How can I put free music on my phone?

With the rise of music streaming, more and more people are listening to music on their phones. Music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora have made it easy to access millions of songs right from your mobile device. However, these services typically require a paid subscription. This leads many people to look for ways to get free music on their phones.

According to Statista, the number of music streaming users worldwide is expected to reach 1.28 billion in 2023, up from 790 million in 2020. As music streaming continues to grow in popularity, the demand for free music options also increases. Getting free music on your phone allows you to build playlists and listen on-the-go without the cost of a streaming service subscription.

Downloading Free Music

There are many websites that allow you to download free music legally. Some popular options include:

Jamendo Music – This site offers a catalog of over 500,000 tracks shared by independent artists. You can download songs in MP3 format and even choose a Creative Commons license. The selection of genres is diverse. However, you won’t find mainstream pop music here.

Free Music Archive – This library contains high-quality music uploaded by independent musicians. There are over 120,000 tracks available across dozens of genres. All songs can be downloaded for free and used under Creative Commons licenses. The downside is the interface isn’t very modern or user-friendly.

When choosing a site for free music downloads, it’s important to consider the library size, audio quality, licensing restrictions, and ease of use. Sites like Jamendo and Free Music Archive are legal options with large catalogs. However, they lack major label artists. If you want the latest pop hits or albums, you’ll have to use a paid music service.

Using Streaming Apps

Streaming apps allow you to listen to unlimited music without downloading songs or paying for subscriptions. Some of the most popular free streaming apps for Android and iOS include:

Spotify – Spotify offers ad-supported free streaming. You can play any song or playlist on demand but will hear ads. Premium removes ads and unlocks features like offline listening (Source).

SoundCloud – SoundCloud has a huge catalog of music and podcasts available for free streaming. You can follow artists to hear their latest uploads. Sound quality varies between tracks (Source).

Pandora – Pandora streams free radio stations based on your favorite artists or songs. You can thumbs up/down songs to further customize stations but have limited skips. Paying unlocks unlimited skips and on-demand playback (Source).

While all these apps offer free music streaming, Spotify gives the most song choice and customization for free. However, Pandora may be better for passive listening to curated stations. Check each app to see which features matter most to you.

Using Podcast Apps

Podcasts are episodic digital audio files or audio programs that users can subscribe to and download to listen to on their phone through an app or software. Unlike traditional radio shows that are broadcast live, podcasts are pre-recorded and can be listened to at the user’s convenience. Subscribing to a podcast series allows new episodes to download automatically each time they are released.

Some of the most popular podcast apps in 2024 include:

Apple Podcasts – Comes preloaded on iPhones and is one of the original and most widely used podcast apps (https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-podcast-app/).
Spotify – Streaming service that now offers an extensive podcast library in addition to music (https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-podcast-apps/).

Google Podcasts – Android’s preloaded podcast app that also works on iOS.
Overcast – Popular third-party app praised for its smart features and ease of use.
Pocket Casts – Full featured cross-platform app with a polished interface.

These apps make finding, subscribing, managing and listening to podcasts easy and convenient. Features like automatic downloads and playback syncing across devices enable users to always have their favorite podcasts on hand. Recommendation algorithms help users discover new podcasts based on their listening history and interests.

Finding Free Music on YouTube

YouTube can be a great source for free music if you know where to look. There are many channels that provide copyright-free music that is free to download and use. However, it’s important to be cautious about downloading full songs from mainstream artist channels on YouTube, as most of this music is still under copyright.

Here are some tips for finding free music to download on YouTube:

Search for “royalty free music” or “copyright free music.” There are many channels dedicated to providing free downloads of their songs.
Look for music marked as “Creative Commons.” This means the artist has allowed their work to be used freely under certain conditions.
Search for remixes and covers of popular songs. Covers can often be shared freely as long as credit is given.

Stick to downloading from channels that explicitly say their music can be used or provide free downloads. Avoid ripping audio from popular artist’s official channels.

While YouTube can be a good source of free music, you need to be careful to avoid copyright infringement. Stick to channels that provide their songs for free download and make sure to credit the artist if you use their work.

