free music

instead of a writing a review of a popular band with a music company deal, this time I want to direct you to the opposite end of the musical spectrum: free music. creative commons (cc) music.

if you are familiar with the concept of creative commons, you may know that it is described as "free - as in free speech, not as in free beer."

a few days ago a website called the free music archive has been launched that distributes music produced under creative commons licenses. these licenses act as an alternative to copyright. as an artist, you can publish your art from one of a selection of cc licenses to make sure consumers can do more with it than simply consume it. the most restrictive of the cc licenses allows anyone to redistribute the work. this is exactly what is supposed to happen on the free music archive.
but a lot of artists use licenses that are even less restrictive. some allow you derivative works, like remixing or using the music as a background track for your own film. on the free music archive, you can browse the music by the licenses they have been published under, which lets you know exactly what you can do with the song.

if you need music for any project you are involved with, the free music archive probably is the easiest way to find it. and dont think it is just cheesy keyboard music. I simply clicked on the pop button and had a look at the songs available on the first page that came up - I already found some artists names I am familiar with. and dont forget: if the license allows it, you dont have to use the whole song. you can just use a drum intro or an a capella part.

these license things may sound strange when youu read about them for the first time. you may even wonder why they chose the free in the name. well, thats because this time, it does not only mean free speech. it also means free beer.

now go and explore it! here is the link