8 Ways to Buy Cheap Music (or get for it FREE)

Let's face it, we are in a recession that probably won't be over for another two years.  We have to find ways to get music from our favorite bands without stealing it.  Although, some labels will probably be pissed at me for making this list because some of the ways could be considered "stealing" in their eyes.  Again, we're in a freakin' recession!

Here are 8 Ways to Buy Cheap Music (or get it for FREE):

1.  Download MP3's instead of buying CDs - Most online retailers sell music for less if you just buy the download and not the actual CD.  After all, the labels aren't paying for the manufacturing and shipping of the actual music in this way.  It's only fair that you get the discount.

Amazon's MP3 Page has daily, weekly and monthly specials with full albums going for $5 (including new releases).  This is a must site for checking daily deals.

Shop at the iTunes Music Store.  This is a no-brainer but make sure you check out the front page to see what deals are going on.  Also, don't forget to make the home page genre-specific to the music you like.  It will help you find deals of bands you actually like.

2.  Use Ebates.com.  Chances are that you're already buying music off Amazon and iTunes.  With Ebates, you get money back for going through their site to buy from Amazon, iTunes or any other online retailer.  Not only would you get that new release off of Amazon for $5, you will get cash back for going through Ebates. It's FREE to register too! (I got a $36 check from Ebates last week for my purchases.)

3.  Go to the library.  What?  Are you serious?  Damn straight I am.  You can go to your local library, get a free library card and checkout up to 10 CDs a day (at least here in Phoenix).  Whatever you allegedly do with those CDs (burn them) is not my business.  New releases come out every week.  I have personally checked out CDs from A Day To Remember, All Time Low, Norma Jean, Tori Amos, Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Eat World, The Format and countless others.  Yes, your local library does have "cool" music too.

4.  Buy from independent record stores then sell them back.  This is my favorite.  Not only can you get lower priced new CDs (usually used CD stores carry new releases for less than other stores) at your local indie record store (find one near you here) but you can sell them right back to them when you're done with them.  And if you're smart, you'll opt for the store credit instead of taking cash because you'll get a lot more back.  The biggest store in the Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas areas are the Zia Records stores (pictured above).

You can also buy really cheap used CDs from Goodwill or Salvation Army stores.  Yes, you can find brand new CDs for .50 cents to $2.  Oftentimes, you can sell them to your local indie store for more than you paid for them (did I say that?).

5.  Use eBay.com for a few reasons.  Most CDs that weren't released during the current year can be bought for $3.01.  Why $3.01?  Most eBay sellers charge $3 to ship CDs (don't buy from anyone that charges more) and you can win the auction for under .99 cents most of the time or even a penny.  DO NOT BID ON THE ITEM YOURSELF.  Use a sniper program called Gixen.com.  It's 100% free to use and it will place your bid on any item within seconds of the closing time.  This keeps you and others from outbidding each other and paying more than you should.  I've won soooo many auctions with this program and I walked away with the CD for under .25 cents.  Yes, you might lose sometimes but who cares.  That same CD is somewhere else on eBay for you to bid on.

Another great benefit of eBay is that people sell their iTunes, Amazon, Best Buy and Target gift cards.  You can bid on those gift cards for a lot less than face value and save a lot of money on buying music.  Again, I would use Gixen.com.

You can also search Craigslist.com for people trying to sell their gift cards for cash.  I've seen some on there as well.

6.  Buy music at the band's concert.  This is probably the most beneficial to all parties.  You can buy a cheaper priced CD, help the band, help the label and do it all legally.  Everyone wins!  Hell, if you play your cards right, you can flirt your way to a free CD.

7.  Start your own music blog.  That's right.  Start a legitimate music blog and email labels to get on their press list.  Before you know it, you'll have a desk overflowing with free CDs and other materials from labels.  The record label will do their research to see if you have a legit site but you actually don't have to have many visitors.  I've seen sites with less than 200 visitors a month get promo CDs.  Why?  The labels don't really pay for all those free promo CDs - the bands do.  It's a part of most band's contracts (even if they don't know it).

But one thing I DO NOT suggest you do is sell those promo CDs online or to independent record stores.  Even though it is legal to do so, you will burn bridges and it won't look good.  Keep your promo CDs for yourself and never sell them anywhere.  Also, some of those promo CDs are watermarked which means that CD can be traced back to you!  If it gets all over the internet because you loaned it out or sold it, you're in trouble with the law.

8.  Buy CDs directly off the band's website.  This is another way to benefit everyone involved and buy lower priced CDs.  The only thing you have to worry about is shipping so buy the MP3 download off the band's website.

There you have it.   I've used all the methods below to increase my iTunes library.  Leave comments and let me and other users know ways you have saved money on music. Thanks!

Bandology.net Facelift, More Changes to Come

After five hours of searching and installing a new blog template till 1am last night, the major facelift to Bandology.net is finished!  There is still work to do but I'm happy with how it came out.  Here are the new features:

1.  Featured Bands - Every Monday, there will be new bands in the four clickable featured boxes above.  The categories are Band of the Week, Unsigned Band of the Week and Video of the Week.  The fourth box will rotate between featured interviews, tours, contests, charities, cd reviews and releases.

