music and movies download sites are they a scam

Music And Movies Download Sites - Are They A Scam?Writen by Henk Rekers

Surfing the Internet, looking for music and movies to download, you will find a lot of so called music and movie download sites. These sites do not provide you with music, or movies to download, no, they provide you with file sharing soft ware you can use to search for, and download music, movies and games. Most of them also provide you with cd burning soft ware and they have a helpdesk for those members who run in to problems with their downloading.

These site are under attack.

First of all there is the entertainment industry that want to shut them down. They claim that these file sharing programs are used to download copy right protected materials. This is true of course, but lots of people download and trade files legally on file-sharing networks.You can, for example, legally download music from hundreds of bands and thousands live concerts, as well as multiple software titles and games. File sharing has enabled music fans from around the world to build the largest library of recorded music in history. File sharing is not illegal as long as you obey and comply with all relevant copyright laws. Sharing copyrighted material without permission could be illegal in your country. In america the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) are leading the fight against the sharing of copyrighted music. Others, like hollywood's MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) are also starting to get involved and are taking legal action against the music and movie download sites. It will not be easy to shut down these download sites. Especially since the Internet has no borders, it will be an almost impossible task, to get all the countries in the world to agree on how to legislate Internet downloading.

Another attack on music and movies download sites comes from, what I call, seasoned Internet users. They claim these download sites are a scam, because they charge for something you can get for free. Well, you could get it for free, that is true. These download sites provide you with soft ware to search for and download files from the Internet. They provide you with soft ware to burn these files on a cd should you wish to do so.

All this software is available for free on the Internet, but for an Internet novice it could be a daunting task to look for this kind of soft ware, to decide which soft ware to use, how to use it.On top of that they have to make sure that they do not download spy ware, ad ware or what ever. Joining a download site and have all the info in one place is not a bad option for most of them. Another advantage is the fact that these download sites provide a help desk for their members. Is it a scam if you provide info that people could get for free elsewhere?

Consider this.

You are looking for a telephone number, so you look it up in the phone book. Say you do not have the right phone book, you can go out looking for it. You probably can find this free info in the library.

You can also pick up the phone and ring an information service.

They will provide you with this free info and they will charge you for it.

So, is this information service a scam?

I do not think so, and I also do not think that the music and movies download sites are a scam.

Provided of course that they tell you what you can expect from them before you sign up with them, and that they deliver on this promise

If you want to join a download site, chose one that gives a guaranty that you can have your money back if not satisfied.

Once you have joined, test out everything, especially their helpdesk.

If you have no questions, ask them a few things you know already, just to test their response.

And last but not least, do not hesitate to charge back your money if you are not completely satisfied.

Happy downloading!

Henk Rekers is W.M of Download music, movies, and games.

More Guitar Learning Site : http://www.guitarready.com/

the power of music

The Power of MusicWriten by N Singh, PhD

Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart may have passed away mysteriously his legacy still lives on in his music and the buzzword Mozart Effect referring to an increase in brain development when listening to Mozarts music.

It has always been known that sound environment has a good outcome on the feeling of well being on people on various age groups. Unfortunately very little scientific work has been carried out to investigate behaviour changes in relative to use of music. However in recent years there has been growing interest in the therapeutic use of music for stress relief. Several properly conducted scientific experiments have concluded that good music can affect the neurochemical transmissions leading to positive outcome on the brain at all periods. Currently one experiment is being conducted to figure out if classical music such as of Mozart can affect stress levels, heart rate, motor activity, mood and vital signs in premature babies. This will be done by using a monitoring device and video camera to indicate the reactions of the infants to effect of music. Interestingly premature newborns that are being exposed to music have reduced symptoms of stress and gain weight faster.

Another study showed that when music is being played in the background it can relieve stress in a hospital setting; as music reduces anxiety and stress in patients undergoing surgery. Amazingly Mozart's K448 sonata has been found to decrease epileptic attacks in humans and rats listening to it are able to go through a maze faster than those that were left in silence. Concomitantly, playing classical music to children initiates positive physiological effects, low heart rate, low breathing rate, and lower levels of the cortisol, the stress hormone. In sports psychology, music has been used to aid runners and baseball players during their warm-ups, to enhance performance by increasing focus and reducing stress. Most probably all classical music in general could trigger the Mozart Effect.

Good soothing music has no side-effects and is highly good for people leading to reduced anxiety and stress levels. It also induces increased memory, reduces emotional stress, depression, anxiety, agitation and promotes good immune system, decreases cortisol levels and increase well-being. Above all it can be applied everyday and is virtually free. Health professionals can teach patients about the power of music so that it can lead to decrease in negative mood, stress and depression, and promote feelings of well being and relaxation. It is important we develop and investigate the power of such non traditional and non-pharmacological therapeutic modalities taking into consideration its ease and practicality in daily practice.

http://www.eStressHelp.com Please feel free to use this article with proper referencing and outgoing link.

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what to look for in royalty free music

What to Look for in Royalty Free MusicWriten by Scott Johnson

Purchasing music for use as production music for film, television and video projects, or as background music for different projects and companies as well as music on-hold for personal and professional telephone systems can be a time-consuming and very expensive endeavor. Because many businesses do not have the money to spend on on-going music royalties, many are turning to libraries of royalty free music to fulfill their many musical needs.

While royalty free music is certainly a convenient and inexpensive option for those in search of bulk music for their restaurants, not all royalty free music is created equal. Music from major providers such as Award Winning Music is an affordable and premium music choice for all types of professionals. The following are five characteristics to look for in high quality royalty background music, production music, and music on-hold to help insure it will enhance a business or projects mission and communicate its purpose and style without reducing its value:

1. Good make that excellent -- sound quality. The sound quality of the music you are listening to will be the first and most noticeable element. If the music has been recorded under optimal conditions, you will hear a perfect balance between bass and treble, as well as consistent sound and texture regardless of the volume at which you are listening to the music. Similarly, you will be able to pick out the individual sounds of different instruments as they blend to create the whole piece.

2. Instruments that sound true-to-life. Similar to excellent sound quality, the best royalty free music ideally uses real instruments and not those that are synthesized. And if they must be synthesized, they should sound just like their original instruments and not like hollow versions of themselves. Most people have at some point heard instrumental pieces in the grocery store, in an elevator or used as on-hold music for major companies that sound no more textured than a sub-par demo on a low-end keyboard. The best royalty free music will have depth to it, and will demonstrate the many capabilities of the violins, cellos, percussion, electric guitars or brass instruments it incorporates.

