ARTISTS FORMERLY ON THE MASTER ARTIST LIST LIST -- introduction




The web being what it is (ever-shifting) and free and legal MP3s being what they are (elusive), there is the distinct possibility that any given free and legal MP3 chosen as noteworthy here on Fingertips will one day, either with or without explanation, disappear.

This has an impact on the Fingertips Master Artist List. Quite often an artist is on that list simply because there is one song of his or hers or theirs that I found online and wrote about in "This Week's Finds." If, some time later, that song is removed from the web, and I notice that it's been removed, I then remove that artist from the Master Artist List (if the artist is not featured anywhere else on Fingertips).

Other times, an artist's entire store of MP3s have disappeared from the web, requiring his or her removal from the SAG and, therefore, the Master Artist List. This happened with quite a few musicians back when the old MP3.com was dismantled (see this for more information). Alternatively, as an artist becomes increasingly successful, his or her fate can become increasingly controlled by a large record company, which may decide it doesn't want free and legal music on the web from their cash cow. (Norah Jones is a good example of this circumstance, it would seem--she used to have a whole lot of free and legal live MP3s online; they disappeared with the release of her second CD).

But I don't like the idea of having artists who must be removed from the Master Artist List completely disappear from Fingertips, because we still like them very much. So there is this, the Artists Formerly Listed on the Master Artist List List, the name of which is both bulky and self-explanatory.

Artists may well flow in both directions--onto the "former" list and then back onto the regular list, if they re-emerge with a new MP3, at which point their older, defunct MP3 will be indicated on the main list with a single asterisk (*)

Note that the artists on this list will be listed along with the place on Fingertips where their music used to be found. In the case of artists with songs listed in "This Week's Finds," the link here will actively take you to the original listing--you'll be able to read about the song and, in some cases, go on over to Amazon to hear a snippet and, if you like, buy it. Bringing us to.....

News flash as of the fall of 2007

With the introduction of Amazon's MP3 download store, Fingertips will begin the slow and steady process of adding buy links to formerly free-and-legal MP3s that are now available via Amazon. The MP3s are generally available there for either 89 or 99 cents. Buy links will only be provided if, (a) I honestly cannot find a free and legal download, and (b) Amazon offers it.

To make the available songs easier to pick out, the Artists Formerly Listed on the Master Artist List List is now divided into two. The first list consists of artists whose featured songs are no longer available as free and legal MP3s but are available via Amazon for either 89 or 99 cents. Click on the "This Week's Finds" link to read the blurb and access the buy link.

The second list consists of artists whose featured free and legal MP3s are simply no longer available, not even to buy. You can still click on the TWF link to read about the song if you'd like, however.









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