Get Free Music for an Mp3 Player

There are many places to acquire free music legally. If you have an mp3 player that supports the download of apps, like an iPod Touch or a smartphone, then you can download free music streaming apps like Spotify, Pandora, or iHeartRadio. There are also several websites that offer legal downloads of free music (mp3s) that is either publicly licensed or independently produced.[1]

Steps

Using Music Streaming Apps

  1. Download and open a music streaming app. If you have an mp3 player capable of running apps, like an iPod Touch or a smartphone, then search the App Store or Play Store for the name of a music streaming app (some well-known examples include "Spotify", "Pandora", "iHeartRadio"). Press “Install” on the store page and press “Open” when the download is complete.
    • The apps listed above are free of charge with a large library of licensed popular music with possible paid upgrades if you want an ad-free experience.
  2. Sign up for the service. Tap the button to “Sign Up” or “Create an Account” on the landing page.
    • Most require just an email address to register, and some allow you to connect a social media account (like Facebook) for even quicker registration.
  3. Search for songs, artists, or genres to stream in your app. Searching for a specific song, artist or genre on Pandora or iHeartRadio will create a 'radio station' of similar music based on your search instead of taking you to directly to your search target. You can rate the music you hear to help tailor the station to your tastes.
    • Spotify allows you to search for specific songs to play but plays advertisements in between songs on free accounts.
    • A free account means you will not be able to download music, only stream it over the internet. However, a paid (premium) Spotify account will allow you to store songs to listen to "offline".[2]
    • Free users will occasionally hear ads in their music stream.

Finding and Downloading from Free Music Sites

  1. Search the internet for free music sites. For finding collections of free music, you may get better results searching for more general terms, like "free music downloads" or "[genre] music archive" rather than specific songs or artists. Searching by musical genre may get you closer to what you are looking for, but many sites offer multiple genres of music.
    • Some well-known examples of sites that offer free music for download legally include Jamendo, Free Music Archive, or NoiseTrade.
    • Many reliable websites like Amazon will offer some music for free as well.
    • Sites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp allow independent music producers to sell their music creations - or offer it for free.
    • If you are using a smartphone to search, some sites like Bandcamp or Soundcloud also offer their own apps that can be acquired from the App Store.
  2. Search or browse sites for music. Some sites, like Jamendo or NoiseTrade will group their music listings by genre. Most will have a search function where you can search for more specific terms like artist, song, or album.
  3. Preview the site’s music. Most sites will have an integrated music player so that you can stream and listen to songs before you download them.
  4. Download the music files. Pages with free music will display links to download songs, or sometimes full albums.
    • You will need to select a save location when downloading a file. Keeping this location consistent will help you keep your music collection organized and easy to locate.
    • When downloading a full album, they may come in a compressed file format (.zip, .rar). You will need to extract the songs from the compressed file before you can put them on your mp3 player. To do this you can right-click and select “Extract” on Windows, or double-click the compressed file on Mac.

Getting the Music to Your iPod

  1. Download and open iTunes. Macs ship with iTunes preinstalled, simply click the icon in the bottom dock to launch it.
    • This method will also work with iPhones.
  2. Drag and drop music files into iTunes. This will add these songs into your iTunes music library.
  3. Connect the iPod to your computer. The iPod will appear in the “Devices” section in the panel on the left.
  4. Click “Music”. This button is located in the “Library” section of the panel on the left and will display a list of the music you have added to iTunes.
  5. Drag and drop songs onto the iPod. iTunes will copy the songs onto your iPod. A progress will appear at the top indicating when the transfer is complete.
  6. Press the “Eject” button. This button appears when you hover the mouse over the iPod in the panel on the left. After ejecting you may safely disconnect your iPod with new music from the computer.

Getting the Music to Your other MP3 Player

  1. Connect your mp3 player to your computer.
    • This method can also work with Android phones.
  2. Open the mp3 player in the file explorer. On Windows, go to “Start > File Explorer > This PC”. The mp3 player will be listed under the “Devices and Drives header”. On Mac, the mp3 player should mount and appear on the desktop.
  3. Open the mp3 player’s music folder. The location of this folder may vary depending on the device. Look for a folder titled “Music” or “Storage Media”.[3].
  4. Drag and drop songs into the music file. A progress bar will appear indicating the transfer process.
  5. Eject the mp3 player. On Windows, Right-click and select “Eject”. On Mac, drag the device to the trash. After the device is ejected it will disappear from the desktop and you can safely disconnect it.

Tips

  • Sometimes you will be able to download music files in a format other than .mp3 (for example .aac, .wav, or .ogg). These may work fine with your device, or they may not be supported. Check your manufacturer’s documentation to be sure. You can convert these files if you wish, but unless your are converting from a lossless format (like .wav, .flac), then you will degrade the sound quality of your music.

Warnings

  • Use caution when downloading from unfamiliar sites. If a site seems heavily ad-driven or tries to get you to install software or provide personal information to download a file then it may be best to avoid it!

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.digitaltrends.com/music/best-free-and-legal-music-download-sites/
  2. ↑ https://www.spotify.com/us/premium/
  3. ↑ http://docs.esupport.sony.com/portable/NWZW273_guide/en/contents/02/03/01/01.html
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