BB reader Jeff Gates sez:
Smithsonian Global Sound is to world music what iTunes is to popular music. Just like iTunes, each song is 99 cents. You can search in the normal way (by text string) But you can also browse by geographic location, instrument, and cultural group (which is pretty cool). And, of course, you can hear samples before you buy. Take a look at their Synchrotext feature, which allows you to follow real time translation and commentary of oral performances.
Update: BB reader Tom McMillan says,
I read the fine print at the site (under customer support), and it sounds like they're doing it the right way (except for the prices themselves, which are still too high – with one proviso that I'll mention below.) The cool things? 1. No DRM. You're free to play the tracks anywhere you want. Good for the Smithsonian. 2. They offer either MP3, or, get this, FLAC files! FLAC files! This makes their prices almost ok. You can of course decompress them and burn them to CD, and get the best sound quality that you're going to get. I like this. 3. You can download the original liner notes as a PDF file (Ok, maybe other services do this too – it was new to me.) One other point that is a little new, I think: a price scale < 3 min := 99 > 3 && < 15 := 1.49 > 15 := 3.49 But if I can download FLACs, I'm happy to pay a bit more.
And reader Bob DuCharme says:
If you want inexpensive "world" music (particularly afropop), Calabash Music now have a deal where you can get the first 20 songs for 50 cents each. After that it's something like a buck a song. Also see www.afropop.org, which has 99 cent songs and free streaming documentaries about old and new music from Africa and around the world.
