I got some disturbing news today. Spiral Frog, a free and legal music downloading site, croaked last week. Their trick was that they were totally ad-supported. To be honest, they really had a pretty impressive collection - from Johhny Cash to Jonny Lang, U2, George Strait, Shane & Shane, Robben Ford, Nickel Creek, Jon Foreman, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
But, alas, last week the site closed down for good with no warning whatsoever. Apparently, all the songs I've downloaded (and they are many) will work for two more months and will then cease to work forever (unless Spiral Frog should come back online, which is unlikely).
While I am pained, I am grateful to the pioneers behind this service. My musical eyes were opened to some things that I would probably not have listened to otherwise. For instance, after reading a Guitar Player Magazine article on Brad Paisley, and learning that one of his guitar heroes was Robben Ford, I found some of his stuff on Spiral Frog and fell in love.
So, I will enjoy my music for the next two months, and then begin re-collecting much of the albums I've enjoyed via Rhapsody, which is not free, but cost-effective. In the mean-time, I'll be praying that someone jumps on the free-music bandwagon and figures out another legal way to let us all enjoy great music again.
Fare thee well, my Froggy friend.
