Saturday, November 29, 2008

Internet Radio - Magnificant Magnatune!

As an avid fan of independent "indie" music, just let me just say that I am really glad to have discovered the likes of Magnatune! Trust me, there is plenty of fabulous music out there which is not available on major commercial record labels nor that can be heard on your most popular radio stations. Magnatune is devoted entirely to the "indie" music industry and carefully hand picks each and everyone of the artists who are signed with them. What this means to their listeners is access to guaranteed good quality music which is unique and almost impossible to find elsewhere. The artists receive 50% of all sales of their music, a great offer, and receive plenty of publicity as Magnatune heavily encourages sharing of all their selections amongst the listening community. All of the music from this site can be downloaded to an ipod or just about any other MP3 device with ease, readily embedded in websites or blog posts, or utilized in podcasts. I can't wait to include some output from these great independent artists in my world music blog!

This site covers a wide range of genres including: classical, electronica, jazz, blues, metal, punk, rock/pop, world, and ambient. My favorite radio feature which they offer is their "genre mixes" which consist of playlists of up to 500 tunes for free listening from the style category of your choice. What a great way to keep abreast of all the latest releases while discovering new music to enjoy. Fortunately, Jennifer pointed out the world music genre mix which proves to be very comprehensive both with respect to styles of music and geographical regions of the world represented. Click on any selection in a playlist and you will be provided with detailed information on the album its from as well as the artist(s) and the style of music they perform.

If you are interested in purchasing or downloading a cd or downloading a selection, you can listen to all of the music for free before you buy. All of their music is very reasonably priced, even including some freebies here and there, and the sound quality of all downloads is excellent. Once you make a purchase, Magnatune will point you in the direction of similar music you might consider for your additional enjoyment.

Added privileges are available for members. For $5.00 per month you have access to 24 hour, unlimited, commercial-free, live audio streaming of the music genre of your choice. For $10.00 per month you can enjoy access to numerous podcasts and create your own personalized radio playlists. The best offer though is the unlimited music downloading privileges for this nominal fee. In my view, Magnatune on the whole is a real bargain whether you are a member or not!

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