About Digital Music

Free Music Tracks This Week

2009-07-10T10:52:08Z

Here's another selection of free digital music tracks that you can either download, or listen to via streaming audio. In the spotlight this week we have:

Peter Bjorn and John

It Don't Move Me (3:22)

Even though this first song isn't an MP3 download, you can have great fun by remixing it! It Don't Move Me by Peter Bjorn and John is an interactive track that enables you to use presets to change the way the song plays. The song is split up into 6 channels (vocals, drum, bass, keyboards, guitar, and percussions) which you can manipulate to create your very own remix. There's also a competition (closes Sept. 12) that you can enter for a chance to get your mix on the bands MySpace page.

Vega

Pre-party Jamz Mixtape (28:07)

This huge mashup called, Pre-party Jamz, is a promotional track showcasing Vega's recently released EP, Well Known Pleasures. This track is a good example of the Disco House genre which blends house music and disco to form a modern sound.

Spiral Beach

Domino (3:01)

Domino is a track from the Canadian Indie Rock band, Spiral Beach, and is a teaser from their forthcoming album, The Only Real Thing, due out Sept. 22 (Spark Music).

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Crossfading in iTunes: Seemless Non-stop Music

2009-07-07T16:08:38Z

iTunes and many other software media players these days have a whole host of extra 'tweakable' features that you can use to enhance your music listening experience. Crossfading is one such technique that you can employ to blend the end of one track into the start of the next; this effectively removes the silent gaps between songs. DJs extensively use this technique to create a smooth transition between music tracks - the volume of one song is slowly faded out as the next song's volume is faded in at the same time.

If you're annoyed by the gaps of silence between your songs and want non-stop music, then be sure to read our step-by-step guide on How to Crossfade Using iTunes.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Free Music Downloads This Week

2009-07-03T16:58:19Z

In our music discovery spotlight this week, we showcase another selection of free promotional tracks that cover a wide range of genres designed to broaden your musical horizons :

Adam Freeland

Out of Control (4:04)

The first free track, Out of Control, is from DJ Adam Freeland's new album, Cope released by Marine Parade. It is an unusual fusion of alternative rock (shoegaze) with a twist of electronica thrown in. The album is available now in various formats from their web site.

The Avett Brothers

I And Love And You (5:01)

I and Love and You is a new single by the Avett Brothers that is a taster for their forthcoming album due for release by Columbia records on Sept. 29th.

Sneaky Sound System

I Love It - Fred Falke Remix (9:01)

The last track in our spotlight this week is, I Love It (Fred Falke Remix), by Sneaky Sound System. It's a good example of an electropop 80s-styled song.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Michael Jackson Fans Pay Ultimate Tribute Via Digital Music Services

2009-06-26T08:08:37Z

After the sad news yesterday of the untimely death of Michael Jackson, fans on digital music services have paid tribute to the king of pop by purchasing his albums in their droves. At the time of writing, 7 out of the top 10 albums on the iTunes Store are Michael Jackson compilations. Currently, the Essential Michael Jackson album is number one followed by:

Thriller
Off the Wall
Number Ones

The other albums in the top 10 include, Thriller (25th Anniversary), The Ultimate Collection, and Bad.

This shows the far-reaching effect that Michael Jackson has in the music world and his fans have paid the ultimate respect by purchasing his music.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Free Music Downloads This Week

2009-06-26T07:02:18Z

Starting this week, we're planning to bring you cutting edge digital music by providing links to free promotional music tracks. As well as showcasing forthcoming releases from major bands and artists, we'll also be highlighting new and up-and-coming talent that offer free music in order to gain that much needed exposure. One of the great benefits of using free music discovery resources is being able to 'try before you buy' without the financial risk of a blind purchase.

The promotional tracks that we're going to showcase every week will hopefully give you a wide variety of styles and sounds to experience. Here are the tracks in our spotlight this week:

Paul Oakenfold

Perfecto Vegas Teaser Mix (17:17)

This 17 minute monster mix showcases DJ Paul Oakenfold's new 21-track album, Perfecto Vegas, which will be released by Thrive records on July 7 - available in stores nationwide and via digital download.

Flashmen

Little Wildcat (3:48)

This track is part of the You Been Crushed Vol. 1 compilation album by Crushed Records that is due for release on July 7.

The Jaguar Club

Sleepwalking (3:40)

Sleepwalking by Brooklyn Indie band, The Jaguar Club, is a taster for their first full-length album slated for release on Sept. 1.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Voice Removal Software: Eliminate Vocals from Your Songs

2009-06-24T06:19:42Z

Have you ever listened to a song and thought, "love the music, hate the singing". In this situation, you can use a software audio tool that specializes in trying to filter out the frequencies of the human voice. Vocal removal can be a time consuming process that involves experimentation with various audio sources, but satisfactory results are achievable. The biggest stumbling block with voice removal is the nature of the music source. If you have a highly compressed song for example that has low quality audio data, then the chances of removing the vocals are poor. On the other hand, if you are working on a high quality audio file that has a good stereo image with vocals that are center-panned, then your chances of vocal removal are much higher. Overall, it really depends on how the song has been mixed and the frequencies involved.

