Editing Free music

{{Short description|Music in the public domain or under a free license}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2023}}
{{other uses|Free improvisation}}
[[File:Free music.svg|thumb|right|The crossed out copyright symbol with a musical note on the right hand side is the free music symbol, signifying a lack of copyright restrictions on music. It may be used in the abstract, or applied to a sound recording or musical composition.]]

'''Free music''' or '''libre music''' is music that, like [[free software]], can freely be copied, distributed and modified for any purpose. Thus free music is either in the [[public domain]] or licensed under a free license by the artist or copyright holder themselves, often as a method of promotion. It does ''not'' mean that there should be no fee involved. The word free refers to [[Libre (word)|freedom]] (as in [[free software]]), not to [[Gratis versus libre|price]].<ref name="Samudrala">{{cite web|url = http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philosophy/fmp.html|title = The Free Music Philosophy |access-date = 2008-10-26|last = Samudrala|first = Ram|author-link =Ram Samudrala|year = 1994}}</ref>

The Free Music Philosophy<ref name="Samudrala"/> generally encourages creators to free music using whatever language or methods they wish.  A Free Music Public License (FMPL)<ref name="FMPL">{{cite web|url = http://free-music.org/fmpl/"|title = The Free Music Public License|access-date = 2011-09-13|last = Samudrala|first = Ram|author-link = Ram Samudrala|year = 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> is available for those who prefer a formal approach.
Some free music is licensed under licenses that are intended for software (like the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]) or other writings (the [[GNU Free Documentation License|GFDL]]). <!-- [[Richard Stallman]] wrote that this is not a great idea. --> But there are also licenses especially for music and other works of art, such as [https://freetouse.com/music Free To Use]'s [https://freetouse.com/music/usage-policy Free To Use License], [[Electronic Frontier Foundation|EFF]]'s [[Open Audio License]], [[LinuxTag]]'s [[Open Music License]], the [[Free Art license]] and some of the [[Creative Commons Licence]]s.

==History==
Before the [[History of copyright law|advent of copyright law]] in the early 18th century and its subsequent application to music compositions first, all music was "free" according to the definitions used in [[free software]] or free music, since there were no copyright restrictions. In practice however, music reproduction was generally restricted to live performances and the legalities of playing other people's music was unclear in most jurisdictions. Copyright laws changed this gradually so much so that in the late 20th century, copying a few words of a musical composition or a few seconds of a sound recording, the two forms of music copyright, could be considered criminal infringement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/17-18red.htm |title=NET Act: 17 U.S.C. and 18 U.S.C. as amended (redlined) |website=U.S. Department of Justice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114064223/http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/17-18red.htm |archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref>

In response, the concept of free music was codified in the Free Music Philosophy<ref name="Samudrala"/> by [[Ram Samudrala]] in early 1994. It was based on the idea of ''[[Free Software]]'' by [[Richard Stallman]] and coincided with nascent open art and open information movements. Up to this point, few modern musicians distributed their recordings and compositions in an unrestricted manner, and there was no concrete rationale as to why they did it, or should do it.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} <!-- Write about bands like the Grateful Dead, etc. -->

The Free Music Philosophy used a three pronged approach to voluntarily encourage the spread of unrestricted copying, based on the fact that copies of recordings and compositions could be made and distributed with complete accuracy and ease via the Internet. First, since music by its very nature is organic in its growth, the ethical basis of limiting its distribution using copyright laws was questioned. That is, an existential responsibility was fomented upon music creators who were drawing upon the creations of countless others in an unrestricted manner to create their own.  Second, it was observed that the basis of [[copyright law]], "to promote the progress of science and useful arts", had been perverted by the music industry to maximise profit over creativity resulting in a huge burden on society (the control of copying) simply to ensure its profits. Third, as copying became rampant, it was argued that musicians would have no choice but to move to a different economic model that exploited the spread of information to make a living, instead of trying to control it with limited government enforced monopolies.<ref name="schulman_1999a"/>

The Free Music Philosophy was reported on by diverse media outlets including ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'',<ref name="billboard_jul181998"/> ''[[Forbes]]'',<ref name="forbes_jul111997"/> ''Levi's Original Music Magazine'',<ref name="levi_nov192008"/> ''[[Free Radical (magazine)|The Free Radical]]'',<ref name="free_radical_2001"/> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''<ref name="wired_jun101997"/><ref name="wired_jun121998"/> and ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="nyt_dec161998"/> Along with [[free software]] and [[Linux]] (a free operating system), [[copyleft]] licenses, the explosion of the Web and rise of [[Peer-to-peer|P2P]], the cementing of [[mp3]] as a compression standard for recordings, and despite the efforts of the music industry, free music became largely the reality in the early 21st century.<ref name="troelsjust"/> Organisations such as the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] and [[Creative Commons]] with free information champions like [[Lawrence Lessig]] were devising numerous licenses that offered different flavours of copyright and copyleft.  The question was no longer why and how music should be free, but rather how creativity would flourish while musicians developed models to generate revenue in the Internet era.<ref name="schulman_1999a"/><ref name="music_future"/><ref name="napster_compendium"/>

