Making Free Music Work

I'm constantly on a soapbox about how getting free MP3s online from bands is pretty much the only way to be exposed to new music. So why don't more bands do it?

Here's a great piece on indie artists and their websites from John Scalzi's blog.

This is the bottom line: I want to hear new music. I can't hear it on the radio. I live in Rockford. No one plays here. The only way I can hear it is on the web. It's the only way I can hear about bands like the Kingdom Flying Club and Runner and the Thermodynamics. I've bought CDs from both bands in the last few months based solely upon MP3s I've downloaded online. This is the way things should work.

Next time I'm ambitious (hopefully tomorrow), another post on the glut of great music that will be released in the next few weeks/months. Someone's got to pick up the slack while Mike's on vacation.