Ripping CDs

Ripping CDs refers to extracting the audio tracks from a CD and encoding them into a digital audio file format like MP3 or FLAC. This allows you to copy the music from a physical CD to your computer or phone. To rip a CD, you will need a CD drive and ripping software. Popular options include iTunes on Mac/Windows, Windows Media Player, or dedicated ripping programs like Exact Audio Copy.

The legality of ripping CDs depends on what you do with the ripped files. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, it is generally legal to rip CDs you own for personal use, such as transferring the files to your phone. However, it becomes illegal if you distribute or share those files without permission. As one expert states, “Ripping a CD is a form of ‘phase shifting’, and even in today’s legal climate, it’s still legal. There are laws prohibiting you from defeating copy protection and sharing copied music, but simply ripping your own CDs remains legal” (Source). So ripping CDs to put music on your phone for personal listening is allowed, but sharing those files on the internet is not.

Using P2P Sites

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing sites and services allow users to download music files directly from other users. While these sites provide free access to a vast catalog of music, downloading copyrighted songs without permission is illegal.

The risks of using P2P networks for music piracy are significant. You could face legal consequences like fines or even jail time if caught illegally downloading copyrighted songs (https://www.mylawquestions.com/what-are-the-consequences-for-illegal-music-downloading.htm). Universities and companies may also punish illegal downloading by restricting network access (https://its.fsu.edu/about-its/it-policies/illegal-downloading-copyrighted-songs-and-movies). Lawsuits and criminal penalties have applied in many cases of illegal music piracy (https://lawbirdie.com/illegal-music-downloading-legal-issues/).

Instead of risking legal trouble, it’s better to use the many legal options for free music on your phone. P2P sites should be avoided in favor of safer, fully authorized alternatives.

Getting Music from Friends

The best ways to get free music from your friends are by directly transferring files between devices or sharing access to streaming libraries.

To transfer music files directly, you can use a USB cable or Bluetooth. Connect your phone to your friend’s phone or computer with a USB cable and access the device as a disk drive to copy files. For Bluetooth, pair the two devices then send or receive files wirelessly.

You can also share streaming libraries without transferring files. If your friend has a streaming service subscription, they may be able to add you as a user. Then you can access their full library. Platforms like Spotify allow sharing with Family plans. For Apple Music, you can use Family Sharing. This gives you access to all their music without taking up space on your phone.

Getting music directly from friends is a reliable way to expand your library for free. Just make sure you only share music they legally own or have rights to distribute.

Using Free Music Samples

If you’re looking to produce music or create sound/mix design, free music samples and sample packs can be a great resource. Musicians can download a wide variety of samples, loops, and effects to use royalty-free in their tracks. There are many websites that offer free sample packs to download, often grouped into genres like hip-hop, electronic, rock, and more.

Some popular sites for finding and downloading free music samples and packs include:

Looperman – Offers thousands of free music loops, acapellas, drum kits, and sound effects.
Freesound – Large collection of user-contributed sound samples and field recordings.

KVRAudio – Download free VST plugins, audio units, AAX plugins, sample libraries, drums, sound effects and more.

Most sample packs and libraries include audio files like WAV, AIFF, or MP3 that can simply be imported into your digital audio workstation (DAW). It’s important to double check the license for each pack to ensure the samples can be used freely in your productions.

Conclusion

There are many ways to get free music onto your phone without having to illegally download or pirate music. Some of the best free options include using free streaming apps like Spotify, Pandora, or SoundCloud which allow you to listen to tons of free music, though you can pay to upgrade for an ad-free experience and more features. YouTube is another great free option for finding and listening to music. You can also use podcast apps or look for free music samples online.

Ripping CDs you already own or borrowing music from friends are other legal ways to get free music onto your phone. While P2P sites may tempt you with the promise of unlimited free music, it’s best to avoid these to steer clear of legal issues from downloading pirated songs. Each method has its pros and cons to weigh.

The streaming and YouTube options give you easy access to tons of songs, but require you to have an internet connection to keep listening. Downloading MP3s from free sites or ripping CDs allows you to listen offline, but provides a more limited music catalog. Podcast apps are great for discovering new music, but focus on talk, comedy or non-music audio. Ultimately, with all the legal means now available, there’s no reason to resort to illegal downloading.