==Record labels and websites distributing free music==
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* [https://freetouse.com/music Free To Use] – safe background music with no copyright claims
* [[Audition Records]] – free and non-free CC licenses<ref>{{cite web |url=http://auditionrecords.com/about.html |title=About Audition Records |website=Audition Records |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125180853/http://auditionrecords.com/about.html |archive-date=2011-01-25 }}</ref>
* [[Dogmazic]] – free and non-free CC licenses, GNU GPL<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dogmazic.net/static.php?op=tableau_licences.php |title=Dogmazic.net, musique libre – Les licences |publisher=Dogmazic.net |access-date=2012-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611212143/http://www.dogmazic.net/static.php?op=tableau_licences.php |archive-date=2012-06-11 }}</ref>
* [[Free Music Archive]] – free and non-free CC licenses
* [[Jamendo]] – free and non-free CC licenses, Free Art License
* [[Incompetech]] - CC-BY, paid licenses available
* [[Loca Records]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Simon Trask |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/articles/creative.htm |title=Creative Commons, Copyright & The Independent Musician |publisher=Soundonsound.com |access-date=2012-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.locarecords.com/mission.html |title=Loca Records |publisher=Loca Records |access-date=2012-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306205152/http://www.locarecords.com/mission.html |archive-date=2012-03-06 }}</ref>
* [[Magnatune]]
* [[Opsound]]
* [[Musopen]]

==Notable bands distributing their music under free or close-to-free conditions==
{{See also|:Category:Creative Commons-licensed albums}}
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Note that some licenses, such as CC-BY-NC, are not free by definition.<ref>[https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#CC-BY-NC Creative Commons NonCommercial, any version (#CC-BY-NC)]</ref> However, works under these licenses are listed here as being related to the topic.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! COLSPAN=2| Title !! Licenses
|-
| ROWSPAN=2 |[[Nine Inch Nails]] ||''[[The Slip (album)|The Slip]]'' ||CC [[BY-NC-SA]]
|-
| ''[[Ghosts I–IV]]'' || CC [[BY-NC-SA]]
|-
|COLSPAN=2| Ophur<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ophur.com |title=RIPIntro |publisher=Ophur.com |date=2008-01-22 |access-date=2012-06-13}}</ref> ||
|-
|COLSPAN=2|[[Severed Fifth]] || [[Creative Commons]]
|-
|COLSPAN=2| [[Ram Samudrala|Twisted Helices]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.twisted-helices.com/th/ |title=The Twisted (Helices) page – in 1993 it was called "The Twisted Page" and it made sense – exploratory music |publisher=Twisted-helices.com |access-date=2012-06-13}}</ref> ||
|-
|COLSPAN=2| [[subatomicglue]] ||
|-
|COLSPAN=2| [[Brunette Models]] ||
|-
|COLSPAN=2|[[Kimiko Ishizaka]] || [[Creative Commons|Creative Commons Zero license – Public Domain]]<ref name="Ishizaka">{{cite web|url = http://www.opengoldbergvariations.org/|title = The Open Goldberg Variations|access-date = 15 June 2012|last = Ishizaka|first = Kimiko|date = n.d.}}</ref>
|-
|}
<!-- WARNING: DO NOT add bands which do not allow commercial use - such music is not free music. Add them to [[List of projects using Creative Commons licenses]] instead. -->
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==See also==
* [[Copyleft]]
* [[Deezer]]
* [[Free Culture movement]]
* [[File sharing]]
* [[Guvera]]
* [[Libre.fm]]
* [[ListenBrainz]]
* [[List of musical works released in a stem format]]
* [[Mutopia Project]]
* [[Open music]]
* [[Open Music Model]]
* [[Podsafe]]
* [[We7]]
* [[Wolfgang's Vault]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="billboard_jul181998">[https://books.google.com/books?id=9wkEAAAAMBAJ Reece D. Industry grapples with MP3 dilemma. ''Billboard'', 18 July 1998.]</ref>
<ref name="forbes_jul111997">[https://www.forbes.com/1997/07/11/habeus.html Penenberg A. Habias copyrightus. ''Forbes'', 11 July 1997.]</ref>
<ref name="free_radical_2001">[http://www.freeradical.co.nz/content/47/47ballin.php Ballin M. Unfair Use. ''The Free Radical'' 47, 2001]</ref>
<ref name="levi_nov192008">[http://www.levi.co.za/MusicMag/Category/Detail/Detail.aspx?ID=914 Durbach D. Short fall to freedom: The free music insurgency. ''Levi's Original Music Magazine'', 19 November 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114192615/https://blackhole-apk.net/ }}</ref>
<ref name="music_future">[http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philosophy/fmp/music_future.html Samudrala R. The future of music. 1997]</ref>
<ref name="napster_compendium">[http://www.musicdish.com/downloads/napster_compendium.pdf Story of a Revolution: Napster & the Music Industry. ''MusicDish'', 2000]</ref>
<ref name="nyt_dec161998">[https://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/articles/16trade.html Napoli L. Fans of MP3 forced the issue. ''The New York Times'', 16 December 1998.]</ref>
<ref name="schulman_1999a">[http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/pdf/v12/oldNonPaginated(DONOTUSE)/12HarvJLTech589.pdf Schulman BM. The song heard 'round the world: The copyright implications of MP3s and the future of digital music. ''Harvard Journal of Law and Technology'' 12: 3, 1999.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409021202/http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/pdf/v12/oldNonPaginated(DONOTUSE)/12HarvJLTech589.pdf |date=2012-04-09 }}</ref>
<ref name="troelsjust">[http://www.troelsjust.dk/?page_id=149 Just T. Alternate Kinds of Freedom.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903114528/http://www.troelsjust.dk/?page_id=149 |date=2014-09-03 }}</ref>
<ref name="wired_jun101997">[https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1997/06/4361 Oakes C. Recording industry goes to war against web sites. Wired, 10 June 1997.]</ref>
<ref name="wired_jun121998">[http://freerockload.ucoz.com/ Stutz M. They (used to) write the songs. Wired, 12 June 1998.]</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Free music}}
* [http://wiki.etree.org/ The etree.org wiki]: etree pioneered the standards for distributing lossless audio on the net.
* [https://www.freemusicprojects.com/en/content/6-licensing-music Free Music Licenses]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Music}}
[[Category:Free music| ]]
[[Category:Music industry]]