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Adam Young runs Owl City; photo by Pamela Littky
When it comes to online music stores, iTunes is the big gorilla, of course. But did you know that the site offers free downloads in addition to its huge catalog of for-sale tracks?
Each week, the iTunes store offers a “Single of the Week” that visitors to the site can have at no charge. But don’t digitally dawdle – these free downloads are usually available for just one week; after that, you'll have to pay for them. The current week’s (beginning July 14) offering is “Fireflies“ by Owl City, a new band on Universal Republic Records that is already causing a buzz. In the brief time since it was made available on the site, Owl City’s song has sprung into the top pop chart, alongside Jack White’s new band, The Dead Weather, and music by Michael Jackson.
Owl City is the creation of Minnesota native Adam Young, whose bright, electro-pop sound will resonate with fans of hellogoodbye (the bubbling keyboards) and Death Cab for Cutie (the sweet vocals). There’s also a wry sense of humor at work in some of the lyric narratives, like “Dental Care” (“I’ve been to the dentist a thousand times, so I know the drill”). Due to the great demand for its free track, Owl City’s new CD, “Ocean Eyes,” has been moved up to a July 28 release from its original September date. Until next week, the album is currently available exclusively on iTunes at a discount price of $7.99 for 14 tracks with digital booklet.
The iTunes store also offers a free music video each week and free podcasts, too, many of which allow you to sample hit tunes and new material from cool up-and-coming bands. You can sign up for a weekly reminder that will tell you when the latest free tunes and other special offers are ripe for the taking. So you can window shop and get great new music without having to spend a penny.
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