Free music is something we have grown accustomed to in a post-Napster world. Peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and Gnutella continue to help millions of people download free music every day. However, doing so is technically illegal, could lead to a lawsuit, and ultimately takes money from the artists who made the music.

WFMU, a renowned freeform radio station out of New York, has the perfect compromise for those still want free music but with none of the guilt. This December, thanks to a grant from the New York State Music Fund, WFMU will unveil the Free Music Archive. “An online digital library of music that will allow music fans, webcasters and podcasters to listen, download, and stream for free, with no restrictions, registration or fees. And it will all be legal.”

Inspired by Creative Commons and open-source software, the Free Music Archive utilizes special copyright licenses that allow musicians to waive some of their rights to the public while still retaining ownership of their work.

As a preview, WFMU has already selected 40 tracks by artists like Silver Jews, Vivian Girls, and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti from their Free Music Archive, repackaged them into two sampler cds, and made them available on their website as free downloads.

What could be better than free, legal music?

posted by: Brent Carter

Tags: art, download, music, new, rathaus, wfmu

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 10:17 am and is filed under art & design, the rathaus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.