2.  Read More - "Read More" buttons have been added to each blog post.  Most blog entries will have more photos and a video of the subject being discussed.  Click on "read more" to see the photos/videos and read the rest of the story.  If you like it, please click on the "retweet" button.  A Facebook "like" button will be added soon.

3.  Live Feed - In the right sidebar of the site, I added a live traffic feed.  It shows you the last 10 visitors to the site and what city, state and/or country they came from.  It even tells you how they got to the site either from google, twitter, facebook, etc.  For instance, right now, I see visitors that came to Bandology.net from Spain, India, the UK and Kuwait (my friend is stationed there - hello Brian!) and from states such as Washington, Maryland and Texas.  Pretty interesting!

4.  Most Commented Posts - Also in the right sidebar, I added the 10 most commented posts.  Make sure you get your voice heard in the discussions.

5.  Contact - This page is linked right under the featured band boxes.  Other tabs will be added very soon such as an About Me, Links, Facebook, Twitter and more.

6.  Press Kits - There is an address where you can send any press kits too.

7.  Sponsors - This is to keep the bills paid.  If you see anything you like there, please click on them to help out Bandology.net :)

Any suggestions? Let me know in the comments.  Thanks!

Kurt Cobain Art Exhibit Opens

According to Spin.com, the Seattle Art Museum opened an art exhibit called Kurt.  The exhibit runs until September 6th.

Most of the nearly 80 pieces of artwork are from artists all around the world from 1994 to the present.  The exhibit represents how influential Kurt Cobain continues to be after his tragic death (I cannot call it a suicide) 16 years ago.

Contributers (from the video above) to the exhibit give their thoughts, views on how Kurt became an "iconic figure."  One contributer even said, "Kurt will be relevant centuries from now."  I have to agree.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the genre-shifting band Nirvana.  Nirvana started a DIY (do-it-yourself) band mentality and work ethic that turned into mainstream success with over 50 million albums sold worldwide.

Paper Route Donates Song to Help Flood Victims

Paper Route has donated their unreleased song Tennessee to help raise money for the flood victims in Tennessee.  This flood brought downtown Nashville underwater as well as the entire state.

Please support the band and the flood victims by downloading the song and donating here.  All the money raised is going to Hands On Nashville.

The flood killed more than 20 people.  You can see images of the flood here.

Divided By Friday: Unsigned Band Video Spotlight

Divided By Friday - "Disappoint: Surprise" from Patrick Lawler on Vimeo.

I have to admit that I know almost nothing about Divided By Friday. But their video for their new song Disappoint: Surprise is one of the best unsigned band videos I've ever seen.  The video is directed by cinematographer/videographer Patrick Lawler (you can see all his videos on Vimeo here).

Divided By Friday's new EP will be released soon and was recorded by Paul Leavitt (see full discography) and John Harrel.  Disappoint: Surprise is their best song out of the three new songs on their MySpace and is a nice blend of progressive rock with pop punk flavor.  I can see them deciding on two music branches - lean more progressive and become an Equal Vision band or go more pop punk and land on Fearless (or screamo and land on Fearless).

The lead singers voice is slightly high but not in an annoying way.  Kinda reminds me of a younger Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) voice which is a compliment from me.

The band is geared to becoming a full-time band with a lot of touring in the future.  It looks like only high school was holding them back as their bass player recently tweeted:  "I'm about to take my last exam at Scotland High School today :)"


It will be fun to watch this band develop.

Visit their webstore

Metric Lands First Song on Twilight Soundtrack

Metric has come a long way since Greeley Estates opened for them in Tempe, Arizona, in 2004.  Yes, that really did happen.

Metric is one of thirteen bands to be mentioned in the first round of bands announced on The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse Soundtrack.  Metric also nabs the first song spot on the soundtrack.  Other bands mentioned are Muse (Twilight author's favorite band), The Bravery, Vampire Weekend (no pun intended), Band Of Horses and The Dead Weather.

If Metric isn't on your radar, better get them on there.  You are already kinda late to the game.  They released their album Fantasies on their own record label (Metric Music International) in March 2009.  It debuted at #1 on Billboard HeatSeeker chart, #6 on the Billboard Independent chart and #76 on the Billboard Top 200.  The band cleaned house at the Canadian Music Awards (Juno Awards) by taking Group Of The Year and Alternative Album of the Year.  On a smaller scale, I mentioned it as my #3 album of 2009.

If you've been living under a rock, you can watch their video from their latest single Gold Guns Girls above. It was just released within the hour (301 views). This is also my favorite song on the album. Watch it!



Purchase Metric's Fantasies on Amazon.com for only $5.99!

