Finding new music is a challenge. Not because there isn’t enough of it; quite the contrary. There are so many new artists and even genres that it would take years to listen to all of the noteworthy tunes that have come out in 2010.
Most people rely on their friends for suggestions or mix CDs, but for the true music explorer who ventures out on his own to find the most prime under the radar cuts, it’s not that easy. What if you want to be the one recommending your musical finds to friends?
The first barrier to finding new music is filtering it down. This takes some time, but it could save you albums-worth of time listening to garbage. Read reviews- try JamBase, OurVinyl, and even Amazon. By reading reviews ahead of time you can prevent making a quick judgement after listening to a band’s “fluke” album . Listen to Pandora Radio or last.FM, check out iTunes Genius, and build a playlist on Grooveshark or 8Tracks. Download full live shows on Archive.org (I recommend Papadosio’s SpringFest set)
If you’re a “pirate”, musical booty comes cheap. Torrents, MegaUpload, and Limewire have exposed many people to artists that they may have never heard if there was a price on it. But to those who think of the artist and prefer the honest route, finding new tunes costs money. All is not lost though.
Music lovers can find exclusive content for free from an unexpected source. iTunes Podcasts are a hidden treasure. Artists from Bassnectar to Umphrey’s McGee to STS9, Blue Man Group, Wilco, Bob Dylan, and Jack Johnson (to name a few) all have their own podcasts. And the typical price? Free. Many artists also release exclusive free content on their websites. Sub Swara, Umphrey’s, and Phish send mixtapes and free live recordings to those on their mailing lists.
Between online radio and free downloads, musical adventurers can build up a long repetoire of no-cost tunes. And if that isn’t enough, there’s one more (possibly illegal) trick to getting that song out of your head and onto your laptop- Listen to YouTube. The site converts Youtube videos into audio .mp3 files so you can listen to them like normal tracks and without accessing YouTube or the web.
With the tools above, you’ll be impressing your friends and building your library in no time.
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