After my music post yesterday I thought it would be helpful to list my favorite music services of 2010. These both were major sources of listening to knew music this year.
First, Grooveshark.com. It doesn't get all that much better than free music, and Grooveshark has tons. Through Grooveshark I was able to listen to much more music this year than I could have afforded. A free account at Grooveshark.com lets you stream millions of songs online. Sidebar advertising revenue sends a tiny royalty to the artist when you play a song, or you can pay a small monthly fee to forgo the adds. This isn't just another radio station, but a full-feature music player. You can play individual songs, easily add music to your queue, and build playlists. If your not already on board, check it out.
Second, bandcamp.com. When Sufjan Stevens released his latest album last year, his record sent out an email to his fans. They mentioned that you would probably be able to find the new album for really cheap on Amazon.com when it came out, and you could easily download it off a bit-torrent without paying. But, they asked, isn't an artist's months of hard work worth more than a latte? While I think lattes are overpriced, I also think they have a point: artists should get paid for their work. The 10 percent or so artists get from major retailers for CD and MP3 sales seems measly. That's where Bandcamp.com is a cool idea.
Bandcamp is a customizable platform where artists can sell their music. What's so great about that? Well, it's often cheaper than other stores, and a much higher percentage of the sale goes directly to the artist. What else? It connects you to the artist and your purchasing power back to the artist. Thirty or Ninety second previews also sound miserly when you can stream whole albums on bandcamp. The site and the cart are easy to use and sharp, and the downloads are high quality. Bandcamp.com is a great site making indie music just a little more accessible.
No comments:
Post a Comment