Smashing Pumpkins New 19yo Drummer is "Pissed Off"

It seems newly appointed Smashing Pumpkins drummer, Mike Byrne, is fitting into the band quite nicely as his mood swings compliments Billy Corgan.  In a press release by Byrne, he states emphatically:

"I am pleased to announce that I am now a 20-year-old man, with two full decades of life experience under my belt.  I'm not trying to say I've seen it all or I'm done learning or anything like that; however, I am definitionally no longer a teenager and the first numeral in my age now is a "2."  Please take note.  Thanks."

In a recent interview, he even brings up Hayley Williams of Paramore and how she started as a teenager and seems annoyed no one talks about her age.

Mike, I have some words of advice for you:  As much a I love the Smashing Pumpkins (aka Billy Corgan), Billy doesn't like attention being diverted away from him.  Keep your mouth shut and let the media talk about your age, height, sexuality, religion, political views or whatever else they want to.  Otherwise, you will be the 21yo FORMER drummer of the Pumpkins.  I lost count but Billy has changed the lineup about 10 times since original bassist D'Arcy left the band (pictured right).

Mike Byrne became the new Pumpkins drummer after Billy had open auditions after long-time original drummer, Jimmy Chamberlain, left (aka got kicked out - allegedly).  Not bad for a kid that was working at McDonalds a few months ago.

Byrne has a lot to live up to as Chamberlain is one of the best rock drummers out there.  He combined his jazz drumming style with rock-n-roll to create his own style and sound.

Good Luck, Mike!!

As I Lay Dying "The Powerless Rise" - Top 5 on Billboard?

As I Lay Dying's new album The Powerless Rise comes out today (May 11th, 2010) and is the fourth release from this metalcore act.  Their last album was Grammy-nominated An Ocean Between Us and debuted on Billboards Top 200 Albums at #8 with 39,500 copies sold.  Can The Powerless Rise climb higher on the chart and reach the Top 5?

Last week, fellow metal artists Bullet For My Valentine hit #3 on the Billboard Top 200 with their release of Fever which sold 71,000 copies.  This should be a good sign for AILD as both bands share the same fanbase and have strong worldwide audiences.  AILDs last three albums have sold over a million copies combined.

My short review of The Powerless Rise is that it is less hardcore and more metal.  The album is less melodic as well.  It's hard to rank a new album that you've listened to only a few times but the musicianship on the album is better than ever.  Any AILD fan will have no worries buying this new album.

AILD is going on tour with Underoath and this is a tour to see.  You have two of the best live bands on the same bill.  You can watch a live, intense performance of AILD at the Wacken Festival performing Confide below.




The question remains - can this album make it in the Top 5 next week?  We need to look at other releases this week and they include Meatloaf, The Dead Winter and the American Idol Season 9 CD.  The album also has to go against 16yo Canadian sensation Justin Bieber who's latest album has been sitting in the Top 5 and Lady Antebellum who hasn't left the Top 5 in 14 weeks.

What do you think?  Leave your comments!

Purchase The Powerless Rise on Amazon here. 

Buy it on iTunes here --->

Unsigned Band Video Spotlight: Barely Blind

Barely Blind just doesn't give up. And I'm sure it will pay off very soon.

This band from Texas has been hustlin' and bustlin' since I've heard of them.  They followed Warped Tour '09 and sold enough CDs to make the Billboard HeatSeeker chart a few times.  They have been featured in Alternative Press, FriendsOrEnemies.com and The Gunz Show.

The video above is for their song Panic Attacks Are Normal (I had one and it was scary as hell) from their EP My Life With A Giant.  Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, The Dangerous Summer, Mercy Mercedes) produced the EP (full discography here).

Watch Panic Attacks Are Normal above and listen to more Barely Blind tracks on their MySpace.

Do you want to refer me to other indie or unsigned band videos? Email theformat77@gmail.com and please send a link to the video.

Spencer Elden, We've All Seen Your Penis

Nirvana Baby, Spencer Elden from Barry O Donnell on Vimeo.

Yes, you've seen his penis.

Spencer Elden is the baby on the cover of the genre-shifting album Nevermind by Nirvana which sold 26 million copies worldwide.

Spencer now works for OBEY Clothing and talks about his passion for art, his website VampiresOneDay.com, how he started with Shepard Fairey and OBEY and his story on how he became the "Nirvana baby."

Watch the video above and check out VampiresOneDay.com.

Trash Talk "Explodes" with Metal, Punk and Mayhem

Trash Talk is a band out of Sacramento that just released their new video Explode exclusively through Stereogum.  Their new album Eyes & Nines comes out on May 18th and can be pre-ordered on their website.

Explode reminds me of a cross between The Dillinger Escape Plan meets At The Drive-In.  The video and the song go well together.  The video basically shows you their chaotic live shows and times on the road.  That sounds cliched but this video definitely keeps you entertained for 3 minutes.

The band has toured Europe and Japan and has their own imprint called Trash Talk Collective.  Their last album East Of Eden was recorded by legendary indie-punk producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Superchunk, PJ Harvey, Guided By Voices, The Jesus Lizard - view list of bands here).

What do you think?

Trash Talk wiki
Trash Talk website
Trash Talk Myspace