By: Danny May
You can search songs by artist, genre, or most popular downloads. When you find the songs you want, you double click them to download and they load right in to iTunes automatically.
“Wait, so you’re telling me I can download three songs every week for free, just by having a library card?”
“Yes. Three songs per library card.”
I didn’t actually think my long time friend and library employee Jarrod would be lying to me. I just thought it was one of those too-good-to-be-true moments. It took a minute to register.
Freegal; it’s free and legal. And apparently the Daviess County Library pays a pretty hefty sum in order to offer the service free to its patrons. That’s why they are promoting it so heavily so that more people use it to make it worth their investment.
I use it like crazy, that’s for sure! Here’s how it works: you simply log in to dcpl.org, click on “online services” on the top toolbar, then click on “freegal” when the drop down box appears. When Freegal opens, enter in the number on the back of your library card and the wonderful world of Freegal instantly opens in front of your eyes. (The password is grayed out when you enter through the library website. If you just Google search Freegal you need a password, so I always go through the library website.)
You can search songs by artist, genre, or most popular downloads. When you find the songs you want, you double click them to download and they load right in to iTunes automatically. (Although I have to double click them from my “downloaded” folder because apparently my laptop is a dinosaur. Oh well. It still works.)
At first I was afraid that since it was free there would only be bands nobody’s ever heard of. So when I found Foo Fighters, John Mayer, and Dave Matthews Band I was like a kid at Christmas! Then I logged in with my wife’s library card (since she and I share an iTunes account) and loaded her up with Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and other stuff she likes to run to. Freegal is on it! Every week they’re adding new artists, so it’s always fun to check back and see what’s new. Just recently, they added Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. But you can also find new artists like One Direction, Adele, and Jason Aldean.
Now, before I ever buy a song in the iTunes store, I always check Freegal first. So if it’s been a while, dig that library card out of your wallet or purse and go get your free songs! If you’ve never gotten a library card, it’s very simple and the staff would be more than happy to get you set up. It only takes a minute and you’re good to go. Our family has always been a big fan of the library. Freegal is just another reason why I love our Daviess County Library so much.