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.


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]



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.



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.



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.



Groovemine.com
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.



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.



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.



Think Indie 
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Think Indie]
Thinkindie is a consortium of Indie record stores who wanted to better serve the musical needs of their customers. The stores are located in cities across the United States and are active in local music scenes, community events, and small business associations. Click on the "Find Indie" menu item in the left column to see picks from the individual stores that participate in this site. Scroll down the left sidebar's navigation to "FREELOADS." As of June 7, 2009, they have 22 items there, but some are sampler compilations containing several tracks.



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!



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, Mon-Fri. The genres vary, but lots of rock, beat-driven tracks with pop sensibilities, remixes, and more.



Urban Outfitters
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Urban Outfitters]
As of August 2010, 10 different programs with about 20 tracks in each are available for stream and download.



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



BeatCrave
[FREE DOWNLOADS from BeatCrave]
A ton of giveaways plus breaking news, exclusive interviews, and reviews.



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.



Amoeba Music
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Amoeba]
The California based music provider has 50+ free 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.



Team Love
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Team Love]
A unique move by a record label, in their words: “When Team Love started we had the simple and possibly self-defeating notion that posting all our albums on the website as free downloads would be a good detour around the wreckage of the music industry and a way to avoid getting bogged down in the number one topic of discussion and distraction: piracy, illegal downloads, P2P networks and so on.” Well, it’s true. It’s all free, so have a look and spread the word.



Secretly Canadian
[FREE DOWNLOADS from Secretly Canadian]
You’ll find lots of news, reviews, and profiles on groovemine.com of SC’s artists including Antony and the Johnsons, BLK JKS, and War on Drugs...so, you know there’s lots of quality downloads on this page.



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. The 10 free downloads that Six Degrees offers reflect the breadth of music they promote.



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 perousing, listening to, and downloading for free the 125+ tracks they have made available to you.



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.



XLR8R
mp3s: [HERE]
podcasts: [HERE]
If you like electronica (and beyond) that, perhaps, stops short of being played in a big nightclub, then XLR8R’s magazine and website are for you. You’d be wise to scoop up the nearly 1000 free MP3 downloads. They have a, similarly, large inventory of podcasts available or free as downloads from their site OR subscribable in iTunes.



Fader
[FREE PODCASTS from Fader]
There is a podcast created with every issue of FADER  and F2 magazines. As of April 2009, 28 such podcasts are available for free download. Click on “info” right below each cover thumbnail to get the corresponding tracklisting.



We Make it Good - Mix Series
[FREE DOWNLOADS from We Make It Good]
Somehow connected to FADER, there are 8 mixes available (as of May 15, 2009). The playlists are published with brief, informative commentary of each selection. The music is mostly hip hop and dance with choice classics thrown in.



Dj Earworm-Music Mashups
[DJ EARWORM DOWNLOADS]
While most of the mashups here incorporate quintessential mainstream music, his creations are often so unique, we had to include his site on groovemine.com.