3. Original musical themes that still evoke familiar tunes. One of the many benefits of royalty free music is that is an inexpensive way for film producers and directors to use original-sounding production music in their films, television programs and video projects. But, not all providers of royalty free music enlist the best composers and musicians (or, if it is purely digital, any trained composers or musicians at all!) to create their repertoire. First-rate royalty free music will sound original, yet be reminiscent of favorite songs. Stylistically and technically, it will make sense and fit into the grand scheme of a project while still making it unique. It will have rhyme and reason to it, and will therefore sound as though someone composed it for the specific film or project and will resonate in the minds and hearts of each listener and create a true emotional response.

4. Well-composed music by musicians and artists with real credentials. Great royalty free music sites will provide credentials for the composers and performers they enlist, and their artistry will shine through in the finished product. A purveyor of beautifully and carefully crafted background music, on-hold music and production music will be able to give the history of the artists involved in the design and production of the music, and this history will include collaborations with major artists in the genre of the type of music being composed.

5. A diverse yet still versatile music library. The best royalty free music will offer diverse styles that run the gamut of musical tastes. Genres of music might involve classical, jazz, different types of rock and roll, New Age and some progressive styles such as Hip-Hop and techno/dance music. But even within the more traditional styles of music, such as classical, there will be selections that appeal to younger listeners with typically more modern musical tastes, just as within the more cutting-edge styles, there will be pieces that can be enjoyed by even those that would not normally listen to techno and Hip-Hop.

Looking for these basic characteristics when shopping for royalty free music will help discriminating professionals select the perfect production music, music on-hold or background music to suit their very specific projects.

Award Winning Music is an excellent source for royalty free music that far exceeds all standards. If you would like to take a look as what they have to offer, their website is at RoyaltyFreeMusic.com.

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where to download music on the internet

Where To Download Music On The InternetWriten by Chris Fox

Virtually all of you have probably heard of the RIAA's quest to crush online music piracy. The illegal sharing of copyrighted songs via the MP3 format on top the Internet costs the music industry billions of dollars. This is conventionally done applying illegal file sharing programs like KaZaa and iMesh. This article explores the legal ways to download and enjoy music from the Internet.

Method 1: Try out Free Music Sites

There are many free music websites which provide free music downloads. It is not the websites of your music pirates - it is completely legal. Do not expect to find full albums to download, particularly if the song is from a famous artist (only music pirate websites allow full album downloads). You'll only find a couple easers intended to produce you wish to purchase the artists' Compact disc. Independent, less well-known artists are an exception - many of them will let you down their complete song catalog to promote themselves.

Just here are a couple of the free music websites which I personally recommend:

* AMPCAST.com

* Amazon.com Digital Music Downloads

* RollingStone.com

* ElectronicScene.com

* The Internet Underground Music Archive

Method 2: Purchase Music Online

An increasingly popular way to find and download music online is to head for legal online music services. The virtually all popular of these is the Apples iTune service. Now it will bring across 400,000 songs from all 5 major labels. Every song is available for a standard cost of ninety-nine cents every. Right here are the best online music services I have come across:

* EMusic.com

* iTunes

* MusicMatch Downloads

* Napster two.zero

* Rhapsody

* Weblisten.com

Conclusion

It's incredibly tempting to employ KaZaa and more file sharing programs to download music - however please do not. If you wrote a song and sold a Compact disc, would you be happy to see hundreds to thousands of people distributing that song for free? No. You do not have to break the law to find and download free MP3 music. There are many websites out there offering free music - you just want to find them.

For more information on music downloads visit: Psp Music Downloads

Related Music Sites : http://www.entertainbox.com > http://www.guitarready.com > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com

music marketing how to rectify the two most common mistakes everyone makes

Music Marketing - How to Rectify The Two Most Common Mistakes Everyone MakesWriten by Dominic Hough

Music marketing is by and large difficult for most artists, that is something we need to realise. Marketing yourself, being confident to allow people to listen to your tracks and most importantly, handling criticism takes a bit of time to get used to. In the majority of cases though, marketing plans do fail. you may have a great sounding track, but if it is not marketed properly then it will just be white noise.

However all is not lost.

The main reasons why music marketing fails is that 1) there is always some money involved, and 2) we market our music.

They all sound a bit strange I know, but my plan is for you to get over these hurdles and to get your music out there without any hassle. I will take each of the above points in turn, but remember they are interlinked:

1) Money marketing. This is bad. The economics of this is so: you have to sell slot of tracks to get back the amount you spent on marketing, then you need to sell a few more to make any profit. The problems is, why are we spending so much money on music marketing, or, why are we spending any money on marketing at all?! The Internet has greatly reduced the cost of marketing by 100%. Yep, marketing should be free, then any tracks that you do sell is pure profit. There are so many music marketing strategies, some of which are simple ideas that are not being utilised.

Here are some fantastic free marketing strategies are not being used, at all. How about leaflet distribution, flyers, making a mailing list then advertising your new tracks on that (they already like your tracks because they have signed upto your mailing list). Applying to competitions will always bring in some much needed traffic as competitions generate 1) leads and interest from the host site, 2) your tracks will get viral marketed especially if it has become in the top 3. Viral marketing is just another way of spreading interest, all the people who voted for your tracks will recommend the great track that they heard, and you name spreads. 3) You can always advertise the fact that you got in first, second or third in X competition (always state how many other competitors were there as well- coming third out of four entries is nothing to promote really).

Surely the ultimate advertising strategy is...give away your MP3s for FREE! A simple technique that promotes your tracks. People then trust you, they love quality items, they assume then, hmm, if this is free, and it's good, what would his selling tracks be like? Free stuff sells pay goods, fact. Give away alot of free stuff...MP3s being the main one, and then be patient.

Once you have finished your free marketing, start again. Just keep on promoting yourself by free processes. It gets your name banded around, people will see your Webpage link and click on it increasing your traffic. It might not too successful in the first few months or maybe even a year, but stick with it, gaining visitor confidence will ultimately prevail.

2) The above is great, but why would anyone buy any track from you in the first place? To most surfers you are faceless, they don't see you on the music videos, so why should they buy anything from you?

Harsh words I know, I'm sorry, but it is true. That is the real reason why there are thousands of good groups and artists out there in Internet land marketing away, spending cash and showing nothing for it. They marketed first, wanting cash, and their visitors are literally saying I don't think so. You then become the banner ad- looks really good, but never gets the click.

What you need to do is create content within your site. Simple as that. Without content you are just another site that the visitor has no real reason to come back to. Content also increases the chances of you being picked up by the search engines. Please note:Google, and the other big search engines have stated that their thousands of calculations per site includes content search. This is a fundamental statement, even if you are a music site giving away your MP3s.

