I received a very cool sounding e-mail today (Oct. 18) from Rocketown/RKT Records.
Seems the label has decided a good way to get the word out about some of its bands — a roster that includes this year’s best new band, Hyper Static Union (photo, right); as well as Shaun Groves, Ginny Owens and others — is to give away some tunes. So, Friday, Rocketown is testing the concept of Free Music Friday. The deal is, according to the e-mail, that Friday you go to MyFreeMusicFriday.com  and there will be a selection of tunes for you to download. Rocketown does emphasize that as of now, this is a test program to see how it goes. We’ll let you know if it becomes a regular thing. Rocketown is one of the most consistently good labels in Christian rock. So whatever you can download Friday should be good stuff.

Also on the free music scene is Derek Webb, who some of you may know has been offering his Mockingbird album for free download for several months now. At the download website, Webb explains his motivation saying, "I love music. I have grown up with music as a close confidant. And I
believe in the power of music to move people. There’s something
remarkable about the way a melody can soften someone to a new idea.

"As an artist (and often an agitator), this is something I am keenly
aware of. My most recent record Mockingbird deals with many sensitive
issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live
and deal with others. But I found that music has been an exceptional
means by which to get this potentially difficult conversation going. And this is certainly an important moment for dialogue amongst people
who disagree about how to best love and take care of people, to get
into the nuances of the issues . . . It’s actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with
music fans. And I want people to have a chance to listen to Mockingbird
and engage in the conversation."

Last year, I put Mockingbird on my list of the year’s best Christian pop albums, so obviously I think it’s worth a purchase price. For free, it’s essential.

Finally, for musicians out there (and wannabe musicians, like me), Worship Together offers  three free sheet music titles to download. Right now my wife an I are working on Brenton Brown and Ken Riley’s Everlasting God, and I just downloaded three Delirious (photo, right) selections from this week’s offerings. I can’t wait to get to Rain Down. There’s a brief, free membership to sign up for at Worship Together, but it’s painless, and then you get an e-mail reminder each week of what new titles are available.