This is a follow up post to Free Download Friday #16: Logan because, once again, Reverbnation and Microsoft are making hundreds of tracks from unsigned bands available for free download.
It's the same deal as before. You get a free download, Microsoft puts a text banner advert across the bottom of the track's graphic and rewards the artists you download. There are also a couple of differences. This time, each week they display what the call Playlist 7 on the front page. The seven are chosen because they were the most popular downloads from a shortlist of fifty contenders published the previous week. However, you can still go to the full list and choose from the 679 available tracks.
The major difference is that now, before you can download a track, you hve to become a fan of Windows on facebook. As a long time Mac user that me gave me pause for thought... but a free download is a free download, so I sucked it up and became a fan!
In one sense I am pleased to see Logan are still there because you can download Something Else which is a cracker of a track. (As before, you cannot easily go directly to the Logan page - you have t use the alphabet of links at the to of the page, go to the Ls and then search for Logan.) However, the downside is that I assume this means they are still unsigned, which seems unbelievable.
There is also a free Logan track on the main Reverbenation site: a live version of When I Get Down.
Once again, there are so many tracks that it s difficult to know what else to recommend. If you recognise any of the artists, let me know if I should check them out.
Showing posts with label Reverb Nation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reverb Nation. Show all posts
Friday, 29 January 2010
Friday, 26 June 2009
Free Download Friday #16: Logan
ReverbNation is a fairly well established music site. It works with independent artists and provides a web platform so artists can give fans access to their music. The artists can sell downloads, show videos and build a community of fans. There are thousands of artists on ReverbNation covering pretty much every genre of popular music.
You can search for artists offering free downloads, for example, I discovered Fish is offering a free track when I searched for "Progressive Rock" and "Free Downloads".
Advert supported downloads
However, given what I've said before about sponsorship being an interesting way for bands to be rewarded for their music while fans get to download for free, I want to focus on a deal that Windows has done with ReverbNation and MySpace. Essentially, in exchange for Microsoft adding a Windows advert to the album art, fans get a chance to download a song for free. Currently, Window's are sponsoring over one thousand songs. Will I say that again? Over 1,000 songs for free download!
It has to be said that, by the nature of the people that use ReverbNation, most are by artists I've never heard of. It also doesn't help that there is no search option in the Windows section of site (the best you can do is narrow it down by first letter of the artists name or by choosing a genre). However, I have come across two names I recognise that I want to pass on here.
Free downloads
The first name I recognised was The Answer. Again, because of the way the site is organised, it is not possible to link directly to their page. You may have to go to the Free Music Giveaway section and look for them yourself. With a bit of luck you will be able to download the mp3 of Tonight from here but if you find them yourself, you get the choice of downloading in m4a or mp3 format, as well as being able to listening to it directly from the web page.
Tonight is a great track from an up and coming band but I must admit I prefer Goodbye from Logan. Logan are a five piece rock band from Glasgow - my home town. They do the noisy guitar bit (which I like!) but are also able to slow it down and produce quieter, dare I say it... ballads too. Currently they are supporting Thunder on their farewell tour and I hope this brings Logan to more people's notice because they are a band that deserves to become huge.
Available on eMusic
It is worth pointing out that both The Answer and Logan can be found on eMusic. (Declaration of interest. If you sign up for eMusic as a result of following this link, I get some extra free downloads but I would highly recommend this site anyway as a great source of cheap, legal, music for download.) My suggestion would be to try Everyday Demons from The Answer but to beg, buy or borrow a copy of Cruel Little World by Logan. I've given the album five stars on my iPod and the track, When I Get Down, is outstandingly good. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Where do I start?
With over a thousand tracks to choose from, my problem is where to go next! Do you recognise any of the other names? Who else should I listen to/download?
You can search for artists offering free downloads, for example, I discovered Fish is offering a free track when I searched for "Progressive Rock" and "Free Downloads".
However, given what I've said before about sponsorship being an interesting way for bands to be rewarded for their music while fans get to download for free, I want to focus on a deal that Windows has done with ReverbNation and MySpace. Essentially, in exchange for Microsoft adding a Windows advert to the album art, fans get a chance to download a song for free. Currently, Window's are sponsoring over one thousand songs. Will I say that again? Over 1,000 songs for free download!
It has to be said that, by the nature of the people that use ReverbNation, most are by artists I've never heard of. It also doesn't help that there is no search option in the Windows section of site (the best you can do is narrow it down by first letter of the artists name or by choosing a genre). However, I have come across two names I recognise that I want to pass on here.
Free downloads
The first name I recognised was The Answer. Again, because of the way the site is organised, it is not possible to link directly to their page. You may have to go to the Free Music Giveaway section and look for them yourself. With a bit of luck you will be able to download the mp3 of Tonight from here but if you find them yourself, you get the choice of downloading in m4a or mp3 format, as well as being able to listening to it directly from the web page.
Tonight is a great track from an up and coming band but I must admit I prefer Goodbye from Logan. Logan are a five piece rock band from Glasgow - my home town. They do the noisy guitar bit (which I like!) but are also able to slow it down and produce quieter, dare I say it... ballads too. Currently they are supporting Thunder on their farewell tour and I hope this brings Logan to more people's notice because they are a band that deserves to become huge.
Available on eMusic
It is worth pointing out that both The Answer and Logan can be found on eMusic. (Declaration of interest. If you sign up for eMusic as a result of following this link, I get some extra free downloads but I would highly recommend this site anyway as a great source of cheap, legal, music for download.) My suggestion would be to try Everyday Demons from The Answer but to beg, buy or borrow a copy of Cruel Little World by Logan. I've given the album five stars on my iPod and the track, When I Get Down, is outstandingly good. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Where do I start?
With over a thousand tracks to choose from, my problem is where to go next! Do you recognise any of the other names? Who else should I listen to/download?
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