How to Save Money on Music in a Tough Economy

Music.

It’s the one thing that brings us together.

It’s the common ground for all humanity. The icebreaker, the relationship maker, and in some cases, a life-saver.

If your life had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it? Do you know what was playing during your first kiss? What album got you through your first heartbreak? What about when you got married?

My point is, Music is so integral, that it’s hard to imagine a life without it. And unfortunately in a down economy, it’s one of those “luxuries” that we tell ourselves that we can live without. But how can you live without the most important thing for your own personal development?

The truth is, you can’t, and you don’t have to! So I’ve compiled a list of a few different ways where you can get your music for free to cheap. In fact, a few of these examples will help expand your music library with artists you’re almost guaranteed to love. So without any further adu… let’s get to the list!

1. Listen to music on the Internet

Thanks to the Internet, you can now listen to radio that doesn’t suck for free. Of course, you need a device that’s connected to the Internet, but if you’re reading this, than that really shouldn’t be an issue, now should it

* Pandora — http://www.pandora.com
Free Internet radio with recommendations that help you discover new music. Enter the name of your favorite artist, song, or composer, and Pandora will automagically generate a radio station featuring that music and more music like it.

* Last.fm – http://www.last.fm
Join the social music revolution. Last.fm helps you find people with similar tastes in music and discover new music and concerts that you’ll enjoy. This is also MY favorite choice, as it gives you a music compatibility with other users, furthering your likely hood to find new bands you may have never heard of.

* SHOUTcast — http://www.shoutcast.com
Free Internet radio covering almost every genre imaginable.

* Seeqpod — http://www.seeqpod.com
An awesome search engine for music. SeeqPod indexes content from around the Web and allows you to instantly play the songs you find when you search. This is great for finding that song that you’ve have stuck in your head all day.

* Playlist.com — http:.//www.playlist.com
A great site for compiling your own music playlists for any occasion, use playlist.com to keep your party, road trip, and embarrassing music, all in one place.

* The Hype Machine – http://hypem.com/
Listen to the music that everybody is blogging about. The Hype Machine aggregates songs from the music-related blogosphere into one convenient location for your listening pleasure.

2. Buy music online

Save money on the music you buy by purchasing digital downloads online. Since you can purchase individual tracks, you don’t waste any money on the songs that you’d never listen to anyway.

* Amazon.com MP3 Downloads — Amazon MP3s
Amazon MP3 Downloads is the best option in my opinion, MP3s are DRM-free. This means they will play on practically every modern music player, and you don’t have to worry about authorization each time you need to transfer your music to a new device. This is where I currently buy all of my new music.

* iTunes Store — iTunes site
The iTunes Store works great as long as you have an iPod and don’t move your music around a lot. The DRM gets annoying if you upgrade your computer often.

3. Buy used music

What’s the difference between the music you hear from a new CD versus a used CD? Nothing…except for the extra money you have to pay for a new CD. Save yourself a few dollars by buying used music, and the savings will really add up over time.

* eBay – http://www.ebay.com
I’m pretty sure everybody already knows to look on eBay for used items.

*Swap A CD – http://www.swapacd.com
Pretty nifty idea that allows it’s users to swap used cd’s at a very low price. This is a great way to get your physical disk media for very cheap! Because it’s all user based, the selection can sometimes be sparce, but my first stop for finding music.

* Local record stores
It may take a bit of digging, but sometimes you’ll be able to find some hidden treasures in the used CD bins at your local record stores.

4. Subscribe to satellite radio

You’re probably wondering how adding another monthly fee to your budget can save you money, and that’s a good question. Well, satellite radio will save you money, because you no longer have to buy CDs. With such a wide variety of stations, you’ll no longer need to buy new music to keep you entertained during the commute to and from work. Trust me, it’s one of those things you think you don’t need, then once you have it, you can’t live without.

Sirius Satellite Radio

5. Listen to indie bands

Start listening to bands that haven’t hit it big yet, and you can save money because their CDs and concerts are cheaper. You’ll also get the satisfaction of being able to brag about how you knew about them before they hit it big when all of your other friends finally find out about them.