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freegal faqs
What is Freegal?
Freegal is a downloadable music service, like iTunes, available from your library. All you need is your library card number. With access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog, it offers hundreds of thousands of songs, over 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels, all without having to download special software or have any digital rights management (DRM) issues to deal with.
What’s my library card number?
It’s the twelve-digit number on your library card.
How much music is on this site?
New music is added daily but it’s safe to say that there are thousands of artists, tens of thousands of albums, and hundreds of thousands of songs. The Freegal site has over 100 genres of music and is rich in many of them. The content is based upon a license with Sony Music Entertainment, owner of 54 different music labels. You can read more about Sony and its artists at www.sonymusic.com.
How many songs can I download?
You may download up to three songs per week. On Sunday at 12:00 a.m. your counter will be set back to zero. After that time you can download three more songs over the following week. You may add to your “wish list” anytime.
How will I know how many downloads I’ve used?
In the upper right corner of the Freegal site is your download allotment, and the ticker helps you track it. For instance if it says 1/3, you have 3 downloads for the week and you have used up 1.
How do I download a song?
It’s easy! When you’ve selected an artist and song you want, click on the ‘Download Now’ link next to your chosen song. At the prompt, select ‘Save’ and choose where you want to save the song.
If you’re not presented with a prompt, try right-clicking the link and choosing the option to save the link (i.e. Save Target As, Save Link As, or Download Linked File, etc.). This will let you choose where to save your song. The files are downloaded in an MP3 format, and can then be played, transferred or burned to a CD.
Note: Anytime you click on the “Download Now” link, even if you decide to cancel it, the download will count towards your weekly allotment.
Can I download a whole album?
Songs are available on an individual basis only. You can choose, over time, to download all the songs on an album. However, previewing a song will help you decide if you have favorites and don’t want them all.
What is the song clip?
The song clip is to the left of the song title. The song clip allows you to preview a song, so you can decide whether or not you want to use your allotment of downloads on a new song. To listen to the song clip, click on the arrow to the left of the track.
What are the different ways to search for a song or artist?
The Freegal site is set up to browse or to search. You can use the bar across the top to browse by genre or by suggestions. You can use the grid at the bottom right to browse by artist in alphabetical order. You can search by artist, song, album or keyword. Expanded search options are under advanced search.
Some tips:
- Start by browsing
- Choose “See All” under Genre to see how the music is organized.
- The site’s catalog wasn’t arranged by librarians! Artists are listed alphabetically by first name, and groups with names that begin with “the” (The Flatliners, for example) are found under “T”.)
- Don’t give up immediately if you don’t find what you’re looking for. Artists/performers may not be listed where you expect them to be. Use the advanced search if you get few or no results.
Does Freegal offer a mobile app?
The Freegal Music Service has recently launched free mobile apps, and they are currently available in the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace, a.k.a. Google Play.
What is the functionality of the Freegal App?
The Freegal App is designed to find libraries that have the Freegal Music Service, to store your login information, to search and browse the Freegal Music collection of your library, and to download, store and play your Freegal MP3 files.
Currently, the Freegal Music App cannot export files to iTunes or any other software.
As a Freegal Music user, you can download a song again for the purpose of having a copy in your iTunes and in the Freegal Music App. You can do that within 2 weeks of your original download by accessing your library's Freegal site via a computer, and accessing the "recent downloads" functionality on the navigation bar of the home page (HINT: you may need to log out of the Freegal App to do this. You log out by going to "settings" within the Freegal App.)
How do I get the Freegal App?
If you have an Apple device (iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch), you will be able to download the Freegal App by doing a search for "Freegal Music" in the App Store.
If you have an Android phone or tablet, you will be able to search for "Freegal Music" in the Google Play store.
As of this writing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have not made the apps available in their stores.
How do I find my local library in the Freegal App?
To use Freegal, you need to be a registered cardholder of a library that has contracted the Freegal service. Once you have downloaded the App, the first thing you will see upon opening the App is a search box for libraries. In the United States, you can enter your home zip code, and a list will appear of current subscribing libraries within a 60 mile radius. You can also enter in the name of your library or the city in which your library's main branch is located.
How do I login to the Freegal App?
Right after you select the library you have a card with, the login screen will appear. This screen requests your valid library card number. Once you are validated, you will be in the Freegal App's main area where you can browse, search and download music. If you have problems logging in, please contact your local library.
What are the main areas of the Freegal App?
Home Screen: This screen shows certain featured graphics, and allows quick browsing of the TOP 10 recent downloads by your fellow library patrons, and the TOP 10 recent downloads of all the Freegal users in the country in which you reside. The upper right corner has your weekly download allocation, and the number that you have used in the current week. The search icon is in the upper right side as well. The right facing blue arrow is to play a song clip, and the downward pointing arrow is to download music. The bottom of the home page has the major functionality buttons described below:
- My Music: "My Music is where all your songs are stored. Once you use the big downward facing arrow to download a song, this is where it goes.
- Playlist: This is where you can create shortcuts to your favorite music. Most people will use this after they have downloaded a lot of songs. This way they can separate their classical music from their workout music, etc. You can create multiple playlists to organize your music. Once you create a playlist, you will have the music both in "My Music" and in the Playlist area.
- Browse: In this area, you will be able to quickly browse the most popular Artists, Songs and Genres in a navigation bar at the top of the screen in the Browse area.
- Settings: This is where you can, if you wish, log out of the Freegal Music Application. One of the great things about the App is you don't have to login each time! However if you are logging in from multiple devices, you may wish to logout.