I hope I am not being out of line but mp3's can be considered software and this offer can make one try out new free mp3 software players.:
Can't make it to this year's South by Southwest (aka SXSW) show in Austin? At least you don't have to miss out on the music.
As part of its SXSW: Live from Austin series, NPR is offering The Austin 100 -- a collection of 100 songs by 100 artists, all in MP3 format, all absolutely free.
And I mean really and truly free: There's nothing to register for, no form to complete, and not a single Facebook or Twitter sharing requirement.
Just scroll down a bit until you see the Download the Music box on the left, then right-click the Zip file to download the entire batch of songs. You can also scroll down a bit further and download individual tracks if you prefer.
These are largely indie acts, of course, but you might recognize a few of the names: The Polyphonic Spree, Nick Cave, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, for example. And don't forget that plenty of former unknowns made big splashes at SXSW, including Arctic Monkeys, Fleet Foxes, and Foster the People.
Anyway, it's free music (available until April 4), so download it, enjoy it, and toss what you don't like. Then ask yourself when was the last time you wrote NPR a check. Just saying.
It says a lot about SXSW's size and scope that this "sampler" of the annual music festival spans six and a half hours, but here we are: 100 songs by 100 artists worth discovering at this year's big event.
Handpicked from among thousands of artists, this genre-traversing playlist picks highlights, discoveries and future thrills from this year's festival — and, for the next 30 days, it's available for free download in its entirety, as one 813 MB zip file, right here. Of course, for those without that much hard-drive space, you can download each song individually, as well as stream The Austin 100 on this page and through NPR Music's various mobile devices.
Come back to NPR.org/SXSW for live showcases, photos, videos and podcasts from this year's festival. On March 13, starting at 8:45 p.m. ET, we'll present a live broadcast from Stubb's in Austin, featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Cafe Tacvba, Alt-J, Youth Lagoon, Waxahatchee and Le1f. Information on how to enter for tickets is at SXSW.com. On March 14, NPR's Alt.Latino presents a free SXSW showcase at Auditorium Shores with Cafe Tacvba, Molotov and Bajofondo. Doors are at 5 p.m. ET. We'll be recording the show, so check for highlights later.
We still have more SXSW coverage to announce. Follow @nprmusic for details and updates.
THE AUSTIN 100
Air Review, "America's Son" [MP3]
Air Traffic Controller, "You Know Me" [MP3]
Alt-J, "Tessellate" [MP3]
Andy Stott, "Numb" [MP3]
The Away Days, "Dressing Room" [MP3]
Bajofondo, "Pide Piso" [MP3]
Big K.R.I.T., "Shine On (Feat. Bun B)" [MP3]
Blaudzun, "Elephants" [MP3]
Boy, "Little Numbers" [MP3]
Bronze Radio Return, "Shake, Shake, Shake" [MP3]
Brown Shoe, "Late Nights" [MP3]
The Calm Blue Sea, "Mary Ann Nichols" [MP3]
Caveman, "In The City" [MP3]
Cayucas, "High School Lover" [MP3]
Cheyenne Mize, "Among The Grey" [MP3]
Chic Gamine, "Days And Days" [MP3]
The Coup, "Magic Clap" [MP3]
