Part of the new business model in the music industry is to give away sample tracks, sometimes an entire album, for free. The list below directs you to sites where we've found the best selection of independent music available as free mp3s for legal download. We encourage you to support the artists/labels by purchasing their music, if you find something you like as a free download. Indie music providers, not surprisingly, struggle to survive. Do your part to sustain independent music.








Epitonic
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Epitonic]
Epitonic is a gem of a site! Like a few other standout online repositories I can think of (peer down the list of resources on this page), it offers access to thousands of free/legal MP3s — every song here on the site is available to stream OR download. It’s devoted to indie music of all flavors and what makes this site so ‘friendly’ is it’s simple, streamlined, picture-based navigation. Immediately access music by selecting a playlist by editor, genre, artist, label, or — my favorite — geographic scene/region (find this option under playlists > scenes). Get a little more involved with the site and peruse the feature section for articles, interviews, reviews, and more although the music and pictures are more prominent than words here. Bonuses: No log in is required, but you can sign up and sign in via Facebook which allows you to make your own playlists which you can then  be shared on Facebook and Twitter.





Amazon.com
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Amazon.com]
Who woulda thought? At the time of this post, Amazon has 145 free MP3 albums available. Wading through some of the undesirable looking, many of these albums are samplers from great indie labels like Merge, Sub Pop, Six Degrees, Frenchkiss Records. In all, I'm sure there's something for everyone here.



Amoeba Music
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Amoeba]
The California-based retail chain offers a regularly updated list of 50+ free downloads.



Artist Direct
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Artist Direct]
The home page of this site might lead you to believe that alternative/indie music is not well-represented, but there are pages of great, free download selections. The link above will take you right to them.



Barsuk Records
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Barsuk]
Home of one of Seattle' best record labels. Artists include: Death Cab for Cutie, Say Hi, Viva Voce, Ra Ra Riot, Mates of State, and others.



betterPropaganda
[FREE DOWNLOADS from betterPropaganda]
Among betterPropaganda's features are thousands of free and legal MP3 downloads. From the home page, the obvious choice to find free music to download is found in the right column. But, you can, also, discover the music they offer by clicking on the "playlists" menu item. From that page, you'll find podcasts on the right and playlists in the main column. Clicking on any of the songs in the playlists will launch a music player that allows you to download the song playing.



FMA: Free Music Archive
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Free Music Archive]
Every mp3 you discover on The Free Music Archive is pre-cleared for certain types of uses that would otherwise be prohibited by copyright laws that were not designed for the digital era.  Are you a podcaster looking for pod-safe audio?  A radio or video producer searching for instrumental bed music that won't put your audience to sleep?  A remix artist looking for pre-cleared samples?  Or are you simply looking for some new sounds to add to your next playlist?  The Free Music Archive is a resource for all that and more, and unlike other websites, all of the audio has been hand-picked by established audio curators. [READ MORE ABOUT FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE]



Groovemine
If you've poked around at all on this site, I'm sure you've noticed MP3s are  available as free downloads...here and there—many of the reviews have free downloads, for instance. If you're looking for pages with several tracks ready to download, we recommend visiting our playlists page and the record label AudioFiles.



IndieFeed
[FREE DOWNLOADS from IndieFeed]
IndieFeed provides a curated selection of free MP3s organized in five broad genres of indie pop, hip hop, electronica, dance, and blues. Our first inspection found a good selection of of music emerging indie artists that we've heard and that have getting media coverage along with some that seemed quite obscure. Part of what makes them somewhat unique is the ability for you to listen and download the MP3s directly from the site or to automatically receive downloads through RSS syndication as podcasts in iTunes and Zune or other media aggregators. The one thing we didn't like is intro to every MP3 (podcast) identifying "IndieFeed" and it's corporate sponsor.



Indie Rock Reviews
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Indie Rock Reviews]
While there is a decent selection of albums to be found as free downloads on this site (Downloads >> Album Downloads), not surprisingly your best options can be found by going to Downloads >> MP3 Downloads. Their offerings are presented blog-style and the highlights of this site are the many "Grab Bags," or collections of songs available to you in one click.



