where to legally download free music 10 Sites to Get Free Music Downloads Legally. Every Internet user knows that it’s illegal to download copyrighted content without the he copyright holder’s permission. The policy is especillay strict concerning music, as major record labels and studios have invested lots of time, money and effort to protect their intellectual property. As RIIA states, making unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings is against the law and may subject you to civil and criminal liability. I bet you heard about DMCA, SOPA, PIPA and know that these laws are intended to curb online piracy, even if the content is located on a foreign site. To tell the truth, the laws regulating the reproduction and distribution of music are very complicated. There are dozens of different organizations to collect royalties on artists’ behalf. Even though a consumer has purchased the commercial music album or tracks, he or she does not actually own the copyright, and therefore the track cannot be legally used as the background music for video or animation. SEE ALSO: How to Play Any Music Free & Legally on PC SEE ALSO: 5 Best iPhone Music Downloaders It may seem that all music on the Internet is either free or legal. However, it’s not really so. Both FREE & LEGAL music exists! Here are 10 official sources offering a legal access to free music and download option. 1. Amazon. One of the major music vendors worldwide has over 40K tracks available for free. Though the choice is very wide, most songs available for free are by unknown artists. Genres include country, folk, rock, gospel, pop, rap & hip-hop, and soundtracks. You may be sure that the audio quality of downloadable songs is rather high. 2. Google Play. Google Play app now has a section called the Antenna Sampler, where you can find a selection of free songs (updated monthly) from up-and- coming artists in a variety of genres. There are also some free classical tracks on Google Play Music Store homepage. P/S Until July 2015 iTunes also used to offer a couple of free songs every week, encouraging listeners to discover new music. However, with the lauch of Apple Music this option is no longer available. 3. Last.fm. Last.fm has a section of free music downloads. To save the free tracks, you don’t even need to be logged in. You’ll hardly find here any new songs by popular artsists, though there are multiple free works by new bands and indie musicians. 4. Free Music Archive. The resource offers almost 90K free tracks, non-licensed or under CreativeCommons license. Most of the music you find here is from independent and lesser-known artists, but there are a few big names floating around. Sound quality is rather high, up to 320Kbps. 5. Jamendo. Jamendo offers over 150,000 tracks under the Creative Commons license. All the songs and albums are available for download without any signup. You only have to choose “Free download for personal use” option. In case you want to use the track for commercial purposes, you need to select another type of license (from 4,99 €). 6. SoundCloud. SoundCloud policy claims that you can submit and grant the download option for tracks if you own them or have permission to distribute them. It means that here you can find tons of free legal downloads from independent artists, as well as free remixes and covers for popular songs. 7. NoiseTrade. NoiseTrade is a great site connecting new artists with their fans. It offers thousands of free songs uploaded by upcoming talents from all over the world. To save a track, it’s recommended to create an account. If you like a certain song, you also have the ability to tip the artist a few bucks for their great work. 8. PureVolume. PureVolume is a community of artists and music fans. Musicians can upload there their tracks and listeners can help the artists by downloading or listening to their songs and upvoting them. Most of the artists on PureVolume have downloads enabled so you can enjoy great music for free. 9. Vimeo Music Store. It’s a bit weird to see this video sharing site on the list. The songs can be used to accompany your Vimeo videos or just for listening offline. To download a track, you need to create Vimeo account and sign in. 10. OverClocked Remix. This resource offers tons of video game music which users can stream, download directly via mirrors or BitTorrent. Many remixes come from professional-level composers. Some of them were even engaged to create the soundtrack for one popular game. The best free music download sites that are totally legal. Paying for your favorite tunes on services such as Spotify and Apple Music is great, but what about when you are looking for something free? While free music might conjure up images of illegal pirating, quite a few sites offer free music legally. You can discover some fantastic new songs, albums, or entire bands with the click of your mouse or the tap of your finger. Here are a few websites to check out if you want to jam to fresh tunes without needing to rip into your wallet. See more. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best sites we’ve found for downloading free music. Keep in mind that many of them are void of Billboard artists such as Taylor Swift, but if you look in the right spots, you’ll find a few hits from some big-name artists, along with scores of fresh independent artists, which should keep your ears happy and your wallet heavy. Free Music Archive. In 2009, New Jersey-based WFMU Radio embarked on a project to make contemporary music of all genres available to the public, and the Free Music Archive was born. Since its inception, WFMU has partnered with dozens of other curators, and the site has become a veritable treasure trove of free content. The site combines two different approaches to posting tracks: First, it indexes free music posted by all of its partner curators, and second, it allows users to post their own music directly to the archives. This synthesis of sources creates a mind-boggling library of tracks that you could spend months browsing through, whether you choose to do so by curator or genre, or go even deeper with its newly returned search function. The site also hosts a myriad of podcasts, and renowned radio stations such as Seattle’s KEXP frequently post live cuts from their studio sessions with big- name acts passing through. The smash tracks may lack some post-production, but they’re also free. ( Note: Tribe of Noise recently acquired Free Music Archive. While the website remains operational and continues to host a full archive of everything that’s been uploaded, the developers have disabled uploading. Previously, searching was also unavailable, but that functionality has since been restored. There’s no certain timeline for the return of FMA’s full functionality. Be sure to follow FMA on Twitter for regular progress updates.) SoundCloud. Not every song posted on SoundCloud is free, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a significant selection of complementary content to choose from — both Billboard and independent artists have been known to offer a selection of their older tracks at no charge, though you may have to drop them a like on Facebook or a follow on Twitter for the privilege. Songs can be navigated in a flurry of ways, ranging from artist and genre to what’s trending right now. There’s also an entire section of the site dedicated to tracks released under Creative Commons licenses that are free to download and remix, and royalty-free audio, which can be used for marketing purposes and in monetized material. Note that while there’s a paid element to SoundCloud, it’s entirely optional and doesn’t impede your ability to find free tunes. ReverbNation. Big names like Alabama Shakes, The Civil Wars, and Imagine Dragons all got their start on ReverbNation by sharing their music for free and building up their loyal fanbase. There is a mix of every genre on ReverbNation, but the site tends to lean toward more pop, alternative, and hip-hop than anything else. With a community of nearly 4 million artists, labels, and users, ReverbNation helps you sift through its immersive catalog with cool features like the site’s Discover app and a page that will help you find who is about to be the next big thing. Amazon. You’re probably used to using Amazon to buy everything from the best headphones to dog food, so why not add some free music to your shopping list? Believe it or not, the retailer has a massive assortment of thousands of free tunes available via its digital music arm, letting you pick through everything from obscure indie and classical music to hits by Carole King and the Foo Fighters. Checkout is quick and painless, and it works just like buying a song that costs money on Amazon, sans payment. Simply add a song to your shopping cart, check out, and the tunes are yours. DatPiff. Since the mid-aughts, the hip-hop community has become a veritable breeding ground for free music, much of which comes in the form of mixtapes. Some are original compilations by artists looking to cop some shine, some feature rappers freestyling over popular instrumentals from their contemporaries, and some are just dropped by artists looking to reward their loyal fans with some free tunes — we’re looking at you, Curren$y.