There's a lot of fun to be had experimenting with the songs in your music library, and with an investment in time (and a little luck), you can produce some great results. For more information on removing vocals from songs, why not read our guide on Free Software for Removing Vocals.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Forget Portables, Why Not Wear Your Music?

2009-06-19T08:23:39Z

If there's something that gets people's attention, it's news that you can now carry music around with you on a T-shirt! Now, before you get too excited, it will come as a big disappointment to learn that the said T-shirt...doesn't actually play any music?!? At this point, you may be wondering if it's all just a gimmick? Not so. When you buy the T-shirt, a hang tag will provide you with a unique code that you can use to download the full album.

The Music Tee which has been created by Invisible DJ and LnA is an innovative merge of fashion and music. The hip hop artist, Mos Def, is the first to launch his new album, The Estatic, in the new 'fabric format' which will go on sale from July 7th. The T-shirt's design will feature the album's artwork on the front and a list of songs on the back.

The cost of the Mos Def T-shirt will be $39. If you're a fan and want the new album via a more traditional route, then you can still purchase The Estatic from digital music services, and on physical media (audio CD, vinyl).

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Smart Playlists: Create Song Lists That Keep an Eye on Your Music Library

2009-06-12T09:41:40Z

If you've got a sizable music collection, then creating playlists is an essential task for playing, burning, and syncing your music in an efficient way. Most, if not all, software media players support the use of playlists which you can use to organize your music library in many different ways. The only downside to using normal playlists is that unless you update them manually, they never change. So, what's the alternative?

Some software media players such as Windows Media Player 9 and higher, support the use of smart playlists that dynamically change depending on the contents of your music library. Windows Media Player uses Auto Playlists which intelligently follow rules that you set. For example, if you define an Auto Playlist to contain only a certain genre, then it will populate itself with tracks from your music library that meet that rule. Even if you update your library with more of the same genre, your Auto Playlist will keep up to speed by automatically updating - this saves time when compared to normal playlists which would need to be manually edited. If you regularly add music to your collection and want a consistent order to your playlists, then smart playlists are worth using.

For more information on creating smart playlists in Microsoft Windows Media Player, be sure to read our guide on Creating Auto Playlists.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Last.fm Founders Announce Their Departure

2009-06-11T09:17:18Z

One of the largest music streaming services on the Internet, Last.fm, is to lose its founders two years after it was bought by CBS. Last.fm was purchased by CBS Interactive in 2007 for $280 million and now has 37.3M monthly unique visitors. The announcement was made via a Last.fm blog in which the founders (pictured from left to right: Martin Stiksel, Felix Miller, and Richard Jones), thanked all its users for 'scrobbling' over the years to make Last.fm what it is today. In the blog, Felix Miller wrote, "Being a part of CBS, and the recently formed CBSi music group, continues to open up many opportunities for Last.fm. Recent product releases such as the new visual radio, and the Last.fm on XBox announcement, are an indication of how much more Last.fm will achieve".

Even though their blog doesn't go into detail on why all three founders are leaving the company, the rumor that circulated earlier this year about Last.fm allegedly passing user data onto the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), is still being talked about in the blogsphere as a possible reason. However, the chief executive of CBS Interactive, Quincy Smith, has been eager to deny any private data has been shared with the RIAA, and has said that the rumor, published by TechCrunch, isn't the reason for their departure. There's no word at the moment who will be replacing them, only that they will be staying on as consultants until September.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites

Organizing Your Music Library: Cover Design Software

2009-06-05T16:09:24Z

If you have a collection of music, photos, or other types of files that you have transferred to CD or DVD, then you can better organize your media by using cover design software. Unless you are a very organized person who knows exactly what's on each disc, then finding what you need from your collection can be difficult, especially if you only have the words, "backup 1", written on the case, or disc for example.

Most CD and DVD cover editing software provides various design options that you can use to indentify your collection; typically you can make jewel case inserts, disc labels, and even booklets. One of the most useful features of this type of software is being able to add text to your designs - this is useful for listing what's on the disc such as music tracks for example. Some software can even automatically add a list of files that are on your CD or DVD - saving you the pain of inputting by hand. If you're lucky enough to have a printer that can directly print onto disc, then labeling your CDs and DVDs becomes even easier - not to mention paper-free. Even if you don't have this facility, using software to create and print covers is a great organizational tool.

Read our guide on Free CD and DVD Cover Design Software for more information.

Related Articles:

Add to Technorati Favorites