SFFC Swarthmore

Independent artists are thriving on the internet. Music is no longer something you buy only in discrete albums for lots of money from big record stores. It is the position of Free Culture Swarthmore that file-sharing technology, digital recording/editing, and viral promotion (e.g., YouTube) will enable all types of artists, but especially independent musicians, to extend the reach of their work and to better profit from it (if they desire).

FC Swarthmore does not promote the sharing of copyrighted works whose creators have expressly forbidden free distribution. But sharing and promotion technologies are not in themselves illegal and many artists choose a more liberal copyright license (such as CreativeCommons) to take advantage of these technologies. Below is a rough guide to finding free, legal music on the internet. There is plenty available, from both obscure artists and very popular artists. Some of these artists are amateurs and do not expect a profit, while others have become quite wealthy from their music, possibly because of their liberal distribution policies.

Free music on the internet comes in a few varieties, which cater to different types of listening:

1. Illegal downloading — You can get almost any CD is MP3-form illegally from P2P services like Bittorrent and Limewire. Sometimes these services can be slow and unreliable, and most importantly, they are tracked by the RIAA and people do receive threatening letters for using them. You can have your internet service shut off and there’s the possibility you could end up in court.Free Culture Swarthmore does not support this form of downloading.

2. Streaming Radio — It is legal (with constraints) to stream most most over the internet. This is analogous to internet radio. The theory is that you can only listen in real-time and not store the music for future replay. There are thousands of streaming radio stations out there. Additionally, almost all radio stations have online broadcasts. So you can listen to your favorite local station anywhere! You can easily find independent and college radio stations that way and the music played is diverse and great! For example, you can listen to WSRN (Swarthmore), WKDU (Drexel), WXPN (UPenn), or even a non-college affiliated station like WFMU, out of New Jersey.

3. Free downloads — most independent bands have some free music you can download. Many bands have a MySpace page with free music. Many bands allow free distribution of their live shows for you to download. Websites like Archive.org and etree.org offer these downloads. There’s a lot there!

4. Music “networking” sites — This category covers sites like Last.FM and pandora.com. These websites attempt to locate artists similar to ones you already like. This is a great way to hear new music! Both these websites set up an online radio station that’s customized to music you already like. Last.FM in its streaming radio program even gives you biographical information about the artist as its playing.

Free Culture Swarthmore Projects

Since Spring 2007, Olde Club (Swat’s premier indie music venue) has been recording almost all musical performances that take place at the site. If you wish to obtain a copy of your own performance, they’re available by request from Free Culture Swarthmore. Recordings are not distributed without prior permission from the original artist, who retains all copyright over his own performances.

Since Fall 2008, Free Culture Swarthmore has been releasing a free bi-annual Compilation CD of the best student performances at Olde Club. At the bottom of this page is a summary of past releases. Free Culture Swarthmore can be contacted if you wish to obtain an old compilation (sometimes extra copies are available) or a future compilation. If you are featured on the CD, you are guaranteed a copy.

Additionally, WSRN’s “Studio B” is available for studio recordings of individual artists or small groups. If a properly-trained tech is available, this is free to any Swarthmore student. Contact WSRN or Free Culture Swarthmore for more information.

The National Free Culture organization also has a website where liberally licensed music is shared. Check out Free Culture’s Free Music Database.

Downloads

Archive.org — This is probably the largest free music archive on the internet. It contains thousands of live recordings from artists in every genre, including many popular commercial and independent artists. The Grateful Dead, Animal Collective, and Elliott Smith are just a couple of examples. There are also plenty of historic recordings (and movies!).

Library of Congress — The Library of Congress has historic recordings (Blues, Folk, Talk) from every part of the country. The website above lets you browse their many audio collections, from Florida Folk to famous WW1 speeches to Omaha Indian Music.

Streaming/Podcasts

LastFM — like Facebook for music. Last.FM can recommend artists based on your current listening habits, let you listen to their music, and there’s even a streaming-radio option that lets you listen to full-song radio of artists that are similar to your preferences. Join the Swarthmore groups!

Shoutcast — A database of user-run streaming radio stations. Everything’s on there. You can search by genre, artist, song, etc.

Wolfgang’s Vault — Thousands of free concerts from the 60’s and 70’s. If you’re into any sort of rock or jam music, this is a great place. You can listen to vintage Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Doors, U2, Bob Marley, The Who…the list goes on.

Jamendo — Another streaming-radio website featuring CreativeCommons licensed artists. These are generally more obscure artists. Impress your friends!

Swarthmore-Only

Underhill — Look under the Online Sound Recordings column. You’ll find subscriptions to services that let you listen to Classical, Jazz, Folk, and historic recordings. You’re actually paying for this one with your 40K in tuition.

Alumni/Student Bands

A Swarthmore student publishes a periodic music zine called Spitting Contest.

Creative Commons

CreativeCommons is a group that produces easy-to-read and easy-to-use licenses that let artists share their art in the exact way they want. You can find licenses that allow for non-commercial distribution, sampling, attribution, and everything in between.

They also have a lot of great projects and contests, including ccMixter, a sampling and mixing website.

Past Olde Club Compilation Releases:

Spring 2008

Featuring:

Bloodied Snow, Jon Peters, Jesse Handler and the Dirty Boys, Thomas Mantell and the Folk Implosion, Ben Bradlow, Sam Goodman, Nicole Singer, Ming and the Ming Ming Mings, The Mariachi Band, The Balkan Brass Band, Soldier on Dear Friend, Handglops, The Plural Nouns, The Horticulture, Jon Stafstrom

Fall 2007

Featuring:

Louis Jargow, Dwight Smith, Dan Sito & Ben Plotkin-Swing, Ben Bradlow, Marshall Morales, Jon Peters, Jeff Kaufman & Laurie Tupper, Alicia Lemke & Mark Loria, Greg Albright Jazz Combo, Bloodied Snow, Early Grey and the Teabags, Jon Stafstrom & Dennis Hogan