Did you know that your library card gives you access to free music? It’s true! The app is called Freegal, and all it needs is your Commerce Township Community Library card number. Freegal works very much like other similar music apps. You can create your own playlists, share music with friends, stream full albums, or download individual tracks (and keep them). As of now cardholders, who were able to download 5 MP3s per week before, will be able to download 3 MP3s per week and stream 8 hours per day. A counter located up top will notify them of their streaming allotment and usage. Any cardholder that does not see the streaming option simply needs to logout and log back in.
For general browsing you can start by exploring curated playlists, various albums and artists, or just look at what’s new and trending. If there is a particular kind of music you enjoy, feel free to browse by genre. You can also do a keyword search at any time using the search bar at the top of the screen. For more advanced browsing, simply select that link which is right near the “genre browsing” tab. It will call up a search tab that looks like this:
As you can see there are a number of parameters you can use to search for the music you want most. You can also toggle the advanced search to match at least one field like in the picture above, or to match all search fields.
The Freegal Music+ service allows patrons to access a collection spanning over 18 million songs from more than 93,000 music labels worldwide including Sony Music, Epic, RCA, and Columbia. Freegal Music+ also offers a completely redesigned mobile app and website which utilizes modern application practices to ensure an easy-to-use and enjoyable experience.
Just like the other media apps such as Kanopy or Hoopla, Freegal is free to download and to use. As usual, the best way to get to know an app like this one is to download it and make discoveries for yourself!