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Not that most will care, but I first heard about Asterisk via the HTTP_REFERER data in the Web server logs for the OMR, which was apparently referenced as a place to get no-cost, pre-licensed (open licensed) on-hold music.

Now that the OMR has been shut down, the links to those songs are available in an XML dump of the music database that can be found on freality.org or my own site.

That's not quite right because almost none of this music is under a free or open license, though.

Hmm... what does "almost none" mean in this context? When I still had the OMR up and running, each of the hundreds of songs listed in it was under a very open license (the artist's choice from the Open Audio License or one of three similar licenses).

I suppose the Moderation of "Troll" is accurate, but I'll give you a simple answer anyway: Buying music does not "support the artists" if the purchase is done through a corrupted industry where the artist will see only a tiny fraction (if anything) of the money.

Of course, artists receiving very little or none of the purchase price of a commercially-distributed CD is not an excuse for infringing copyright -- but it is a very good reason to listen to and support truly independent artists (by helping them build their audience and by purchasing CDs directly from the artist which guarantees they get all of the profits).

{sigh...} It's times like this I wish the OMR had been more of a success (meaning, that I had more time and energy to make it so). Then again, 70,000+ downloads of independent artists' music isn't too shabby either.

Maybe this service isn't for you, but for a lot of /. readers this is a nice place to find new things to listen.

Slightly off-topic, but not really: Another place for Slashdot geeks to find new things to listen to is the Open Music Registry. It's not even a store, just a link to free downloads of songs using copyleft licenses (like the EFF Open Audio License and the Creative Commons share-alike license). The listings are not extensive, but they are slowly growing. There's a lot of tunes available in ogg vorbis format, which I prefer, but quite a few artists are still using mp3.

One of my favorite artists that I discovered on the Open Music Registry is Andrew Vavrek.

(Disclaimer: I have a few songs listed there, but I am otherwise unaffiliated with the Registry.)

Maybe this service isn't for you, but for a lot of /. readers this is a nice place to find new things to listen.

Slightly off-topic, but not really: Another place for Slashdot geeks to find new things to listen to is the Open Music Registry. It's not even a store, just a link to free downloads of songs using copyleft licenses (like the EFF Open Audio License and the Creative Commons share-alike license). The listings are not extensive, but they are slowly growing. There's a lot of tunes available in ogg vorbis format, which I prefer, but quite a few artists are still using mp3.

One of my favorite artists that I discovered on the Open Music Registry is Andrew Vavrek.

(Disclaimer: I have a few songs listed there, but I am otherwise unaffiliated with the Registry.)

Why not create a sort of OpenMusic directory...

You mean like the Open Music Registry? :-)

I'm not sure how well it'd work but the experiment itself would be interesting.

Yeah, the last couple of years have been pretty interesting. One of the most interesting aspects has been how difficult it is to get attention for something like this, even in Slashdot. Every Registry-related story I've submitted has been rejected.

Downloads of commercial music for a fee with specific licensing and DRM restrictions is just a subset of legal music downloads. Last I checked, the Open Music Registry (and Narcopop, and Common Content) were all "legal music sites" that Aussies can use just like anyone else in the world.

Don't buy into and/or support the notion that commercialized music is the only music available. When you see this sort of nonsense in the media, at least take time to write to the publisher to comment on it. I have.

I'm sure some musicians who have released their work under the Open Audio License (and similar licenses) would appreciate attention from young listeners. No need for the young to only 'love' what they hear on the radio. My 11-year-old wrote to FreezePop after hearing their music via the Open Music Registry, and she also convinced me to buy a couple of their CDs.

Avoiding all the crap laws: where is the 'sourceforge' of music and other media that is released under GPL?

You mean like the Open Music Registry? Doesn't include "other media" but if you're looking for music, it's a place to start.

Don't forget, there are other people out there who have been doing this for awhile too, such as the Open Music Registry.

There's always the Open Audio License and The Open Music Registry, for starters...

Open Music Registry might have something you could use. Mp3.com might too, depending on what you consider to be "CD quality".

Redistribution seems to be OK just by including the 'Open Audio statement'. About like including the GPL when you restribute source code.

...or at least I do hope it should be obvious (but unfortunately it is not true for everyone, I don't see any other comments talking about it yet), whichever software and operating system you choose, please consider using Ogg Vorbis format to store your music.