If you have ever looked for MP3s within the search engines, there are about 6 million sites dedicated to the term MP3. Now, your one site has to be found by a visitor, the chances are very low. However, if your site has content focused keywords, such as good guitar riffs, how to gig etc, then you will be picked up much easily than a simple MP3 search. Within the various pages that you have created you put, download free guitar MP3s or something that suits your music, and you then advertise your MP3s through the ack door. Content will also bring back the visitors, they love a site that they are interested in, they sign up to your news-letter, and then you email them with new updates, your new MP3s etc. Then you start to create your own little buzz, you create people willing to listen to your tracks.

A sideline to content is always relevant, up-to-date content. Offering tapes with your tracks on is music marketing suicide. I have seen these actually being offered on some websites. Offering a tape states that 1. You are not up-to-date hence your sounds won't be, 2. You are offering poor quality, hence your tracks won't shine, and 3. You have to pay out for the tape (postage and packaging etc). People on the Internet want things now, not tomorrow, offering MP3s, even short WAV files is giving the visitor what they want- immediate access to your tracks.

Relevant content is just as important as current content. If you have a rock website stick to rock related web pages. If I was into hip-hop I wouldn't go onto your rock site and look at hip-hop related articles. Obvious I know, but scarily this has been done. It also has another effect. The search engines see topic specific sites as just that, topic specific. If you stray away from your chosen topic it will not look good for you with the engines. They will see that your relevance has reduced and so to will your page ranking.

Content is not that easy to accomplish. It comes with time, you need to tweak, track whether that has done any good to your traffic or click throughs. You could also just be writing alot of drivel. Content needs to be Search Engine Focused, you need to honestly persuade people to buy from you, you need to have a one to one style (like you are talking to a friend), and definitely not be boring. Nearly forgot, you need to assess who your audience is. Are they young, middle aged, technophobic? You writing style should cater for your audience. For example, a younger audience will like more colour, more tech information, a friendly banter, and up-to-date chart acts. Generally if you write as you would talk to a friend then you will be on safe lines.

Dominic Hough has made music for over 18 years. On his site http://www.make-your-own-dance-and-techno-songs.com he has proved that you can make, and market your own techno songs for free. His site also covers sampling, MP3s, loops and much more.

See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/

music studios policies vs indiscipline students

Music Studios Policies vs. Indiscipline StudentsWriten by Sujanti Djuanda

Studio policies will make music studios run well. For example, the policy state that if students didnt pay tuition fee at first lesson of the month, they must pay late fee. Then students will generally pay on time. Another policy, if students miss lesson without any notification, lesson can't be made up. Then students will generally notify teachers if they can't take lesson.

Unfortunately, it's not always work well. The following examples show studio policies didnt work for certain families. They decided to quit or didnt mind to be penalized than followed the policies.

Parents decided to quit than pay late fee although they have signed the agreement of studio policy.

Parents didnt mind to pay late fee so each month, their children still late in tuition payment.

Parents asked their child to miss lessons without notifying teacher because they would go shopping and didnt mind lessons couldn't be made up.

Student missed lessons without notifying teacher because traveled with friends and didnt mind lessons couldn't be made up.

As teachers, we have only two choices to overcome this problem, dismiss the indiscipline students or continue to teach them. If we have many good students with good parents, there will no problem to dismiss some bad. However, if have many indiscipline ones and need tuition fee, should we dismiss them? It will make teachers in a bad mood and the decision is in teachers.

As students/parents, we should care to our music teachers as we did to our best friends/families. The solution is only love and take care our teachers then we will appreciate and respect them automatically. Just do it from our heart!

Yen Yen (Sujanti Djuanda) has been teaching piano about 14 years. Currently also learn and work on music composing. http://yen03.bizhat.com

See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/

country music is no mere genre

Country Music Is No Mere GenreWriten by Ben Franklin

Country Music originated in early 20th century among the whites in Rural areas of West and South. The roots of this music lie in Ballads, English songs and Folk Songs. The term Country Music replaces what is popularly called Hill Billy Music.

Country Music has been associated with cowboy hats and boots. The fact is that apparel has got nothing to do with it. One of the veterans, Travis Tritt does not wear a hat. Country Music is a genre that means different things to different people. If you look over at their interpretations, you will find for some it is Johnny Cash's weather beaten crooning or Shania Twain's prancing-pony burlesque. Right since the beginning of the 21st century, Music Industry is divided and quite fractured as to what really the Country Music is. Most people say that, when they hear it, they know its country or its not.

The relationship is one if hate and love, either fans love it and hate other genres intensely. If you have met some hardcore country fans, you will notice, they will always find a way to hear it, no matter what state country radio currently finds itself in. Even if an artist's presence on country radio represents a certain kind of success or acceptance, there's no doubt that eal country is always happening in the margins, in clubs and coffeehouses, and on smaller labels or self-produced records.

Recently very good different country records have been released by women artists like, the Dixie Chicks' Home, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, knocking Eminem down a bit. The other two, Kelly Willis' Easy and Allison Moorer's Miss Fortune, are also hailed as good country music. These two artists are not quite famous but they have a solid fan following. American Country Music is being popularized by various artists like Rhonda Vincent, Mandy Barnett, Brad Paisley, Hank Williams III and Danni Leigh.

Country Music has an association also, the Country Music Association (CMA), founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members. This was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enhance the development of Country Music throughout the world. They wish to show that it is a viable medium to advertisers, consumers and media. It provides a unity of purpose for the Country Music industry.

The association presents annual wards also. Annual awards are given in the following twelve categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Horizon Award, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo, Single, Album, Song, Music Event, Music Video, and Musician.

Country Music is getting lot more world wide attention after the Country Music Annual Awards was shifted to New York.

An academy for this genre, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California. It was originally called the Country & Western Music Academy; and was formed by people who wanted to share their love of Country music.

Country Music had a set following earlier but now it is gaining number of fans day by day. Loud tuned ,good lyrics, special effects mark the various concerts held in America by various country artists.

#1 Country Music Resource

http://www.countrymusicland.com

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let music influence art

Let Music Influence ArtWriten by Debbie Jensen

As a very young child, I began a long journey of piano playing which has followed me all the way through my adulthood. From childhood lessons to adult lessons and after decades of musical education which included reading notes, chords, scales, music theory, and composition, you would think I'd feel like I had achieved my musical goals. To the contrary, I still have so much more to learn!

