Finding MP3 FREE Downloads

[DarkGentleman]

Lately I'm annoyed by Limewire, Kazza, and Sharazza. They don't seem to have all the MP3s that I am searching for in the Gothic music (darkwave, rock, punk.etc...).

Does anyone know of other mp3 free download websites they can refer me to?

[JCC]

There's loads, depending on what you're looking for.

www.free-albums.net is a site with, as you'd guess, a lot of full free albums. There aren't very many underground albums though, it's mostly mainstream, but there are some real gems there (I usually go for metal though, so Darkwave, Gothrock and Gothabilly or whatever else you're looking for I'm not much of an authority on).

www.musire.com I use that site mainly for classical, it has Wagner, Beethoven, Philip Glass amongst others, ones I've been searching desperately for. It also has a tidy collection of soundtracks for movies and games and some normal bands.

www.mp3raid.com That's for single MP3's, I don't use it much, I'd rather get the entire albums, but there it is, it has quite a range, I was able to find about 20 Busdriver songs (yes, I like Busdriver ) on there, so you shouldn't have too much trouble.

If you're not fussed about downloading the songs, but just listening to them, www.radioblogclub.com is always a hit, and if you want to download from RadioBlogClub, use http://radioblogdownloader.com/

Hope that helps.

[Minyaliel]

thepiratebay.com and demonoid.com should have anything you wish for. You need to download some software for it to work, though, Bittorrent or Azureus for instance.

[killer_asian_Dax]

I didn't know kazaa still existed

[Elliot]

I use (even though I buy CDs primarily):

www.albumbase.com

and

www.phazemp3.com

[Vako]

My recommendations would be;

AudioGnome
http://www.audiognome.com/

or;

SoulSeek
http://www.slsknet.org/

[Draconysius]

Soulseek FTW. Just pray you don't have Windows XP SP2.

[djaeternum]

At the risk of getting preachy, I think it's worth pointing out that non-purchase mp3 downloading does, in fact, hurt artists, particularly in our scene. The point in case is Alfa Matrix records, which will very shortly no longer be putting out more records since it's just not economically viable to do so. Caustic, one of their artists, actually was touring with KMFDM, but had to drop out due to costs - they had tens of thousands of downloads of their latest album, but only about 500 copies sold.

Even VNV Nation's last album only sold about 10,000 copies, yet they play to a couple thousand people in 25 towns in the US and even bigger crowds in Europe.

So, just give a thought to buying CDs, because these artists certainly aren't making much money on this, if any at all.

[Vako]

^

Yes. What she/he said.

[Cicero]

I think free music downloading (or 'sharing') is fine as long as people actually go out and buy the CDs if they find a band they particularly like. I've downloaded thousands of songs in my time, but I've also bought hundreds of CDs.

In terms of good download programs my favourite is Soulseek. You can find almost anything on it, and it actually does some good for the music industry by allowing virtually unknown bands without the means to release albums to get their music out there.

[JCC]

Originally Posted by djaeternum

At the risk of getting preachy, I think it's worth pointing out that non-purchase mp3 downloading does, in fact, hurt artists, particularly in our scene. The point in case is Alfa Matrix records, which will very shortly no longer be putting out more records since it's just not economically viable to do so. Caustic, one of their artists, actually was touring with KMFDM, but had to drop out due to costs - they had tens of thousands of downloads of their latest album, but only about 500 copies sold.

Even VNV Nation's last album only sold about 10,000 copies, yet they play to a couple thousand people in 25 towns in the US and even bigger crowds in Europe.

So, just give a thought to buying CDs, because these artists certainly aren't making much money on this, if any at all.

It may seem hypocritical, but I do agree with you. The problem is that I love music, but money doesn't grow on trees. My family aren't exactly rich, and all the money we do get spare goes on my sister because she won't stop with her constant moaning/insult slinging until they give in (my mom and dad are 53 and 60 respectively, so they can't be doing with the stress). Annoying, since my sister is 17 and earns over a £100 a week and will soon earn more than my mom, whereas I'm 13 with no job (but looking, so if anyone has any suggestions..).

I want to be able to enjoy music, and if I had the money, I'd go out and buy the albums and support the bands I like to listen to. But I don't have £10 to spend every time I want to check out a band that somebody recommended, or £10 to buy the newest release by my favourite ever band, come to think of it.

[Minyaliel]

Agree with JCC - I'm in the same situation, and so have to rely on P2P, torrents and internet radio to enjoy music made by someone else than myself. Especially when it comes to new music you won't find in a second- hand store.

[Elliot]

[quote=Cicero]I think free music downloading (or 'sharing') is fine as long as people actually go out and buy the CDs if they find a band they particularly like. I've downloaded thousands of songs in my time, but I've also bought hundreds of CDs.[\QUOTE]
Absolutely.

I own over 300 CDs, and buy them primarily, but I have no problem.

Additionally, I try to buy merch at shows I go to.

Most bands make under 50 cents for each album they sell, but they make a lot more money from t-shirts, etc.

So, downloading music is fine, providing you go see bands live and buy shit from them.

[djaeternum]

Many Metropolis/Dancing Ferret artists make $3-4 per CD sold, some even more. With very large record labels, bands tend to make $1 or less per CD sold, but it's a very different ballpark in the underground scene.