Introduction

So, what now? Today’s music is distributed primarily by streaming services and downloading files is an archaic method. So, now what?

Here’s a good list of places to go. I hope to update this as soon as I get more info.

The List

Hi-Res Stores

Indie Music

  • Bandcamp - a sister company to 7Digital. Bandcamp focuses on indie artists. Some times, music might be available in PWYW or Free

Free Sources

  • Check your library to see if they offer Freegal Music.
  • Internet Archive - A grey area, but they offer free concert recordings, along with older radio shows and the like.
  • MusOpen - A site dedicated to classical music. Five free downloads a day.
  • YourClassical Daily Download - A free classical music download distributed via Podcast every weekday. Use a Podcast Catcher, like AntennaPod, Kasts, or gPodder to download the Daily Download.
  • Overclocked ReMix - A group dedicated to arranging video game music
  • UMGSO - The University of Maryland Gamer Symphony Orchestra provides a copy of their concerts for free download. Gone lossless since mid-2010s.
  • BumpFoot - A Japanese netlabel with free downloads of independent electronic music.
  • Jamendo - One of the top free-culture music labels online.

Your Independent Music Store

The oldest place to pick up new and old music. Support your local music store with your patronage and unlock a world of music that you can touch. You can find one at the Record Store Directory.

Notes

As you can see, I did not put any sites on where you can pirate music. That’s not the goal of this list. The goal is to show you where you can throw your money so that artists can get the most rather than the pittance one gets from streaming royalties. If you want to try other means of acquisition, there are places…