Sadly, once any pianist reaches an expert level, it is difficult (and expensive) to find the musical instruction required to keep going. From this experience, coupled with other twist of events, I have drifted away from playing music. Today, I find myself interested in graphic arts and multimedia; albeit with music written upon my heart and soul.

Music has been one of the strongest influences to my artistic expressions and has helped me understand how to express beauty, rhythm, and movement. So you might wonder, how could music influence artistic expressions of a different medium? When I sit down to play the piano, many times I reach to fasten my seatbelt; but of course, it's not there. Perhaps this occurs, because I feel as if I am going to travel through space. From my mind's eye and at the point I am lost in my music, I envision colorful, geometric forms as I play. The geometric, morphing forms are beautiful. Other times, especially as a child, I saw imaginary birds flying and possibly those birds are manifesting themselves through my graphic designs today. My sketchbooks are filled creative birds. I often wonder where the imagery is coming from. In music, the rhythm can slow down and speed up, pause or sustain a tone, leap, or even freeze for an instant; but if the rhythm breaks--sadly, the moment is lost. Is art any different? Isn't this concept similar to Gestalts Law of Continuation in that everything has its own natural rhythm? All artistic expressions should have the same feeling of completeness just as expected in a song.

Next time you find yourself stuck, creatively speaking, listen to music which harmonizes with the piece you are working on. Amazingly, in the way songs are written and in the way words are expressed within them, musicians vary the way they choose to express themselves. Why wouldn't music influence how an artist's brush strikes the canvas? To experience what I'm trying to convey, close your eyes and draw with your imaginary pen or brush and strike the air as the music influences you; and let the music influence how you create your abstract designs. If brush strokes and lines are artists' signatures, then why not let your signatures be influenced by music? (Revised 2/16/2006)

Debbie Jensen, Graphic Designer and Photographer http://www.debjensendesigns.com [Revised Bringing Music to Art January 2006

See Online Music Lessons at > http://www.entertainbox.com/

how to avoid phony music management agencies

How to Avoid Phony Music Management AgenciesWriten by Joe Taylor

As a professional writer and occasional music manager, I often encounter bands and solo musicians that work very hard to attract attention from music management agencies. Unfortunately, a legion of grifters uses the raw desire for success against many smart, talented music professionals. If a representative from a music management agency contacts you, use these three guidelines to determine whether they're on the level:

1. Real music management agencies will never, ever ask you for money up front. Managers make commission on their clients' earnings, and experienced managers understand that an unknown artist doesn't have much money. By taking on developmental clients, music management agencies cultivate both business and goodwill that they hope will pay off when an artist enjoys a modest breakthrough.

On the other hand, fly-by-night music management agencies run by rip-off artists know that there are plenty of talented people who are willing to believe that a fee of a few hundred dollars will get them attention from record labels and from radio stations. While it's legitimate for a very small music management agency to ask for a small retainer to cover overhead expenses, this fee should be negotiated in advance and should be billed after the agency has done some work on a client's behalf.

2. Real music management agencies can point you in the direction of successful clients, or can admit that they're still so new that they haven't had any breakout stars on their roster. Believe it or not, some of the most influential music managers of the last five decades had little or no experience in the music business. They just had the drive and the stamina to do great work for equally talented clients.

Meanwhile, you can tell most rip-off music management agencies by looking at their web sites or at their offices. If your potential managers seem to have collected hundreds of grip and grin photographs of themselves with some major stars, ask whether the manager did any actual work with that artist, or whether the just love to snap photos at industry meet and greet events. Many Nashville con artists stuff their offices full of artist photos to deliberately overwhelm the senses and the judgment of potential victims.

3. Real music management agencies handle business at the office, not at the gig. Professional music managers understand that live shows are the best possible marketing opportunities for bands to grow their audience and sell their merchandise. After all, the more money a band makes, the more money a music manager makes. Professional managers will, most often, grab some contact information from a band member or from the merchandise table, so they can make contact during business hours.

Unfortunately, many bands get taken in by the rip-off music manager that trades on the adrenaline rush after a live set. These scam artists often slide up to the stage right after a set, buying drinks (or even supplying drugs) to their targets. They play off the notion that many musicians love to party, and that signing with their (bogus) music management agency can lead to plenty more party nights. Before long, the so-called manager has snagged a hefty retainer, which they usually use to fund parties with their new marks.

Remember, professional music management agencies recruit new clients based on measurable results, not just based on a band's performance at one club night or at one music conference. Just as sporting talent scouts keep an eye on potential pro athletes throughout their high school and college careers, real music management agencies may be watching your band grow from a distance. In the meantime, rely on your friends, your family, and your street team to provide the foundation you need to attract the right professional manager for your career.

Joe Taylor Jr. has written four books about the music business for aspiring musicians, including Music Management for the Rest of Us. You can learn more about finding professional music management agencies at: http://www.musicmanagementfortherestofus.com/agencies/

make your own music

Make Your Own MusicWriten by Scott Ginsberg

I gave a speech last night at a club called Love. Coolest place I've ever seen in my life.

The bartender, Preston, told me that on Friday of this week, Ludacris will be performing on the same stage I took last night.

Wow! I can see it now: halfway through his show, Ludacris will say, Yo, I just wanna thank Club Love for allowing me to perform on the same stage as my hommie Scotty G. Big ups to the Nametag Guy.

Hey, no problem Ludacris. Whatever I can do dog.

Anyway, that got me thinking about college. During my stint at Miami, I spent a number of nights playing music in coffee shops. Nothing too elaborate, just me, my guitar and a microphone. Sharing songs Id written about stuff that was going on in my life.

It was a singer/songwriters dream: unplugged, intimate and authentic. Like an episode of VH1 Storytellers. The perfect venue to share my art with the world.

The only problem was, people didnt want art. They wanted to hear songs they knew:

Play some Dave Matthews!
Freebird!
American Pie!

Right. Im going to stand up here all night and play covers like some typical, unoriginal, crowd-pleasing, sell out copycat so you and your friends can get drunk and sing along to jams youve heard a thousand times before. If you want that, stay home and listen to your stereo!

Unfortunately, some of them actually did. (Or they went to another bar. One of the two.)

However, despite smaller crowds, I stayed committed to playing my own stuff. Not because I was the next campus rock star. Not because I was the next Dylan. But because its just not in my nature to do other peoples material.

Thats just not how I roll. Not in art, not in business and not in life.

I make my own music. Period.

Interestingly enough, after a few years of playing shows, audiences started to listen between the notes. People finally embraced the originality of the music. Songs touched them in a new way, even if they didnt know all the words. And ultimately, the music was that much more beautiful. It was sustained by its creativity and uniqueness.

