Archive for July, 2008
Unexpected Sources of Free Music - Part 2
Continuing my series of posts on Unexpected Sources of Free Music, I’ve got source of music so huge it could only be the result of a cola company combine forces with an internet shopping giant…
(Pepsi + Amazon = Free Music)
What I’m talking about is Pepsi’s latest marketing scheme, Pepsi Points. Here’s how it works:
1. You purchase a Pepsi and drink it.
2. You take the code found either under the cap or inside the box and go online…
3. To PepsiStuff.com and enter your codes.
4. Then, surf to Amazon.com and head over to the mp3 store.
5. Once there, look up your favorite artists and click the “Buy with 5 Points” button, and download the song.
The whole system is efficient and quick. The songs are in DRM-free mp3 format, which means you can put them on your iPod, iPhone, or other portable music device. You do need an Amazon.com account to participate, but other then that (and one minor issue I’ll discussion in a second) it’s an excellent way to get music with out shelling out any extra cash.
Now for the bad news. You’re gonna need to drink Pepsi. Lots of Pepsi. Either that, or find someone to give your theirs. All around, it’s a great way for soft-drink fans to enjoy their Pepsi a little more. 
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Unexpected Sources of Free Music - Part 1
I know this isn’t totally free, but when a friend emailed me about this, I knew I had to feature it…
ChristianBook.com is got Absolute Smash Hits Volumes 1 & 2, a four disc CD se
t (think a WOW Hits clone), on sale for $5.99. That’s 50 songs for 6 bucks. 50 songs! That’s 8.3472454090150250417362270450751* cents per song. That’s approximately 91 cents cheaper per song then iTunes. Not bad at all, for a collection of some of Christian music’s greatest hits. In fact, it’s a steal. Not as good as free, but almost.
Of course there has to be a downside. In this case it’s the selection. It’s almost all somewhat under-the-radar artists CCM artists. The loudest it get’s in 12 Stones and Skillet. But, that maybe perfect for you, in which case that would be a plus and not a minus. So, anyway, it’s worth checking out.
-Absolute Smash Hits Vol. 1-2 on ChristianBooks.com-
*To be precise.
Unexpected Sources of Free Music - A New Series
Today I’m proud to announce the beginning of a new series of posts here at The Free Christian Music Blog. I’m going to be looking at unusual, unexpected, unlooked-for, and quite different sources of free (or almost free) music. I’ve set up a page to keep track of the posts, which you can see here. Oh, and stay tune for the first part sometime today.
I AM TERRIFIED Take iTickets
I AM TERRIFIED is iTicket’s featured artist this week, with their song “To The Service”. I’m listening to it for the first time is I type, and it’s pretty sweet. Sounds like emo + post-hardcore + praise + worship. I’m missing much screaming though. That’s kind of sad, because I know I AM TERRIFIED can really scream well. I suppose iTicket’s choose a fairly soft song for the feature. Which reminds me, this is the first time iTickets has done any thing remotely hardcore before. Pretty cool.
Songs from Phil Joel, Vota, and (Maybe) Willet
While I was working on yesterday’s post about Remedy Drive, I discovered several more downloads on the same site. The songs are: “Free to Fail” by Vota, “Shout”, by Phil Joel, and possibly a download from Willet.
There’s actually some serious Newsboys ties with the music here. Vota is the new name of Casting Pearls, a band started by an former Newsboys member. Phil Joel is also former Newsboys, and is now pursueing a solo career. And Willet.. doesn’t have anything to do with the Newsboys.
About the Willet download, on the feature page it has a title that says “Free Download”. The problem is there’s nothing there. Lower on the page is a large picture that promises free stuff and links to Willet’s website. Unfortunately, said site is down. So, there’s nothing available at the moment. I’m going to be keeping an eye out though, you never know.
Update: Evidently the download was there the whole time, and AdBlock Plus had blocked the banner. So make sure you grab the song.
Update: Just as I was about to publish this, I found yet another free download on the same site. This time it’s Worth Dying For, a new Christian rock worship band. You can grab a copy of “Unite” for free.
