Illegally downloading music is never a good idea. In addition to being against the law, it’s unfair to the artists, producers, record labels, and music industry affiliates. On top of all this, it can really harm your computer. Try to imagine using BitTorrent, P2P, and other file sharing networks as taking candy from a stranger. You might be fine, but, there’s always that chance that the candy is tainted and will make you sick. You might download 100 songs without a problem, but all it takes is one corrupt file, hidden virus, or cleverly disguised piece of malware to really wreak havoc on your computer digital life. Identity theft anyone?
Maybe you want to do the right thing and legally download music, but you’re not sure how? You’re apprehensive about sharing your credit card information online? You can’t justify buying the whole album at your local retailer when you really only care for one song? This, my friends, is where Freegal Music comes in. Freegal is a free and legal digital music service available to all Windsor Public Library card holders. Through Freegal you have access to over 7 million songs with no digital right management (DRM) restrictions. (DRM-free is a fancy way of saying that you can copy songs that you’ve downloaded to your computer and mobile devices, or even burn them to a CD). Once you have downloaded a song, it’s yours to keep forever. Note: copyright laws still apply.
More about Freegal Music…
-It’s browser based, meaning you don’t have to install any software. Browse, download, listen, keep forever – it really is that easy.
-All WPL cardholders are allotted three credits/week – this will get you either three songs, or one music video and one song.
-Freegal Music is also available as an app (Apple App Store & Google Play).
-The “Technical” section of Freegal’s FAQ offers detailed instructions on how to transfer music from your device to your computer, or vice versa.
-The interface is super easy to use. You can browse by Genre, Top 100, or Artist, or you have the option to type in a straight up search. You can also see what’s coming soon.
-You can access Freegal from the Databases page of our website. New content is added regularly, so be sure to check back often and take advantage of your weekly download allowance.
Not seeing what you’re looking for in Freegal? Remember, we still have a very comprehensive CD collection in the library. Check out this recent blog from Angela. Many customers borrow CDs as a way to try before they buy.
