At the beginning of the year, KBOO joined WFMU, KEXP and a handful of other stations for an experiment that challenged the basic rule of the recording industry since its foundation: you must pay for music.
I wasn't quite sure how musicians would react to the premise of the Free Music Archive - an interactive online library of free high-quality, legal audio downloads. Only a few big names like Radiohead are known for embracing this idea. But I did know that music lovers - the only reason a music industry exists - would be all over it.
A year later we've posted over two hundred tracks by mainly local musicians across all genres. We're finding more and more artists who recognize the importance of sharing music online and want to contribute. Live studio recordings, festival performances and licensed albums are all featured here in this mix and you can find thousands more on the website that will continue to change the way we exchange music.