Over a year ago now, I put up a post here that supported simply boycotting the RIAA. The post (actually about March being Boycott the RIAA Month) drew a number of comments suggesting other music distribution sources. I included the following short list in that post:

• Podsafe Audio - This is my personal favorite. I don’t think it is any better or worse than any of the others I mention below but it it usually my first stop.
• Garage Band - I think most of us have heard of this site.
• Podsafe Music Network - LOTS of music here. A very popular source for legal downloads.
• Sound Click - Not a bad site but I would think more of it if it just ditched the pop-ups.

Several readers suggested eMusic
as an alternative they were happy with. E-music, to my surprise, is the second largest distributor of independent music in the world. It is also all DRM free.

In my morning feed reading I notice this Mashable article about the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards. In the article, the author, Adam Ostrow, started with his first sentence being "Based on the developments of the past year, the future of music may very well be free. ".

I certainly hope so Adam. I do feel that the consumer has begun to gain some ground on the industry but we still have a long way to go. I am happy to hear Ray Beckerman, an attorney specializing in defending RIAA litigation, feels that we have reached the peak of what, I refer to as, the Sham Litigation. It seems that the core legal arguments of the RIAA are not standing well in court. Hopefully, it will mean that they drop the lawsuit against Mr. Beckerman.

One thing is for sure though. There clearly are more choices now. The article at Mashable also linked to something I missed. He mentioned this earlier post about 30+ free Music Sites.

Since I started doing this "Pick of the Day" on the First of November, I am sure that many of you who visit here would like to know about both of these links. If you happen to know of any legal DRM free sites I would love a comment from you.

What ever you do do not support the RIAA. The reality is each time you go elsewhere, you cast an economic vote against them. Thanks for reading.