Insound
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Insound]
Supposedly over 5000 free downloads spanning the past 10 years...we didn’t count. It appears the most recent offerings are on this page and the next, navigated from below. Beyond that, the navigation is a little confusing, but worth the trouble. They avoid grouping music by genre...we like that!



KEXP Radio
[FREE DOWNLOADS from KEXP]
"Song of the Day" is actually a podcast you can subscribe to via iTunes or through an RSS feed and have it delivered to your email. It features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists. OR, if you just want to peruse and download tracks from the last several weeks, go to their syndication page found at the link above.



last.fm
[FREE DOWNLOADS from last.fm]
About 250 tracks available ranging from very current and recognizable indie tracks to obscure Russian pop.



One Track Mind
[FREE DOWNLOADS from One Track Mind]
Highlighting a different track daily. All music are legally downloadable and free distributable provided by record labels and promo firms. Picking from the fresh batches of indie, electronic, soul, and hip-hop genres; the publishers of this site also provide monthly hour-long podcasts that gather the most popular tracks on their site for one solid sit down and listen rewind.



Paste Magazine
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Paste Magazine]
One of the few survivng print magazines dedicated to indie music has a thriving website, as well. They have several pages of free MP3s that are well organized and updated every week



RCRD•LBL_
[FREE DOWNLOADS from RCRD•LBL]
RCRD LBL is a network of online record labels and blogs serving up fresh new music downloads and exclusive content curated by a team of editors and partner labels every day. Definitely sign up for their daily email blast that sends you links to one or more downloads. The genres vary, but lots of rock, beat-driven tracks with pop sensibilities, remixes, and more. RCRD•LBL now requires you to be registered member of the site to download music.



Secretly Canadian, Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Secretly Canadian]
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Dead Oceans]
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Jagjaguwar]
This is one powerful triumvirate of labels in the indie music world and they fall under one umbrella of ownership. You’ll regularly find lots of news, reviews, and profiles on Groovemine of artists on these labels including Antony and the Johnsons, BLK JKS, Dirty Projectors, John Vanderslice, Oneida, Women, War on Drugs, and MANY more notables...so, you know there’s lots of quality downloads on this pages.



Polyvinyl
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Polyvinyl]
Artists like Asobi Seksu, Cale Parks, Loney Dear, and of Montreal highlight their label, but take it as a cue to explore the entire roster of amazing Polyvinyl artists. You can do this easily by perusing, listening to, and downloading for free the 125+ tracks they have made available to you.



Sick of the Radio
[FREE DOWNLOADS from from Sick of the Radio]
Dropping daily doses of the best new art, compiled by awesome musicians, visual artists, and writers. This site offers links to the hottest new downloadable singles, and free servings of quality mixtapes and full albums.



SoundClick
[FREE DOWNLOADS from SoundClick]
SoundClick is a free music community featuring signed and unsigned bands. Take a gander and explore their wide range of media features, including member profile pages, mp3 downloads, music charts, and custom radio stations.



SPIN
[FREE DOWNLOADS from SPIN]
To accompany each monthly issue, SPIN magazine offers 18 free downloadable tracks through iTunes. This page links you to their website where you can find the download code and tune store link. Hand picked by SPIN editors, these tracks feature the best new artists in the scene.



Spinner
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Spinner]
An amazingly comprehensive online magazine dedicated to independent music, surprisingly part of AOL. The free downloads have helpful (or hurtful) “Sounds Like:___” that associates the artists with other similar artists. PAGES of downloads.



Stereogum
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Stereogum]
A online community for indie and alternative music news, MP3s, trends, and gossip. The freebies here are definitely worth checking out.



Six Degrees Records
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Six Degrees]
This label certainly pulls its weight in highlighting the beauty that is found in all corners of the globe.



Urban Outfitters
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Urban Outfitters]
This clothing and housewares retailer stays connected to the 'culture' of its customers through music. On this page, you can find links to monthly playlists containing 20+ songs plus their “Music Mondays” feature.




+ For more FREE MUSIC, check our list for Podcasts, Mixtapes, etc.