Friday February 5, 2010
The non-profit organization, Music Relief, which helps victims of natural disasters is offering a free 9-track music album for download. As part of the Haitian relief effort, Music Relief has released the album, Download to Donate For Haiti which contains previously unreleased tracks from major artists and bands such as: Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, Enrique Iglesias, Slash, and others.
Founded in 2005 by the music band Linkin Park, Music Relief is currently providing aid to victims of the Haiti disaster. If you do decide to download this free music album, please remember to be kind and donate whatever you can afford. Thank you.
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Wednesday February 3, 2010
Since the official iPad announcement from Apple last Wednesday (Jan. 27), there's been a lot of talk in the blogsphere and gadget world about its features.
Many have pointed out the advantages that the iPad has to offer when performing visual tasks such as: surfing the Web; reading e-books; writing email; and watching videos, but is it any good for listening to digital music?
According to an article from AppleInsider, the Apple iPad can play music for up to 6 days if you turn the screen off -- not ideal when browsing your music library! So, how about its other features? Does it have the potential for being a portable device that you can use for your digital music collection?
An article from CNET, highlights deficiencies in the iPad that impact on its capabilities for being a great portable music player. For one, the iPad runs a version of the iPhone OS and not Mac OS, so it isn't capable of running the full version of iTunes. Instead, it acts just like an iPod or iPhone which you have to connect to your computer. CNET's article points out that wireless sync should have been a 'no brainer' when dealing with music files stored on your home network. Another downside according to the article was poor music playback via the built-in speakers.
So, in light of these reported deficiencies, you might want to hold on to your portable music player a while longer before trading it in for a shiny new iPad.
Image Courtesy of Apple.
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Friday January 29, 2010
The free MP3 downloads in our music discovery spotlight this week are:
Artist/Band: Rich Hil
Genre: Hip Hop / Rock
Free Music Download: Lady in The Hall (3:40)
Extras: More information and additional free MP3s from the official Rich Hil Website
Artist/Band: Groove Armada
Genre: Electronic
Free Music Download: Shameless (feat. Bryan Ferry) (4:47)
Extras: Free additional Groove Armada track (Pull Up (Crank It Up) (Mad Decent Remix)) via RCRD LBL
Album: Black Light (OM Records), slated for release March 2, 2010
Artist/Band: Yes Giantess
Genre: Pop / Electronic
Free Music Download: The Ruins (3:04)
Extras: More free MP3 tracks (published previously) via our free music downloads blog
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Wednesday January 27, 2010
A new music format called, MusicDNA, has been developed that could potentially replace the ageing MP3 format. Bach Technology, who co-developed MusicDNA with the Fraunhofer Institute of Digital Media Technologies (IDMT), say the new format will provide the user with a far richer media experience when compared to standard audio formats. The new technology makes use of an enhanced set of metadata tags to increase a user's interactive experience. Some examples of how these tags could benefit a consumer are: accessing the artist/band's latest videos; following links to related blogs; discovering related music on media-orientated services and social networks, etc.
For a long time now, the music industry has been trying different methods to reduce online music piracy -- the most notable being (the almost defunct) DRM technology that prevents files from being copied, shared, etc. The problem with this however was it often restricted the user so much that even major music services like iTunes eventually phased it out. However, this new format potentially offers the consumer a great deal more entertainment for their money than just music. This could be just what the music industry needs to try to increase sales and reduce online piracy via file sharing networks.
The big question now is, will the new MusicDNA format 'persuade' consumers to migrate from the trusted MP3 format with the promise of an enhanced multimedia experience?
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