April 2008 - Musical Travel

It's already that time of year, when we must all settle up with the government. April 15th falls on Tuesday this year, and this time of year always is special for me, not as a fan of taxes, but because of the anniversary of the Titanic. It's been 96 years now and there is but one witness to that terrible night left, Milvina Dean was just a ten-month-old infant on that cold night in 1912, she is now 95. The history of the Titanic has interested me since I was very young. Now, onto the music…

Where are you getting your music these days? I am, if nothing else, very practical when it comes to my music buying and I'm pretty sure you are not loaded with spare cash either. There are a few good alternatives, in addition to your favorite radio station, and I thought I'd mention some here to help you save a bit. Having a computer is the basic requirement.

Traditional country fans can not only listen to The Grand Ole Opry live each week, but a visit to WSM Online will also allow you to listen to many hours of archived Opry performances and other specials for free. You don't even have to sign up.

For rock fans, there is a site called Wolfgang's Vault, where by simply registering for a free account, you can listen to hundreds of rock concerts and can purchase those songs you want. They also feature a big country selection as well.

Many thousands of music lovers use the various online music sites available in many different places. I have used the majority of them at one time or another and have settled on two that meet my needs. I-Tunes and Napster do pretty much everything I need. I was a bit disappointed that Napster chose to raise their monthly fee from $9.95 to $12.95 in January, but I am getting over it. When you consider that for that money, which works out to around 43 cents a day, you can listen to thousands of songs in any genre, that's a fairly good deal, especially since you can try before you buy. Knowing what I'm getting for my 99 cents per song is a big plus.

Even Wal-Mart is in the mix. Their music store allows you to listen, download and even make custom cd's of your favorite songs. One plus is that they seem to have a lot of the more obscure and older songs that are hard to find elsewhere.

Now, a word about the "free" music sites. "Nothing is free"; my Mom used to say and this is no exception. While these sites promise unlimited free downloads, there are two reasons to avoid them. First, there are no royalties paid to the artists and this is, in effect, piracy. Second, these sites are often infested with computer viruses.

For those that are "concert hounds", you can find out anything you need to know about your favorite artists schedule by a visit to Pollstar-The Concert Hotline. And, if you want to use a site that most of the big radio jocks use for their research, the site you need is called All Music.

Just a few tips this month to help you keep some of the money you work hard for. While the "Tax Man" may not leave you much, there are ways to make your music dollars go further down your own two-lane of health, happiness and music…

Brad Moyers of Burnsville, is an eight-year radio broadcaster, a deeply devoted student of music of several genres, and writes as a hobby. He offers a glimpse into the broadcast music business, its history and happenings, from someone who makes a living doing what they love. Readers may contact him at brad.moyers@yahoo.com.