But we're not talking about music here.

The point is: you can always play someone elses material, but that wont sustain you. It wont challenge you. It wont expand you. And it certainly wont guarantee you success. After all, how many tribute bands have ever been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?

Thats right. Zip-o.

Look. I know sometimes its just easier to play other peoples stuff: its quick, its safe and its guaranteed to get you some applause.

But you know what? Receiving a nice round of inner applause feels a hell of a lot better.

If you truly want to make a name for yourself, make your own music.

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
In what way do you make your own music?

2006 All Rights Reserved.

Scott Ginsberg, aka The Nametag Guy, is the author of three books and a professional speaker who helps people maximize approachability, become unforgettable and make a name for themselves. To book Scott for your next association meeting, conference or corporate event, contact Front Porch Productions at 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com

See Online Music Lessons at > http://www.entertainbox.com/

marc antoine mediterraneo smooth jazz cd review

Marc Antoine Mediterraneo Smooth Jazz CD ReviewWriten by Clyde Dennis

The very talented Spanish guitar playing Marc Antoine has once again created some of the worlds most beautiful music with the release of his latest CD, Mediterraneo.

Antoine, now clearly on a roll, has developed himself into one of those rare musicians who upon hearing them gives you the impression that he is in total command of his instrument. Causing it to perform in a way that no one else can, or would dare try to duplicate.

I have myself been a big Marc Antoine fan for a few years now but this is by far the most awesome, creative and inspiring work he has produced.

It is an excellent smooth jazz CD and just about the only thing playing in my CD player these days. Listening to it over and over again, I'm finding there's always something I failed to hear the first, second, third... tenth time.

Mediterraneo is a gem of a CD in that there are literally no wasted tracks. Each one is a masterpiece.

There is just something about GOOD Spanish guitar that engages your imagination and transports you to new and exotic locations. Not to mention the grand smile that it produces. I guess what I'm saying is it generates happy music.

Overall Mediterraneo is smile producing stuff. What I call, must have music. I give it two thumbs up.

Even the casual smooth jazz fan will appreciate and enjoy Antoine's very nice chord changes, and good mix of styles.

The standout tunes are Funky Picante [track 2, Mediterraneo [track 3, and Senor Groove [track 7. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in Stuck On REpeat is track 9, Lady. Very nice!

Release Notes:

This CD was originally released September 23, 2003 on the Rendezvous record label.

CD track list follows:

1. Cuba Nova
2. Funky Picante
3. Mediterraneo
4. Preludio
5. Castellana Hood
6. Afromenco
7. Senor Groove
8. Gotham
9. Lady
10. Gringo
11. Alejandro's Lullaby

To hear samples of each song on this CD go to Marc Antoine CD - Mediterraneo [ www.smoothlee.com/music-samples/marc-antoine-mediterraneo.htm

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is an AVID music fan, smooth jazz in particular, and in addition to writing CD Reviews for http://www.ILoveSmoothJazz.com can also be heard during his radio show which airs online daily at Smooth Jazz 24/7

See Online Music Lessons at > http://www.entertainbox.com/

see the music

See the MusicWriten by Joe Delqi

It's not all about the sound

You know the phenomenon, everytime you hear music playing in the background you think about the clip associated to the song.

Many years ago, music was just about sounds. Skilled people with beautiful, at times selfmade, instruments entertained other people. Back then, music was a gift.

But with the introduction of MTV and various other tv-broadcasters, clips are now a must for artists. If you don't have an attractive, high-tech clip you know you'll fail on the billboards. People associate these clips to the quality of the music. If the clip they see is bad they'll stop listening to the song and turn off the screen.

Sexy girls dancing with little clothes on, rappers acting tough, ..It's all been done before. Artists now look for computerized video images, with special effects which match with the sound they produced. It sweeps the watcher along for about 3 minutes, enough time to hear the song and perhaps like it.

Music needs the images, but needless to say the images definitely need the music. You could even say that music videos are a modern version of opera. In an opera, you have music and acting together as a package. It tells us a story, just like most music videos do. As we all are curious at times, people tend to like stories. Makers of music videos know this and try to make a story with their music videos.

The story symbolizes the music: if a song sounds sad, the story will not be a happy tale.

In the future, artists will have to keep on spending much time in developing their attractive clips, perhaps even more time than they dedicate to producing music.

So I'll give you a good tip: don't always see the music, hear it..

Webmaster of http://www.discoverclips.com & all-around-music-lover!

Related Music Sites : http://www.entertainbox.com > http://www.guitarready.com > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com

music theory

Music TheoryWriten by Eunice Wallace

If you compose a piece of really nice (to you anyway) music you need to write it down so that you can remember it and other people will be able to play it too. Maybe you want to orchestrate your piece? Well, you have to know all about music theory and harmony to be able to do that, otherwise a Bb clarinet will be in the wrong key, or an Eb French horn will sound terrible instead of beautiful.

If you are learning an instrument you will have to learn music theory and harmony anyway, but many people treat this vital knowledge as unnecessary and just continue to try to play the notes because they sound nice. However all music students get to a stage quite early on in their progress of learning when they suddenly find that this, to some rather boring subject, is pretty useful and so have to go about trying to learn more about it.

Rather like ones knowledge of the English language, if you know lots of unusual words for instance, it enables you to read more interesting and complicated books, so with music.

If you can get to grips with music theory you can understand so much more about the music you are learning, and in due course you may well wish to compose a piece or two of your own, write it down, let your friends play it, or even publish it if you are good enough.

The usual steps are comparatively simple after that. You learn the rules of harmony, only to break them, no doubt with your own music, and see how the great composers harmonised their melodies in different ways. You discover how to put more than one tune into a piece and create co-existing melodies which become their own harmony within existing music structures. Bachs double violin concerto is a splendid example of this with what sounds like two violins wrapping around each other to create a wonderful effect.

So having got to this stage after quite a bit of study away from your beloved instrument, be it piano, guitar, double bass or French horn you may want to take a leap into composing either for your instrument, a group of instruments or even go the whole way and hazard an orchestral piece.

This takes no little talent but fortunately many people over the years have been able to give us the wonderful music that is generically termed classical, whether it was composed in 1700 or 2000. It may be a bit tedious at first, but if you stick with it music theory will give you pleasure for the rest of your life in your appreciation of the music of all ages.

