Music
Whether you've got a passion for the classics or you're an indie rock addict, staying up to date with everything that’s going on in the music world can require real effort. Fortunately, the Internet can make your task a little easier. On it, you'll find tools for buying music, listening to music, discovering new music, and even making music. Or you can read all the available news and reviews, find bloggers who are writing about the music you love, and buy concert tickets. For a Spanish-language version of the Guide, click here.
Expand All Guide SectionsBuy Music
It may be hard to get music for free online, but your options for buying it are manifest. ... read more »
Listen to Music Online
The industry may be cracking down on illegal downloading, but it's possible to stream music for ... read more »
Music News and Reviews
Whether you love to read gossip, interviews, long features, or reviews, you can get your fix online. And there are so many music fans out there that many of them have started zines (small, independently run magazines). But watch out: music zines can become an obsession. You might even find yourself inspired to contribute.
Dulcinea's Insight
- In addition to magazines and zines, blogs are also a good way to get music news. To find the music blogs you'll most enjoy, try sites like elbo.ws or hypem.com, both listed in the Listen to Music Online section of this guide. Investigate the scope of music blogging in the Dose article, "It's a Blogger's World."
- For more information about music blogs, visit the FindingDulcinea Blogs Guide.
- Print magazines with Web sites rarely include all the contents of their issues online. However, some content is usually available for free and more articles are available to paid subscribers.
Dulcinea's Picks
For online versions of print magazines …
RollingStone.com
is the Web home of America's oldest music magazine. Each month has a featured article, plus lots of smaller pieces of news, gossip and reviews. You can also read excerpts from the print magazine, the Rolling Stone blogs, and the newsletter as well as access videos and selected playlists for streaming.
SpinMagazine.com
, like RollingStone.com, has most of the benefits of its print version with additional online features. Spin is a similar magazine to Rolling Stone in that it covers primarily mainstream music. While the actual content differs, the style is generally similar.
The Wire
magazine reports on progressive and independent music. The online version tells you what's in the print issue but usually won't let you read the articles. However, you can get Web extras like MP3 downloads and photo galleries, as well as shorter clips of gossip and news.
For online-only magazines and music news …
Pitchfork Media
is one of the most widely read online music magazines. Devoted to following the indie rock scene, Pitchfork has album reviews, special features, and short news updates. Pitchfork also has MP3s of certain bands so you can get exposed to the new music you're reading about.
Sonic Itch Music
seeks to make the thrilling but occasionally overwhelming world of music available to everyone. Based in Austin, Texas, the site provides music news, videos, MP3s, reviews, and resources, as well as information about festivals all over the country, including an entire section on the famed South by South West (SXSW) festival. Sonic Itch also accepts submissions from bands.
Popmatters
is an international magazine devoted to pop culture and thus an excellent site for music news and reviews. Several reviews are posted each day and archives are kept on file. The magazine also includes frequent music-related special features.
For blogs …
Band Weblogs
is essentially a giant hub of music and band blogs collected in one place. In addition to the main blog by musician and producer Jenny May, there are band blogs, music reviews, articles, and the “Guest Music Bloggers” section, where bands can post their music in order to self-promote.
Brooklyn Vegan
describes itself as “music, photos, and news from a vegan in Brooklyn,” but has been named by others as one of the top blogs in the industry. BrooklynVegan goes to a lot of shows, takes pictures, and gives the full report. Although the blog is technically based in New York, BV also reports on international news, gossip, tips, and concert dates.
Gorilla Vs. Bear
is another top-ranked music blog. In addition to keeping you well informed about what’s going in the music community, GVB includes lots of pictures, scanned images, and links to MP3s that become available for streaming online.
For magazines covering specific genres ...
Vibe.com
is the online version of Vibe magazine, a music and urban culture magazine. The magazine's main focus is hip hop but it covers other top 40 artists. In addition to special features like up-to-date news, photos and music recommendations, the site lets you read select stories from the print magazine.
CountryWeekly.com
is print magazine Country Weekly's online counterpart. Explore photo galleries, news, gossip, Web exclusives and see what's in the print magazine. You can also order a subscription.
Down Beat
is one of America's oldest Jazz publications; a version of the magazine was first published in 1934. Today it's one of the top jazz magazines out there, and the online version has jazz news, reviews and artist archives. You can also see what's in the print issue and read select stories.
Buy Concert Tickets
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How to buy an instrument
Buying a musical instrument is no small matter. You want to find the instrument that's exactly ... read more »
Research Music
Maybe you live and breathe music and are always looking for more information about the music you ... read more »
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