Is "free music" any good?

[DJ Minteer]

When you see anything like “free music” on the internet, what do you think? Is it good, bad or ugly?

1. Is it basically music that the budding musician could never sell because it’s not very good? For example, I just saw a “funny videos” clip on TV where a pretty boy musician was trying to be all pretty with his guitar in the woods...and a bird pooped on his shoulder while he was singing. Sorry to say it but that’s what I thought of it too.

2. Is it truly good music and the musician is just hoping to eventually sell it through word-of-mouth reviews after people download his “free music”? I mean, there are a lot of good musicians out there that don’t get much recognition in the mainstream. On the other hand, doesn’t it make you wonder if it’s so good, why is he giving it away?

3. Is it pirated music that is basically a copyright infringement, from a website with poor English and a big “You Dig Here” button?

4. Is it legitimate free music downloads of your favorite music, which seems so common out there on the internet? But you have to ask, if it is really free, how can they afford to do that and how do the artists get compensated?

So…opinion poll time…which is it most of the time - what is your gut feel when you see “free song downloads”? 1, 2, 3 or 4? Or, if it is something else - what?

[4jacks]

Cool Post, don't know how I missed it earlier.

I get a LOT of my music free of the internet. Most of it fits into number 2. A lot of Mix tapes and stuff. I listen to a lot of Christian Hip Hop. Websites like Sphere of Hip Hop and Rapzilla put out free tracks all the time. If you follow your favorite artist on facebook or twitter they always drop freebies.

The music industry has changed becuase of number 3. Which isn't how you describe. You can search rapidshare for any album in the world almost and download a very highquality album. It's very clean and easy, no poorly written english and risk of spyware etc.

That being said it's important to support your favorite artists.