More great musical articles like these are to be found at: Musical Articles

See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/

patriotic music surprising secrets about those flagwaving sounds

Patriotic Music: Surprising Secrets About Those Flag-Waving SoundsWriten by Scott G

Whether played by a marching band, an orchestra, or a rock group, there are patriotic tunes that everyone in America finds familiar, exciting and uplifting. But how much do you know about how these songs were created? And what do you know about the people who wrote them?

There are some surprising facts behind all of this glorious music.

So, fire up the barbecue grill, look up at the fireworks, and strike up the band as we reveal the secrets behind the most influential nationalistic musical moments of all time.

Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key, 1814.
Schoolchildren in America all learn how Key watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and so admired the courage of the beleaguered American forces that he wrote four stanzas of The Star Spangled Banner (only the first is usually performed). Key based the melody on an English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven. The song has only been the national anthem since 1931, and there was a strong movement to replace it with one of the other songs on this list.

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee), Samuel F. Smith, 1832.
The music was composed in the 1700s, sometimes attributed to Henry Cary. First popular in Great Britain as God Save the King (Queen), the song became bi-continental in 1832. Modern audiences have been greatly moved by the R&B version by Ray Charles, a truly wonderful blending of emotion with what musicians call he groove.

Rally 'Round the Flag, George F. Root, 1862.
Written for the Union army and its supporters during the Civil War, the song was hugely popular in the North. This didn't prevent Confederate troops from writing their own lyrics and singing the song throughout the South.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Louis Lambert, c. 1863.
Lambert was a pseudonym for Union Army Bandmaster Patrick S. Gilmore. His lyrics, set to an old Irish folk song, were popular through the whole Reconstruction Era (1865-1896). It appears in an extended instrumental version on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove.

Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia W. Howe, 1861.
Howe is another lyricist who succeeded by utilizing a pre-existing piece of music, in this case a camp meeting tune of the 19th century (which also became John Brown's Body). The profound power of the words combined with the compelling melody cannot be denied, and it was sung at the funerals of Winston Churchill, Robert Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

Overture: 1812, Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880.
Patriotic music doesnt always revolve around the July 4th celebration, or even refer to the USA. Tchaikovsky got Russian hearts a-pounding with his 1812 Overture in E Flat Major Op. 49, written to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his country's victory battle during the Napoleonic Wars.

Semper Fidelis, John Philip Sousa, 1889.
Popular ever since it was first performed, the effective and spirited tune takes its name from the U.S. Marine Corps motto meaning always faithful and is dedicated to the Marines.

America the Beautiful, Katharine Lee Bates, 1895, 1904, 1913.
Originally a poem that Bates twice revised after its first publication in 1885, America the Beautiful was sung to several different melodies. The song associated with it today is Materna, composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882, but it was also often performed to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.

Stars and Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa, 1896.
Composed on Christmas Day, The Stars and Stripes Forever has become the country's official march (US Code, Title 36 Chapter 10). Sousa wrote lyrics to the song, but they are little known today (sample: Let martial note in triumph float / And liberty extend its mighty hand / A flag appears 'mid thunderous cheers, / The banner of the Western land.)

Yankee Doodle Boy, George M. Cohan, 1904.
You're A Grand Old Flag, George M. Cohan, 1906.
Over There, George M. Cohan, 1917.
Known as he man who owned Broadway, Cohan was a superstar before the term was coined. While his film biography is called Yankee Doodle Dandy, the title of his first big tribute to America is actually The Yankee Doodle Boy. Cohan excited U.S. audiences again in 1906 with You're a Grand Old Flag, although the original line was You're a Grand Old Rag. It was America's entrance into World War I in 1917 that inspired Cohan to write Over There, for which he received a congressional medal.

God Bless America, Irving Berlin, 1938.
The prolific Berlin (900+ songs despite being unable to read music) originally wrote this song right after the first World War, but did not complete it until just before World War II. Kate Smith first performed it during her radio show on Armistice Day, 1938. An immediate sensation, the song was often suggested to replace the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem.

Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix, 1969.
The legendary guitarist took the stage near dawn on the final day of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The 13th song in his hour-long set was an incendiary rendition of the venerable tune. In a performance that was somehow savage and grand at the same time, Hendrix wrestled new levels of emotion from the song and generations have never heard it quite the same way again.

Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola, 1979.
The music in question is Ride of the Valkyries, from Richard Wagner's opera, Die Walkure (1854-56). The composition fit perfectly into director Coppola's nightmarish vision of the Vietnam War. The sequence, featuring a helicopter attack at dawn, never fails to raise the emotions of viewers.

Scott G owns G-Man Marketing (http://www.gmanmarketing.com) where he makes radio commercials and creates advertising in all media. He is also recording artist The G-Man, with albums on iTunes and Rhapsody via Delvian Records.

See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/

the future of mp3 digital music

The Future of MP3 Digital MusicWriten by Dave Poon

Recording, playing and listening to music has never been more fun that it is today. Through the Internet, you can easily download songs and listen to your favorite music anytime of the day and wherever you are. Portable players that have access to Internet or those that can store large number of digital music files are now very affordable, fun to use and designed just right to fit the modern generations lifestyle.

What is MP3?

MP3, an acronym for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, is one of the most popular digital audio encoding and compression formats being used nowadays and is apparently making an enormous impact on how people store, listen and share music of different genres. It is even now regarded as a standard technology used in greatly reducing the amount of data used to represent audio without altering the uncompressed audios sound quality when played.

Compressing Audio into MP3 Digital Music

The compression ratio of MP3 is 12:1, which means that a typical audio file that is 1200 KB big can be converted into a 100 KB MP3 digital music file without corrupting the sound quality of the original. In fact, some MP3 digital music are clearer and sound better since the compression process eliminates portions of the original music that are not too significant to human hearing. There are three ways through which the unwanted portions of the music are determined; among them is psychoacoustics, which is a study of how people subjectively perceive sounds.

MP3 digital music can be compressed with various bit rates (the number of bits of data representing a second of audio), which makes it possible for you to create different sizes and sound quality of an MP3 digital music converted from the same original digital audio file.

Usually, digital audio is compressed with bit rates ranging from 128 to 320. MP3 digital music encoded with low bitrate are of lower sound quality whereas those encoded with higher bitrate are clearer and more pleasing to the ears. However, there are also other factors affecting the quality of the compressed MP3 digital music; these are the quality of the encoder and complexity of the signal encoded. Moreover, the quality of the computer, the speaker or the earphones through which one listens to the music also affects his judgment with regard to the sound quality.