Many people still keep using proprietary MP3 file format, which is unfortunate not because of its lower quality to size ratio, which is hard to hear for an average person, who doesn't even usually hear any difference between 192kbps and 256kbps constant bitrate MP3 files, but because of its legal issues. While Vorbis is technically similar to JPEG graphics format, i.e. it's a "lossy" compression, it is legally similar to PNG, while MP3 is in that analogy similar to GIF, using LZW compression patented by Unisys. See the MP3/MP3PRO Patent and Software Licensing Information website and search Google for "MP3 patent" to find more informations about this issue.

Also, I hope, and I'm sure most of the people here will agree with me, there will be a little "(O)" mark, next to your copyright statement! Good luck! We'll be looking for your links in the Open Music Registry!

(And please, don't post this old stupid joke that we should use double OAL logo, "because (o)(o) looks better," because it doesn't. It looks like an immature joke made by a 15-year-old child, while EFF's OAL should be taken seriously if we ever want it to successfully compete with the recording industry at large.)

The ISO image is only 300MB, so more than half of the CD is empty. I would suggest filling it with some music. The empty space should be filled with about 100 songs. Free software is not the only Free data out there, there is also Free music.

Maybe we ought to write Open songs and publicise them.

Indeed -- this has become a significant focus for me lately, as I've had significant difficulties getting even my own family members to stop by and look at the Open Music Registry -- my sister, for example, claimed she and her husband weren't interested because they don't pay attention to "new" artists (meaning, those lacking the corporate seal of approval). It's one thing for a typical Slashdot user to understand this; however, getting Joe/Jane Average to "get it" is something else.

Last night I posted a short Ogg audio file promoting free entertainment, which I hope people will either pick up for use directly or will take the idea and make their own, to include in Internet radio broadcasts, Free music compilations, etc. It's a long uphill battle, though.

If you choose the Open Audio License published by the EFF, I would strongly recommending listing the music in the Open Music Registry (see link in my .sig). If you so choose, you can use that listing to request tips/donations from listeners.

(This is directed to nometa, not Milo Fungus, who provides an example of what I'm describing in the 2nd paragraph above.)

It doesn't seem like the Recording Artists Coalition is got anything new planned. "Work for hire" reform seems blazingly obvious to me. I hope other issues like insuring cheap Internet download purchase(not DRM), are not as opeque to them as "work for hire" is obvious to me.

It seems to me the best way change copyright abuse is to encourage more adoption of music published under copyleft type licences. Unfortunatly that ultimatly leaves singed artists out in the cold for as long as the RIAA leaves them there.

Here's to copyleft only music promotion online.

Utimatly illogical laws can lead to logical social patterns. One way or another "popular" artists representation will not treat the fans like criminals. Even if the fans have to find new musicans.

Maybe the RIAA could work with us instead of trying to force everyone to bow to their authority. If they squeeze webcasters to death and put fair use in a straight jacket then they are forcing us to find our music elsewhere, like Open Audio projects.

We need to do the same thing with pop culture and music that we have done with software. Geeks who are also musicans, pick up your instruments and write once again. Then post you music up to the Open Music Registry.

If you have a friend in a great band who is strugling, explain what is going on and encourage them to licence there music for free.

It's damn time we created copyleft pop music infrastructure. Lets give those webcasters somthing original to broadcast, and then listen.

All Success in this kind of activity can acomplish is to popularize arts under open licences.

I see efforts by the RIAA like this like I see the BSA, it is the symptom of a problem raising peoples awareness of the negitive impact of itself. The problem being lenghty(infinate) copyright stay and binding contracts you don't have to physically see or sign prior to purchase.

Officially free to watch and copy Internet TV here we come. Sure it won't be the same content, but it will be targeted to an audience that marketers know is smarter anyway. I'm sure a couple of reality shows, a few documentations, and a variation on junkyard wars would be a good cheap start. TV will now have competition, thank you TV police.

Somebody should tell Glenn A. Baker that some copright holders like that kind of copying. They have as many moral and legal rights as he does, he is very inconsiderate.

http://www.openmusicregistry.org/

http://www.fsf.org/

I am trying to start a home recording studio and would like to use the GPL but it is unclear that it applies to music. This is the same question related to books.

relevant to yr question here's some links on open licenses for music :

electronic frontier foundation's open audio license (there was a slashdot discussion on this when it first came out)

open music registry (site acting as a registry of open audio licensed music)

open music (not sure about this group's bona fides - just found them through a google search)

The same rules of open source, applied to music.

Here.

You can browse the music that's up there already, download it, whatever. I've got a few songs up there, give them a listen.

Bryguy