Tag Freegal

freegal music logo, with type in dark blue and a light blue wave moving through the letters.

Free + Legal = Freegal

elianahcls 1 Comment
freegal music logo, with type in dark blue and a light blue wave moving through the letters.

by Eliana H.

Music can really set the mood for any occasion, even if the occasion is cleaning your house. Playing the right tunes can energize, relax, or provide the catharsis you need to express your feelings. Over our lifetimes, we’ve had to access music in all different formats: vinyl records, 8-track, cassette tapes, CDs, MP3s, and more. Maybe you miss visiting the local record store to buy the newest release from your favorite artist. Maybe you remember waiting by the radio to record a song you wanted onto a mix tape. Or maybe you have mostly listened to songs you downloaded or streamed online. Whatever your personal history, the landscape of how we consume music has definitely changed. 

Thankfully, the library has continued to offer options for ensuring everyone has access to the music they enjoy. We still provide music CDs for borrowing, if you have a device with which to listen to them. However, I want to highlight another resource that you may not be aware of: Freegal Music. 

Freegal, a clever portmanteau of “free” and “legal,” gives you access to an extensive library of music with your library card. When you log into Freegal with your library card number and PIN, you have access to more than 7 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists. You can download up to 3 songs each week (DRM free, so they are yours to keep once you’ve downloaded them) and stream unlimited songs. The range of artists, songs, and styles is vast, and everyone is sure to find something they enjoy. 

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many songs and artists I have been able to find on Freegal. I can create my own playlists to suit my needs or explore existing playlists and discover music that’s new to me. The mobile app makes Freegal especially convenient, allowing me to stream music from my phone anytime. As CD players become harder to find, I especially appreciate access to some of my favorite jams without having to hassle with ripping them all off the CDs I have and transferring them to my phone. 

An instructional video on our website guides you through the steps if needed, and we are always happy to help if you stop by a branch! 

Eliana is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at the Elkridge Branch and co-chair of the HCLS Equity Committee. She loves reading, even if she’s slow at it, and especially enjoys helping people find books that make them light up. She also loves being outside and spending time with friends and family (when it’s safe).

Collage of black and white photos and color blocks in red, green, blue and yellow with "Summer of Soul" overlaid.

June is African American Music Appreciation Month

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Collage of black and white photos of musicians and color blocks in red, green, blue, and yellow with "Summer of Soul" overlaid.

by Jean B.

Count Basie. Billie Holliday. Duke Ellington. I am an enthusiastic jazz fan, and I appreciate that sliver of African American music all year long, not just in June. But the musical expression of Black experience and artistry certainly isn’t limited to jazz or any other single genre. Gospel, rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop, rap, classical, rock and roll, techno, musicals – African American Music Appreciation Month provides a great opportunity to acknowledge and explore the tremendous breadth of African American musicians, composers, styles, and music entrepreneurs. Established in 1979 as National Black Music Month, it has been proclaimed by every U.S. President from Jimmy Carter to Joe Biden. So for this 43rd annual celebration, use HCLS as a portal to enjoy more of what you already like or discover something entirely new.

Expand Your Playlist
If you’re looking for new tunes, HCLS offers thousands of CDs across all genres to borrow. Using your library card and PIN, you also can stream music from Freegal. Not only can you search for favorite artists or songs, but you can find already curated Black Music Month playlists – like the one created by the Central Arkansas Library System with ten hours of music, ranging from Jimi Hendrix, to Sister Rosetta Tharpe; from Kendrick Lamar to Miles Davis. That’s a lot to appreciate!

Experience Live Concerts
Do you want to imagine you’re there, in concert? Documentary DVDs can bring the live concert experience right into your home. Check out Questlove’s Oscar-winning documentary, Summer of Soul, about the epic 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that features performances by artists like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, and more. Or watch Eminem, Nas, and other hip-hop artists perform on Something From Nothing: the Art of Rap. From our Kanopy service, stream films like Rejoice and Shout: Gospel Music and African-American Christianity, which features legends of gospel like The Staple Singers and The Dixie Hummingbirds, to trace the 200-year evolution and contribution of gospel music in American pop culture.

The cover of I'm Possible: A Story of Survival, a Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream features the outline illustration of a red figure playing a black tuba, framed by text.

Explore the Lives of African American Creators
If you’re curious about the life experiences that produced the music you hear, check out some great nonfiction. Be blown away by the memoir of Baltimore native Richard Antoine White, whose dream of classical tuba performance took him from a homeless childhood to a prestigious symphony orchestra career, an extraordinary story he tells in I’m Possible: A Story of Survival, A Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream. Or be swept up in the incredible combination of poetry, art, biography, and music history in Jazz A-B-Z: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits, where Wynton Marsalis writes wordplay jazz. I love his ode to Ellington, “a most elegant man” who sought “to educate, to elevate, to urge the earthbound ear and heart alike to soar,” just like the resources at HCLS!

Jean B. is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch and loves reading books for all ages when she isn’t enjoying the outdoors.