When it comes to students downloading music off of the Internet, Itunes, and Limewire are probably the first two websites that come to mind. However, due to Limewire crashing and people not wanting to purchase songs from iTunes, there have been new websites opening up for people to download music. Examples of some of these sites include, Hotnewhiphop.com, Datpiff.com, and Livemixtapes.com. On these websites music is free and 100% legal. The main focal points for these websites listed is hip hop and rap music. The way they work is very simple. Everyday there are new songs that are put out by artists and are available to listen to and download to a person computer.
    "I usually download mixtapes off of Livemixtapes.com," said Senior Tyler Rozelsky. "I still use Itunes because I like to get the album artwork and sometimes it’s just easier than searching for them online. "Since Limewire crashed I’ve been using Frostwire, which is no different, but there’s not as many viruses or Spam on it."
    Senior Brandon Snell said, "I use Hotnewhiphop.com. And Facebook usually helps because my friends listen to the same music that I do and they post songs that have come out that they like."
    Senior Kaleb Howell added, "I use Datpiff.com a lot. It has a variety of songs and mixtapes to choose from."
    Popular hip hop artist Kanye West recently had a promotion for his newest album, My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy, where he would release a new song that may or may not be on the album, every Friday for the last two months of 2010. His goal for this was to promote his album, and convince people to buy it. The reason artists can give away free music is because their largest income comes from concerts rather than album sales.
    "It’s a tough situation" said Rozelsky. "People complain for buying music on Itunes, but is it fair to the artists if they make the music for nothing? I noticed in Lil Wayne’s, No Ceilings mixtape, he says something in the outro about giving his music for free and it really shows how he feels about it."
    In the outro Wayne says, "It was all for you, thank you, I appreciate you...They ask me why I do this. I have plenty to share. It’s priceless, that’s why its free."
    Artist Kid Cudi was quoted in "Complex Magazine" saying, "If I could right now, I’d put this album out for free. I don’t think its right to sell it, it’s too good, people just need to have it. It’s like the Bible. Why do people sell the Bible when it’s supposed to be the word?"
    As shown in the quotes, it seems as if artists do not even want to sell their music. They just enjoy making it for their fans and they are not worried about the money.
    For those who do not know, mixtapes are pretty much albums not released to stores. They include songs that may be on an upcoming album and other songs that are made for the fans to enjoy that might not go on the album. Mixtapes are very common for hip hop artists trying to get their name out there.
    Howell said, "I download all types of mixtapes and exclusive songs that aren’t on artists albums. It’s great how it’s free, who wants to pay for music? If I really wanted to I could make my own."
    "I feel like music should be free for the listener, that money shouldn’t be a factor. To express your feelings through music should be free, and a gift to everyone that enjoys what you do," said Snell.
    The reason that downloading this music for free is legal is because the artists post them up themselves or somebody has been given permission from the artist to post them. It becomes a problem, when people steal songs or hack them from the artist and post them without permission. Although downloading free music seems like the greatest thing to do, it is still encouraged to go out and buy albums to support the music industry.