“So how do I get free music & videos for my new iPod?”
December 26th, 2009 by itsfreedownloads
Its Christmas Day (or perhaps your birthday) and you’ve just unwrapped a new iPod. Congratulations! Now the question is how to go about filling it with music and videos without bringing down the wrath of the RIAA upon you, your family and 10 generations that follow you. Of course your existing music collection is a great start, adding any MP3s you already have to iTunes and ripping any CD’s in your collection — iTunes does a wonderful job of that. But where to go next, especially if you’d like to sample some stuff for free?
Well, the iTunes Store has numerous free downloads every week, usually updated every Tuesday in the US (occasionally stuff pops up at other times too). Each week there’s usually 3 free songs in the US store: a “Single of the Week” (of some new band they’re promoting), a “Discovery Download” (of some unusual or less mainstream group) and a “Canción de la Semana” (of a Latin music group of some variety, usually in Spanish). In addition to those, there is also a “Music Video of the Week”. However that isn’t the only free video downloads, there are typically one or two free TV show episodes or short video promos. Occasionally a free audiobook is added as well.
Most of these free downloads only last a week, so you have to stay alert or you might miss something. Unfortunately you usually have to check 2 or 3 different pages in the iTunes Store to find most of the free stuff (and even then you’ll miss some of the older gems that are hiding in there). That’s where iT’S Free Downloads comes to your aid. This site keeps an up-to-date list of all the currently free downloads on iTunes, both the US store and many overseas. On the front page is the most recent stuff, especially the music. If you’re looking for some older stuff, there are lists of free TV shows, free short videos and free audiobooks. And to help you keep updated on the free downloads without having to check back here each week iT’S Free Downloads offers a few helpful services. If you use Twitter, the best will be to follow itsfreedwnlds (note the lack of vowels, Twitter names unfortunately are kinda short). Every week the links to the latest free iTunes downloads are posted on the Twitter feed. What if you don’t use Twitter? Well, those same messages can be received either by signing up for the email list (see the top of the page) or on the RSS feed. Or if you like web widgets and Google gadgets, iT’S Free Downloads has a few nice free music gadgets for you too.
OK, what else outside iTunes? After all, that’s only about 150 free songs a year. Well, another good place to look is Amazon. Their MP3 store is completely compatible with the iPod and they have over a thousand free MP3s for you to download as well as daily free MP3s
Another great source of free MP3 music is eMusic. They have a free daily MP3 as well, often from some cool new band you’ve never heard of, but will hear a lot more of in the future. Check the widget page for a widget/gadget for the eMusic daily free MP3 as well.
Beyond those, there are tons of stuff on smaller sites scattered around the web — band sites, personal sites, fan sites, etc. Probably the best jumping off point for discovering them is Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads on goingware. Its huge and you’ll find lots of stuff you never knew about on it to listen to. Also check the sidebar of the front page of iT’S Free Downloads for a few more interesting sites.
Enjoy all the free music!