Dana Falconberry, "Lake Charlevoix" [MP3]
Daniel Bachman, "With Signs Following" [MP3]
Dessa, "The Beekeeper" [MP3]
DIIV, "How Long Have You Known" [MP3]
Dusted, "Property Lines" [MP3]
The Eastern Sea, "The Match" [MP3]
Elephant Stone, "Heavy Moon" [MP3]
Emma Louise, "Boy" [MP3]
Empress Of, "Don't Tell Me" [MP3]
Ex Cops, "James" [MP3]
Field Report, "I Am Not Waiting Anymore" [MP3]
Fierce Bad Rabbit, "Matter Of Time" [MP3]
Foxygen, "San Francisco" [MP3]
Frightened Rabbit, "State Hospital" [MP3]
Gaby Moreno, "Que Voy A Hacer" [MP3]
Guards, "Silver Lining" [MP3]
Haley Bonar, "Bad Reputation" [MP3]
Hannah Georgas, "Ode To Mom" [MP3]
Hey Marseilles, "Bright Stars Burning" [MP3]
Hundred Waters, "Boreal" [MP3]
Hurray For The Riff Raff, "Born To Win (Part One)" [MP3]
Imam Baildi, "De Thelo Pia Na Xanarthis" [MP3]
Indians, "I Am Haunted" [MP3]
Ivan & Alyosha, "Running For Cover" [MP3]
Jenny Owen Youngs, "Love For Long" [MP3]
Jesca Hoop, "Born To" [MP3]
Joe Banfi, "Nomads" [MP3]
Jonathan Boulet, "You're A Animal" [MP3]
Josh Ritter, "Joy To You Baby" [MP3]
Josh Rouse, "Julie (Come Out Of The Rain)" [MP3]
The Joy Formidable, "This Ladder Is Ours" [MP3]
Kelly Hogan, "Plant White Roses" [MP3]
Ken Stringfellow, "You're The Gold" [MP3]
Killer Mike, "Untitled (feat. Scar)" [MP3]
Kopecky Family Band, "Heartbeat" [MP3]
La Santa Cecilia, "La Negra" [MP3]
Le1f, "Coins (produced by Drippin & Souldrop)" [MP3]
Lianne La Havas, "Is Your Love Big Enough?" [MP3]
Line & Circle, "Roman Ruins" [MP3]
The Lone Bellow, "Two Sides Of Lonely" [MP3]
Lucius, "Turn It Around" [MP3]
Lydia Loveless, "Can't Change Me" [MP3]
Marnie Stern, "Year Of The Glad" [MP3]
Metz, "Headache" [MP3]
Micah P. Hinson, "Take Off That Dress For Me" [MP3]
Mikal Cronin, "Shout It Out" [MP3]
The Milk Carton Kids, "Snake Eyes" [MP3]
Mother Falcon, "Dirty Summer" [MP3]
The Mowgli's, "San Francisco (Remix)" [MP3]
My Education, "Roboter Hohlenbewohner" [MP3]
Night Beds, "Ramona" [MP3]
NO, "What's Your Name" [MP3]
Olafur Arnalds, "Old Skin" [MP3]
ON AN ON, "Ghosts" [MP3]
Parquet Courts, "Stoned And Starving" [MP3]
Phosphorescent, "Song For Zula" [MP3]
The Polyphonic Spree, "You Don't Know Me" [MP3]
Quiet Company, "The Emasculated Man And The City That Swallowed Him" [MP3]
Red Baraat, "Shruggy Ji" [MP3]
Rhye, "Open" [MP3]
Robert Raimon Roy, "Robert Raimon Roy" [MP3]
Said The Whale, "Loveless" [MP3]
Sean Rowe, "Joe's Cult" [MP3]
Shout Out Louds, "Illusions" [MP3]
Sinkane, "Warm Spell" [MP3]
Skeletonwitch, "This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)" [MP3]
Skinny Lister, "Rollin' Over" [MP3]
The Soil & The Sun, "I Know It (I Feel It, Too)" [MP3]
Spirit Family Reunion, "I Want To Be Relieved" [MP3]
The Staves, "Mexico" [MP3]
Telekinesis, "Ghosts And Creatures" [MP3]
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, "Holy Roller" [MP3]
The Thermals, "Born To Kill" [MP3]
Thomas Dybdahl, "But We Did" [MP3]
Tyagaraja, "We Will Meet Again" [MP3]
The Very Best, "Yoshua Alikuti" [MP3]
Waxahatchee, "Peace And Quiet" [MP3]
Whirr, "Sandy" [MP3]
Widowspeak, "Ballad Of The Golden Hour" [MP3]
Wild Child, "Tale Of You & Me" [MP3]
You Won't, "Three Car Garage" [MP3]
Youth Lagoon, "Dropla" [MP3]
!!!, "Slyd" [MP3]