Don't believe the hype. Downloading music from the Internet is not illegal. You will not end up in jail, you will pass go and you will get your hands on some affordable music. Jim Carroll has the lowdown on downloads.
LET'S start by debunking a myth. Downloading music from the Internet is not illegal. Yes, you read that right. Downloading music from the Internet will not see you receiving a nasty summons from the music industry in the post. It will not make your computer break out in hives, it does not make you a thief and it will not see you taking your place in the FBI's Most Wanted line-up next month.
This may come as a surprise to many. After all, given the number of times the word "illegal" has appeared in print alongside the word "downloads" in the past 12 months, you may have concluded that all downloading activity is the work of the devil. Publicity around recent legal action taken by music industry representatives in Europe and the US certainly did nothing to correct that notion.
However, there's a difference between what the music industry is spinning in media briefings and what it is actually doing and can do. Indeed, there are probably many ill-informed industry executives (and perhaps even some industry associations) who still foolishly think that all music on the Internet is somehow illegal.
The legal action currently in train seeks to stop those who are illegally distributing thousands and thousands of tracks online without the permission of the copyright-holders. What's at issue is the distribution of tracks, or the uploading, and not the downloading.
The industry blames such file-sharing and peer-to-peer software as eDonkey, Kazaa and Grokster for this situation. They would therefore be happy to see such services going the same way Napster did in its previous, illegal incarnation a few years ago.
Yet, despite the best legal advice the music industry can afford, US courts see things differently and have already ruled that file-sharing services can continue because they are also used to distribute material that does not infringe copyright laws.
This is why the industry has now turned its attention to individual uploaders. Legal action has already begun in the US, Britain, Germany, France, Denmark and Austria, while the Irish Recorded Music Association is threatening to go down the same road in the next few months and is currently gathering evidence possibly to be used in litigation against Irish individuals.
But they may be too late. Digital downloading has brought about the biggest changes in how we listen to music and how music is distributed since we ditched vinyl for CD - and the industry has been caught on the hop. It's not as if they did not see this coming, yet no effort was made over the last 10 years to deal conclusively and definitively with the issue.
Instead, the industry has belatedly responded to music fans switching from buying CDs in shops to downloading songs from various online sites in the way it knows best. It has called in the lawyers.
No wonder so many music fans are outraged by the actions of an industry which has traditionally grown rich by treating its artists and customers with such utter disdain and disregard. Previous changes in music formats have always been manipulated to ensure the industry could make out like bandits. This time around, however, it's the consumer who is calling the shots, because the technology involved is cheap, widely available and easy to use.
The quantity of music that is available to download from the Internet legally and often for free is staggering - and there is even more music available if you're prepared to pay for it.
You could spend the next couple of weeks downloading away to your heart's content and you would only scratch the surface of what's out there. Some of this music is, admittedly, dreadful, but quite a lot of what is available is worthy of your time and attention.
What follows is a list of sites to visit if you want to download music legally. It's certainly not comprehensive, but it's a good indication of just what's out there for you, your computer and your broadband connection to start exploring.
LABELS
WHILE most major-affiliated labels fiercely guard the keys to the kingdom, those in the independent sector recognise the advantages of allowing potential customers to cop a feel of the merchandise. If they like what they hear, they are much more likely to buy the full album.
Progressive labels in this regard include Matador (now offering previously unreleased Pavement tracks amongst other gems at www.matadorrecords.com), Domino Records (a huge free catalogue at www.dominorecordco.com), and Warp (all the electronic tracks you need at around a euro a pop from www.warp.com/bleep).
Two other labels which are similarly click-friendly are Nonesuch (check out Brian Wilson's legendary Smile and many other gems at www.nonesuch.com) and Anti (offshoot to the Epitaph label set up by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz which offers music from its roster including Nick Cave and The Frames at www.anti.com)
Hip-hop and funk fans are advised to point their browsers towards www.stonesthrow.com for a feast of breaks and beats, while those who want a sample of what the Smithsonian Institute's Folkways Records has for prospective musicologists should hotfoot it to www.folkways.si.edu.
Any jazzers who wishe to add to their catalogue of essential Verve releases should head to www.vervemusicgroup.com, where the label are making dozens of previously out-of-print albums available for paid-for digital download each month.
ARTISTS
MANY acts have quickly copped on that downloading is an opportunity to sweet-talk prospective fans, give them a free lollipop and hope they come back for more. Many make MP3s or audio streams (which can be recorded by software such as StepVoice) available on their sites as a taster for an album they are about to release or future live shows.
You may have already read reviews of new Irish band The Radio, so if you go to their site (www.theradio.ie), you can download Remember Me, Remember You and decide if their excellent Kindness album is your cup of tea.
Other new Irish acts with MP3s on offer include Life After Modelling (www.lifeaftermodelling.com), Declan O'Rourke (www.daisydiscs.com/declan/) and The Shades (www.theshadesnet.com).
You can make your own mind up without spending a penny about such hotly tipped acts as Secret Machines (www.thesecretmachines.com), Jem (www.jem-music.net), The Album Leaf (www.albumleaf.com) and Cathy Davey (www.cathydavey.co.uk) by visiting their sites.
Artist sites also give you an opportunity to check out tracks by such acts who have graced the pages of The Ticket in recent weeks as Nellie McKay (www.nelliemckay.net), The Beautiful South (www.beautifulsouth.co.uk) and Estelle (www.estellemusic.com).
Established acts, too, are keen to play the game, with many making rare or live tracks available. Wilco are a good example of this, regularly posting new live tracks for free download at www.wilcoworld.net.
MUSIC FOR A GOOD CAUSE
THE recent launch of the Warchild site (www.warchildmusic.com) will inevitably be copied or adopted by many other charities as an ideal way to harness the digital music revolution for a good cause.
At Warchild, a monthly subscription of £3.50 sterling (a little over five euros) gets you five exclusive downloads a month. The first batch featured Keane, Tom Waits and Radiohead, while this month's acts includes Fatboy Slim, The Strokes (a live cover version of the Clash's Clampdown) and a rare Pet Shop Boys remix.
Using the OD2 technology, Oxfam's Big Noise retail store (www.bignoise.com) has hundreds of thousands of tracks, including some exclusives, with 10 per cent of all money spent going to the charity.
GOING GA GA FOR RADIO
ONE of the best sources of free music and tracks that you won't hear anywhere else are the various radio stations dotted around the net. The excellent US station KCRW (www.kcrw.com) is worth tuning into for Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic show alone. Harcourt's show has featured live studio sessions in the last few months from The Blue Nile, Brad Mehldau, Elvis Costello, Badly Drawn Boy, Ben Harper with the Blind Boys of Alabama and many others, all of which are still accessible on the site.
Two other stations that will provide wireless treats you certainly won't get from any Irish station are impossible-to-classify New Jersey-based WFMU (www.wfmu.org) and acclaimed London art-music station Resonance (www.resonancefm.com).
