Magnatune
Something about me that's probably a bit of a rarity compared to most of my peers on the Internet is that I don't pirate music. I'm not at all saying I'm on the RIAA's side or anything like that, I just think that one of the best things about the Internet and its effect on culture is the decentralization of content creation and distribution, including music. There's plenty out there to listen to legitimately without resorting to questionable legalities and rampant lawsuits, even if you do think you're justified in pirating music.
I'm not an expert on creative commons or other similarly licensed music out there, but one site I've found in particular to be great, both in selection and quality, is Magnatune. Amarok users will probably already know of this one since the program has a integrated interface to it, but for the rest of you, maybe this will be new. The rest of you should also be abandoning MS Media Player or whatever other drivel you're using, and flocking to Amarok in droves, but that's a whole other blog entry for another day.
Magnatune licenses their music with a Creative Commons license, which I've mentioned in previous posts. You can listen to everything they offer, in its entirety, though a flash player in your browser, or streamed from their site. When you purchase an album (and it's much cheaper than the crap in your local store), you can download it in multiple formats, including Ogg Vorbis, which made me happy, or even the raw and uncompressed .wav files. No DRM, and if you so choose, not even compressed. Also when you purchase an album, they not only allow, but encourage you to share it with three other people. In short, as they say themselves, they're not evil.
As for the music itself, I've found that it's more appealing in general if you're a fan of classical music. Something like 50% of their offerings are in that general area, but not all, of course. Musical taste varies widely, so it's best that you just browse their site yourself, but some favorites (so far) of mine include Sundowner, Utopia Banished, and Monks and Choirs of Kiev Pechersk Lavra. That's just a start though, since there's hundreds of albums, and I haven't even come close to listening to half of them.
I'm not an expert on creative commons or other similarly licensed music out there, but one site I've found in particular to be great, both in selection and quality, is Magnatune. Amarok users will probably already know of this one since the program has a integrated interface to it, but for the rest of you, maybe this will be new. The rest of you should also be abandoning MS Media Player or whatever other drivel you're using, and flocking to Amarok in droves, but that's a whole other blog entry for another day.
Magnatune licenses their music with a Creative Commons license, which I've mentioned in previous posts. You can listen to everything they offer, in its entirety, though a flash player in your browser, or streamed from their site. When you purchase an album (and it's much cheaper than the crap in your local store), you can download it in multiple formats, including Ogg Vorbis, which made me happy, or even the raw and uncompressed .wav files. No DRM, and if you so choose, not even compressed. Also when you purchase an album, they not only allow, but encourage you to share it with three other people. In short, as they say themselves, they're not evil.
As for the music itself, I've found that it's more appealing in general if you're a fan of classical music. Something like 50% of their offerings are in that general area, but not all, of course. Musical taste varies widely, so it's best that you just browse their site yourself, but some favorites (so far) of mine include Sundowner, Utopia Banished, and Monks and Choirs of Kiev Pechersk Lavra. That's just a start though, since there's hundreds of albums, and I haven't even come close to listening to half of them.
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It sounds like a great alternative considering the RIAA seems to only be gaining speed. It's a pisser, that's for damn sure but at least there are places like this that offer safe solutions to the ever popular music debate.