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How Do You Find New Non-RIAA Music?
burgundysizzle writes "Given the general reaction to the RIAA in comments, I assume that there are a number of users that try not to buy from RIAA sources. What alternatives do you use - or more importantly - what methods do you use to discover alternative sources of music? I use Sellaband.com (some free legal music available) and Amiestreet.com (new music is free and most music really cheap) to find new music, but I'm always on the lookout for interesting sites to discover new music. Tell me about your experiences and any other interesting places you get new music from. I'm looking for inexpensive, and legal."
Most of the new stuff I encounter is from places like SomaFM. Most (all?) of the stuff they play is from indie labels and unsigned bands, and I can listen passively, which means I get decent background tunes while I work, and if I hear something I like, I can take a look at my stream player to see who the artist is and investigate from there.
:)
Basically, I'm lazy, so why not let someone else send the music to me?
Listen to college radio stations, which is a whole lot easier now thanks to the internet. No, it's not all indie rock. Most stations have a wide variety of specialty shows, so you can become exposed to lesser known bands in nearly any genre--bluegrass, folk, country, j-pop, classical, avant garde/experimental, hip hop, dance, etc etc etc. And when their pledge drives come around, make a donation and support them!
This guy's the limit!
I just started poking around http://www.projectplaylist.com/ Don't know yet if it's worth much or not, but it might be worth a try.
I hate to admit I use it at all, but the music on myspace has some okay stuff. Just poke around the bands' pages and see what you get. Find a local band you may or may not know and follow their "friends" links, especially some of the smaller show producers and such. If you like metal, start with http://www.myspace.com/coldethylmusic (shameless plug, my tattoo artist is the drummer).
http://remix.kwed.org/
Is great source for a lot of nice remixes of old C= 64 games.
About three months ago, I had a "discussion" with someone who claimed that piracy would be the end of the music industry and that no one would want to play music anymore. My assertions that real musicians (and I know quite a few) just want people to listen to their music. They'll work a day job, go without eating, or do anything else it takes to keep playing in front of groups was dismissed. In my experience, the guitar/bass/sax/whatever is always the last thing to get hocked and the first thing to come out of the pawn shop.
Real musicians play for the people, not the money. They always have and they always will. This fifty-year invention of the rock star lifestyle is just a fad.
Speaking of that, the movie Rock Star with Mark Wahlberg has an interesting opinion on that. Paraphrased. "You've got to start drinking and sleeping with women. Live the lifestyle. Be sexy. Then the women will want you, and come to your concerts. That'll make the guys want to come, and it's the guys that buy the album." (I lookes for the exact quote, but couldn't find it.
By the way, I use http://jamendo.com/ to get almost all my music. Current favorites are:
Put identity in the browser.