One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Libraries Rock: L.A. Library Cardholders Can Download Sony Music For Free
Photo by carolyn.will via Flickr
The County of Los Angeles Public Library and the Los Angeles Public Library have partnered with Library Ideas, a network of public library websites that "offer access to hundreds of thousands of songs from Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists," to allow library cardholders free and legal music downloads beginning in July, according to a news release.
The service, “Freegal” (“free” and “legal”), will be available starting July 1, 2011, on both library websites. Freegal allows registered card holders of either library to download up to three selections of Sony Music tracks in the MP3 format each week at no direct cost. The artists and the works available through the service are listed at www.sonymusic.com. “The County Library has been waiting a long time for a service like this that delivers great music, compatibility with lots of devices and simplicity of use. We think this will be very popular with our patrons,” said County Librarian Margaret Donnellan Todd.
The service was created to help meet Los Angeles' demand for digital entertainment and information, notes the news release. “Music is an art form like literature and cinema. With Sony Music’s incredibly expansive and popular catalog, this becomes a very important product for libraries,” said Brian Downing, co-founder of Library Ideas.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