Benefits of MP3 Digital Music

MP3 digital music is very versatile. It can be played using your personal computer or a laptop; it can be played through a portable, small and light MP3 player; it can be decompressed and recorded on a compact disk; and can be easily downloaded via the Internet. Through several software, which are also available for free, you can easily create MP3 digital music from other digital audio formats.

The best things about MP3 digital music is that it is inexpensive and can even be obtained for free. It makes acquiring and listening to high quality music easier, more pleasurable, and particularly, cheaper. Its small size also allows you to store hundreds of MP3 digital music on your computer or MP3 player with ease, helping you save money you might have spent for CDs.

Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in music and entertainment. For more information regarding MP3 digital music, please drop by at http://entertainment.answerwisely.com

More Music Related Sites : http://www.learntoplaydrum.com/

the throbbing pulsating world of the vjs and rjs amalgamating music and technology

The Throbbing, Pulsating World Of The VJs And RJs: Amalgamating Music And Technology!Writen by Lopa Bhattacharya

If music be the food for love, play on...

Remember the bard's fabulous line in his romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, that celebrates the romantic passion of humans through the magical device of melodies? Yes, ages have passed by since, and our ardent fervor for music is miraculously magnifying with the passing of every single day. The advent of the electronic media (radio and television) has further accelerated our quest for listening to melodies with providing greater exposure to our favorite singers and their albums. Ages ago, one would have to be a privileged member of Akbar's sabha to listen to the soulful chanting of Miyan Tansen. However, years and ages passed after that and the 60's and 70's audience today fondly remember their pristine days of Binaca Geetmala, where the lively and spirited Ameen Sayani popularized the concept of live music broadcasting, and brought the timeless Indian classics to our drawing rooms.

Today, with an abundance of entertainment programs on television, one cannot help noticing young boys or girls anchoring different music shows. In Channel V or MTV, which airs music shows on the TV throughout the day, almost every hour the anchor changes and a fresh face comes up. Sometimes these programs are telecast live, in which the anchor has to interact with the live audience. These professionals are referred to as Video Jockeys, responsible for anchoring the music shows and also for maintaining the interests of viewers in that particular program. In radio broadcast, these professionals with pleasant and lively voice are called radio jockeys. In India, mainly the young generation is largely dependent upon the television or radio for viewing or listening to their favorite music. With a host of international music shows on Channel V and MTV, an ardent lover of Jazz or pop can get access to music from around the world. It is a mutually gratifying world for both the VJs and RJs who are making their livelihood by anchoring and organizing live music shows on the television and radio as well as for the viewers/audience who are mostly of younger age group and make specific request for a particular song or a set of songs and music.

While today viewers/audience of these live music shows have noticed that whether it is classical, western, jazz, rock or pop albums that they play, they have a quintessential knowledge of beats and different forms of music. However, many of the viewers/audience would also be curious to know how they handle various hardware equipment or work on different specialized software while playing their favorite numbers live.

While the critical components of radio broadcasting operations include an audio mixer, scheduler and playback system, these days the tech-savvy Radio Jockeys mostly use powerful digital music players for FM Radio programs. With such equipment, they ensure gapless, continuous playing with intelligent mix point detection where music mixes and fades at the right point at the right time. With a host of high-end digital equipment, music is fully controlled, using the best Audio tools ever. Radio disc jockeys play music, chat, deliver news, weather, or sports, or hold conversations with celebrities or call-in listeners. Like Club DJs, they mix music, sound effects, and special effects and occasionally provide time-filling chatter between songs in technically equipped radio stations. Being extremely organized and synchronized is critical to the radio station, where songs fill a certain span of time and commercials are also aired during specific blocks. In most radio stations, computer software programs are used to schedule the music for each radio program or play listener requests. When DJs are off air, they might record commercials for later broadcast, preview new music and prepare material for later shows.

On the other hand, the advent of digital satellite and cable has brought greater diversity with Television channels such as MTV and Channel V, which focus on playing music videos and other music-related programming. With the explosion of MTV and MuchMusic in the 1980s and 1990s, music videos became a new art form, a new way for an artist or group to express their songs visually. After its advent in 1981, MTV started nonstop broadcasting of music-video clips intended to boost sales on the music charts. With the coming of digital video editing, the VJs of these channels have used visual manipulations and effects in music- video clips. These days, many VJs even edit their material live on a computer, which could change and recompose the material in many ways. Some use found footage and other film material to tell their story, while others produce their own footage.

Today, after the advent of the Internet, live streaming music via the Internet radio stations have opened up new vistas of enjoying the melodies from all over the world. With a host of options ranging from shareware and freeware (designed to record streaming audio from online Radio stations) to webcasts and other Internet audio sources, the convergence of the Radio and Internet definitely mark the beginning of tremendous opportunities for the music aficionados.

Lopa Bhattacharya is a content writer/developer working on websites for overseas/Indian clientele. Has worked for various corporate website projects, CD-Rom presentations, brochures, flyers and other communication materials on varied themes ranging from travel, hotel industry, photography, web design and software development to US-based clubs and network communities. Was previously an editorial associate for a news, culture and entertainment portal based on the life and times of Kolkata.

More Music Related Sites : http://www.learntoplaydrum.com/

boney james pure smooth jazz cd review

Boney James Pure Smooth Jazz CD ReviewWriten by Clyde Dennis

One word describes the CD Pure from Boney James... AWESOME!

PURE is the ninth Warner Bros. release from smooth jazz sax man Boney James and marks his debut as his own producer. Co-writing every song on the CD, and playing a variety of instruments as well. Saying on his website, The great joy of PURE is that I made all the decisions about everything.

Listening to this CD makes it easy to see why fans flock in droves to Boney's yearly concert tour.

Those who listen to this CD will find there's not much to dis-like about it. It launches with the very nice title track, Pure and from there James proceeds to display why he is considered one the greatest smooth jazz artists of our time as he mixes his signature style throughout the CD.

These days it's a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

Overall Pure is an outstanding release. Quite possibly Boney's best to date.

Pure sensuality. Pure grooves. Pure pleasure.

How about pure gold from beginning to end.

A must have for the smooth jazz fan.

While this entire CD is outstanding the truly standout tunes, and SmoothJazz247.com favorites are Better With Time [track 2, 2:01 AM [track 3, and You Dont Have To Go Home [track 10. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in Stuck On REpeat is track 1, Pure. Good stuff!

Release Notes:

Boney James originally released Pure on August 3, 2004 on the Warner Bros. record label.

