Free Music Legally from Your Public Library

I just learned about something really interesting that I wanted to pass on to you all. The New York Public Library (NYPL) has teamed up with a company called Freegal which provides users with three free downloads per week. These downloads are yours forever and don't expire like most digital content from public libraries. The songs are both new and old, coming from the Sony catalog. They even have music from the cast of Glee.

To use the service, you must have a NYPL card. Interestingly, I read the library's website and it seems that you don't need to be a resident of the city, but you do need to have some connection to the state.

Any person who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State is eligible to receive a New York Public Library card free of charge. Use of a New York Public Library card is non-transferrable, i.e., can only be used by the person whose name appears on the card.

I'm not sure what other libraries have a similar program, but NYPL does seem to pilot most programs. A few years ago, they were the first public library to offer eBooks. Keep an eye out on your local library's website to see when they offer this type of program.