Spynova, Torrentz.com, Seedpeer, Fenopy, Thepiratebay.org, Torrent Locomotive, Torrent Portal, Torrent Valley, Torrentreactor, wTorrent, Mininova.org, eTree, orIsohunt.
3. Download & enjoy.

#4 Newsgroups

I’ll be honest…this way takes a little effort and sometimes the results are questionable. But once you get the technique down, it’s a lot like grocery shopping (tons of choices – you just pick what you want). MP3 files in newsgroups are usually posted in several parts. For example “10/25 Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire” means this is part 10 of 25 parts total. For a useable file, you’ll need all 25 parts. 24 parts & you’ve got nothing. Also, you may notice PAR/PAR2 files. They are used to reconstruct parts that are corrupt or missing, so you’ll need a good PAR program like QuickPAR. And you’ll need either winRAR or 7-zip program to decompress them.

1. Download, run, & setup Forte Agent, Grabit, Newsbin, NewsLeecher, or NewsShark.
(here’s a pretty solid Newsgroup tutorial.)
2. Find some mp3’s: Quickly – use BinSearch.
3. Download, put all of Humpty Dumpty’s pieces back, and enjoy.

This list should get you started with some music-related newsgroups.

And here’s a little Newsgroup program that lets you play mp3s straight from newsgroups.

#5 IRC

Yup, I said it…IRC. That elusive vixen we’ve all heard about, but never have been able to really grasp.

1. Download and run XDCC Browser v4.40. (or if you like it the hard way try mIRC & you’ll need this mIRC tutorial.)
2. Goto Packetnews.
3. Search.
4. Download & enjoy.

Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Don’t forget to check out – Part 2 of Free Music: How to Find it and Download it.

Thanks for stopping by, fff

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Free Music: How to Find it and Download it, Part 1

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