CD track list follows:

1. Pure
2. Better With Time - featuring Bilal
3. 2:01 AM
4. Stone Groove - featuring Joe Sample
5. Appreciate - featuring Debi Nova
6. Here She Comes
7. Break Of Dawn - featuring Dwele
8. It's On
9. Thinkin' 'Bout Me
10. You Dont Have To Go Home

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is an AVID music fan, smooth jazz in particular, and in addition to writing CD Reviews for I Love Smooth Jazz.com can also be heard during his radio show which airs online daily at Smooth Jazz 24/7

choosing a music teacher

Choosing a Music TeacherWriten by Sam Salmon

Although it is quite possible to teach yourself how to play an instrument, the advances that you can make with a good music teacher and following a course of structured lessons can not be overvalued. Dont be afraid to make that call to a teacher and discuss your needs. As adults it can be hard to take that first step, but playing music is undeniably good for the soul, and you shouldnt allow yourself to miss out on the opportunity to feel happier and learn something new.

Before you make that call it helps to know what style of music you would like to learn so you can discuss this with a prospective music teacher. Learning a style you enjoy helps you to stay motivated and make you want to keep practicing. It will also help your teacher to tailor the lessons to suit you.

Music teachers can be found in the local papers, Yellow Pages and Thompson Local as well as on the internet. Go to Google and type in music teachers in and add your town and county. Another good source is your local music shop. They usually know the local teachers personally, or know of the good ones from word of mouth from their customers.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a music teacher, and price should really NOT be one of them. Four lessons a month with an adequate teacher who is cheap may not be as beneficial to you as twice a month with a superior but more expensive teacher. Its true that more expensive is not always better, but an excellent teacher will have no problem finding students prepared to pay a higher rate.

You can expect to pay anywhere from 12 to 30 an hour, though many teachers offer half hour lessons which may well be better for people early into their instrument playing. Ask if there is the possibility of group lessons, if this suits you. This can seriously help reduce the costs for those on tight budget. Those who have family constraints or transport problems might want to consider having a teacher come to their home.

Any good teacher will be happy to talk to you about the possibility of teaching you and should be happy to answer your questions.

* Ask if you can sit in on a lesson. This is especially good if youre thinking of taking group lessons.

* Avoid teachers who are not fun. Playing an instrument should be fun not a chore. If you dont find learning with a particular teacher fun, move on. It should not be work, otherwise youd work an instrument not play it

* Ask if you can tape record any lessons you have. A teacher who is confident in their teaching methods will have no problem with this, and you will have a source of reference to help you in your practice.

* Never be afraid to ask what their professional and educational experience is. While qualifications may not be everything you should expect a music teacher to have taken their music exams in the instrument or instruments they teach. Also find out how long theyve been teaching and the kind of people they teach. For example do they teach adults and children? References can be asked for, but none come higher than personal recommendation from a happy student.

* Ask how much practice is expected of you, and find out if there will be opportunities to perform in the future, especially if you are learning an instrument that plays as part of large band or orchestra.

Which ever path you go down, the bottom line is practice practice practice. Little and often is always better than spending 4 hours the day before your next lesson trying to practice what you were shown last lesson! It never fools the teacher and all you do is waste your own money and time. Things sink in better if practiced a little everyday anyway. To spend 10 minutes several times a day working on something you find particularly difficult can often achieve better results than 2 hours in one sitting.

Sam Salmon runs http://www.iwantedtobeapopstar.co.uk helping amateur musicians find others to play with.

free legal music online

Free, Legal Music OnlineWriten by Daniel Punch

Almost everyone has heard about the massive crack down on Internet music piracy that has been occurring over the past few years. Napster was taken down (although it has now returned as a pay service), other file sharing programs now require users to pay for a license and the RIAA and other similar organizations are doing their best to hunt down copyright offenders and put an end to their crime sprees. The consumers on the other hand argue that their actions hurt nobody, that there is no damage done to anyone by their not buying an album. Furthermore, they claim, MP3s allow them to sample a CD before purchasing it, thus actually helping sales.

I'm not here to argue the pros and cons. Basically it's not worth it, as neither side of the argument will ever see the opposition's point of view. What I'd like to do is take a look at the completely free and legal alternative to 'stealing' music. Those wonderfully talented musicians who are willing to put their creations online to download for free, solely for the joy of spreading their creations to the masses.

Free music is surprisingly easy to come by, even music by famous bands. Sometimes it needs to be 'streamed' from the Internet, meaning that you can only listen to a song while you're online, but with the ever-growing popularity of broadband Internet this is really no longer a problem. Sites such as MP3.com and purevolume.com provide free music by almost any band you can think of, although there is a large amount of it that has to be streamed and not downloaded. A search for 'free legal MP3 downloads' will reveal a huge number of pages to visit.

For something specific, try visiting the artist's website, or the site of their record label. These will often offer a few sample tracks to download for free. It's not quite as convenient as having access to every song that you want, but it's not a bad alternative.

But how about we forget about the mainstream for just a while and move towards the alternative? Towards the hopefuls, the talented bands that have yet to be 'noticed'. There are a huge number of these smaller bands out there that are sticking their stuff online for any and all to listen to, just so that they can be heard. These can be easier to find, because most MP3 sites will be filled with these smaller acts. A great place to start is http://www.garageband.com/ or the aforementioned http://purevolume.com

The great thing about smaller bands is that you can often find bands that come from your local area and then go and see them play live. Being able to see a favourite band live more than once a year (or lifetime) without expending huge amounts of money and time is pretty cool. Many music search engines will let you search for bands of a particular genre in a particular area, which makes it all quite easy.

A fairly major contributor to the online music scene is the remixer. These people take other tunes and redo them, often in a techno style because one person can do this competently. Chief among the tunes selected to be remixed are those old ditties that used to play through the simplest of sound chips on now aging consoles: the video game theme songs. People now go and grab the main tune line from an old favourite and fill it out, making real the work our imaginations used to do for us to turn the single tone melodies into orchestral masterpieces. A few good places to start are http://remix.kwed.org and http://remix.overclocked.org as well as a personal favourite band http://machinaesupremacy.com

I hope this has given you something to think about. It's not hard to come across illegal MP3 rips, in fact it's often hard to avoid them, but if you give the free music scene a look you may find something completely different and new that will really do it for you. With web hosts already being penalized hugely for illegal content being stored on their servers (having an entire server taken down because of one inconsiderate user is damaging and irritating beyond belief) and moves being made to charge ISPs for the content being accessed by their users, it makes more sense than ever to get out there and grab yourself an awesomely original and completely legal music collection.

Daniel Punch
http://www.m6.net
Daniel Punch is a University student gathering a large music collection to keep himself going during those long nights of 'study' (also known as 'playing video games')