-Vota on the Lifelight Website-
(Scroll down for download)
-Phil Joel on the Lifelight Website-
(Once again, scroll down for the link)
-Willet on the Lifelight Website-
(See above)
-Worth Dying For on the Lifelight Website-
(See directly above, and go from there)
Free Music from Remedy Drive
Remedy Drive is a sweet new Christian band who just signed to Word Records. It’s about time. If you combined the vocals of NEEDTOBREATHE with the catchy, somewhat-indie rock plus a lot of radio-friendly energy, you’d wind up with something like Remedy Drive.
If you check out the Lifelight Music Festival website, you can grab a free copy of Remedy Drive’s song “Daylight”. The intro in awesome. It just builds into the chorus, where it climaxes and goes into the next verse, and repeats. I think the best way to describe it would be driving.
(Scroll about halfway down the page for the link)
Update: I just found the video for “Daylight” on YouTube. You may have seen it already on TVU, but it not, check it out. It’s really well done. The flares are especially cool.
Slammin’ Downloads Courtesy of HearItFirst
Ten free songs today courtesy of HearItFirst.com and TobyMac. My research indicates that it was a promo for Portable Sounds. You may have heard about it, kind of a big deal. :) Anyway, the sampler is still live online and has some sweet music. Notice the inclusion of TobyMac’s smash hit “Made To Love”. I was definitely surprised to see that free.
The list:
- TobyMac - “Made To Love”
- Shawn MacDonald - “Pour Out”
- Rebecca St. James - “God Help Me”
- Sanctus Real - “Fly”
- Our Hearts Hero - “Back To The Cross”
- John Reuben - “Word of Mouth”
- Britt Nicole - “Indestructible”
- Future of Forestry - “Open Wide”
- David Crowder Band - “You Are My Joy”
- This Beautiful Republic - “Jesus to this World”
As you can see, there’s quite a lot of good songs on there. Particularly John Reuben and Britt Nicole, in my opinion. Actually, the Britt Nicole song is quite rare. It’s not on her CD, and was only released on HearItFirst and a compliation disc. It’s a lot rockier then her other stuff too, which makes it interesting. But I digress…
Anyway, to access all of the music, you’ll need to have a HearItFirst account and be signed in. I’d highly recommend opting in to the mailing list, as they send you free songs every week. Very cool.
New Free Mono Vs. Stereo?
Just saw this on FreeMVS.com: “It’s Coming… The New Mono Vs. Stereo Coming Soon”. Evidently, they are redesigning FreeMVS. What does that mean? More music, hopefully. I’ll keep an eye on the site and let you know when there’s a change.
Free Music from The Showdown
Free music today from Christian hardcore band The Showdown. The song is “A Monument Encased In Ash”, from A Chorus of Obliteration. It’s solid thrash album, (one of my favorites), both from a musical and a lyrical perspective. You can download the mp3 for free from the band’s Purevolume.
Speaking of The Showdown, the group has a new CD coming out August 19th on Solid State Records. The CD is called “Back Breaker”, and you can check out the album art and two new songs from the CD on said Purevolume profile. You can even pre-order the CD and get a free T-shirt. Pretty sweet if you ask me.
Update: The Showdown also has two live songs for free on their MySpace profile. I’ve written about it before, but I had didn’t know that two of the songs were still available. So, check out the old post here for the link. Thanks to Colt for rediscovering them!
Free EP from CookBook and UNO Mas (of LA Symphony)
Two of the member of Christian rap group LA Symphony, CookBook and UNO Mas, have a special gift for fans. In the month of July, you can check out the “CookBook & UNO Mas” official MySpace profile and download a free full six song EP. It’s appropriately titled MySpace Free EP Vol. 1. The track list:
- “Championship Ring” featuring ViseVersa
- “Showtime” featuring DJ Wise
- “The Reason Why” featuring Raquel R
- “Monie Love” featuring Joey the Jerk
- “In N Out”
- “Throwback”
It’s only going to be available for the month of July, so if you enjoy hip hop make sure to grab it soon.
