Free music?!

[newtrix1]

I stumbled across this monthly subscription website Emusic.com a few days ago. Decided to give it a shot, I think it may interest some people here. Here's the stripped down details (FAQ link below):
$15/month gets you 50 downloads per month.
works with Mp3 or ipod (I've used it with itunes, but I don't own an MP3 player)
25 free songs with sign-up (although I got 100 free. Try this link http://www.emusic.com/ge or do a google search for other offers).
Supposedly you can cancel at any time, (even right after you download all your freebies) so your net cost is nothing, since they actually don’t charge your cc until the free period expires.

OK, so there's a ton of these download sites across the www, what makes this one so interesting?
Well for me, the 100 free tunes was good starter
Second is that this site tailors to independant labels. Artists like ; Yo La tengo, Laika, Cat Power, Ryan Adams, Pavement, Decemberists, Calexico, Iron & Wine, Radar Bros., Snow Patrol, Twilight Singers, Moby, Bjork, Pixies, Black Heart Procession, blah blah blah….

Downside: I guess overall selection. You're not likely to find much "popular" music here.

Anyhoo, just thought it might interest a few folks here.

Emusic.com FAQ section:
http://www.emusic.com/help/index.html#q4

[Slosh]

The only way I would even consider joining a site like that is if they offered their music in FLAC or some other lossless format and. . . it has to work out to be meaningfully less expensive than just buying the CD. There is one, Music Giants, that offers their music in WMA Lossless but their selection is awful (unless you want Eagles, Boston, etc.albums) and it's pricier than going out and buying a real physical copy so what's the point?

[newtrix1]

The only way I would even consider joining a site like that is if they offered their music in FLAC or some other lossless format.

To me, Ipod & MP3 = portable music, not audiophile quality listening. These formats sound just fine to me, but I guess that's another discussion completely.

it has to work out to be meaningfully less expensive than just buying the CD. There is one, Music Giants, that offers their music in WMA Lossless but their selection is awful (unless you want Eagles, Boston, etc.albums) and it's pricier than going out and buying a real physical copy so what's the point?

Yeah, I can't see this being a long term thing for me either. But so far I've downloaded 4 complete albums & I still have 50 songs to go. After that I can cancel & pay nothing (well, I haven't done it yet, so we'll see). But that's the reason I posted this, free music (and "indy" music to boot). I'm sure there's somebody here who can benefit from that