(Last updated on November 22, 2008)

What is this?

This web site is an attempt to neatly organize and distribute music that I wish to freely offer to the world in a format I control. Nothing more complicated than that.

Who are you?

I am Matt Lebofsky. I am two simultaneous people. First, I am a computer geek who works on developing/maintaining SETI@home (the world's biggest volunteer computing project searching for extraterrestrial intelligence), as well as the multi-purpose version BOINC. Second, I am a professional musician in several rock/jazz/experimental bands (playing locally, nationally, and abroad) and "formal" bands with performing at weddings, dot-com Xmas parties, national political conventions... More to the point, I'm a manic composer who has been continually creating/recording/performing music as long as I can remember.

What are your creative influences?

I had the honor of taking ten years of piano lessons with the late, great Arthur Cunningham, who fostered my youthful compositional leanings. This was followed by an adolescence steeped in good ol' prog rock. I also did obscurist/completist/fetishist college radio thing for four years. But nowadays I'm more inspired by my non-musical life than anything else.

Why are you readily giving away your music?

You turn 25 and suddenly you're not immortal anymore. The bullshit of life kicks in, the aches, the pains, and it gets old beating your head against the wall trying to book shows, fluff up your website, waiting for myspace to work, begging publishers and record labels to mail you ten dollar checks, basically fighting all day to be heard above the noise. So be it. I'll still keep fighting on that level because that's way things are, but I want people who might actually be interested to have a chance to hear my stuff. I also think it's healthy to do fun things that may also make the world a more positive place.

So how's a musician like yourself supposed to get paid if they keep making their recordings available for free?

Performing, giving lessons, film/video game scoring, writing commercial jingles. I know a guy that makes cell phone ring tones. It's been said that real musicians have day jobs. I mostly agree with that sentiment. Music is my religion, and we all know religion mixed with capitalism has a tendency to lead to evil, so I tend to get my funds elsewhere so my creativity is left "untainted" (and I feel incredibly lucky I have this luxury so I'll just shut up now).

Let me get this straight: You think composers shouldn't get paid for their compositions at all?

I didn't say that. The creation/distribution/observation of art will always be an incredibly complicated equation containing many disparate factors and many different parties with wildly varying levels of generosity, ego, skill, experience, inspiration, money, number of famous friends, etc. That said, I think people should do whatever the hell they want, and ask for whatever the hell they want. If people want to give everything away for free, wonderful. If somebody wants to scrape together a life of D.I.Y. touring and selling self-produced CDs out of their tourvan, that's awesome. If others want to believe their three chord opus is so vital that it's worth millions and try to do everything in their power to earn those millions, good for them. What is bad is when people don't have the wherewithall to realize their dreams themselves, and therefore sell their souls to evil corporations. No matter the situation, feeding your soul to big industry is generally bad for the planet.

Doesn't giving music away for free cheapen its artistic value?

No it doesn't. Perhaps you are confusing the meaning of finanical and artistic value.

Do you think the RIAA is wrong for fighting the illegal downloading of music?

I believe the RIAA has a right to exist - it is their legal prerogative to protect a commodity they deem worth protecting. The ownership and control of creative ideas will always be a deeply philosophical quagmire, especially as technology makes mass reproduction cheap and trivial, so on that front they have a fraction of my sympathy. But by being a litigious entity serving the arbitrarily rich and powerful in a random and bullyish manner they are a cancer on culture and society and any person aligned or affiliated with them is automatically uncompassionate, selfish and heartless.

What's to keep me from ripping off your music and making money selling it myself?

A couple things. First: karma. Second: In case you haven't noticed everything on this site is protected by a creative commons license which basically states that you can do whatever you want with this music except make money off of reformatting/redistributing it without prior consent from yours truly. People's creative expressions are like their children. And you want your kids to go out and play with other kids, to grow up and be a postive, productive member of society. You don't want your kids kidnapped and forced into slave labor.

Why do you sell CDs/ask for donations if this is supposedly "free music?"

Relax - it's optional. It's about courtesy and respect, though simply spending the time to listen is respect enough for me. Some people actually want to make a fiscal gesture of appreciation. I never ask for more than $5 per person - this is an ample "thank you" as far as I'm concerned. I do plan to continue producing and selling CDs, including music available on this site, in order to keep in touch with people who still want to work that way. In short, I don't need the big bucks, but it does cost some money to buy recording gear and maintain a web presence so covering a fraction of my expenses would be nice. If nobody ever ends up paying me a dime I'd still keep doing it - that's the kind of guy I am.

Are you at all saddened by the slow death of the music industry?

In many ways, yes. Albums, such as they were in the 70's, were cool - Forty quality minutes of music accompanied by large-scale artwork and liner notes you could read without a magnifying glass. This musical form is rapidly going extinct, but I do hope it never entirely disappears as the first 21 years of my life were measured out in album sides. With shuffle play throwing tracks out of intended order and cover design reduced to an afterthought, the wonderfully bombastic majesty of classic rock is pretty much gone. That makes me a little bit sad, but I accept that times are changing and musical forms come and go. I read the other day an article about a recent focus group of teenagers organized by some major label. They asked the participants about their current music listening/buying trends. At the end of the session the label offered all the kids as many free CDs they wanted for their efforts. Not a single CDs was taken - apparently today's teens can't be bothered with the clumsy old CD format. That pretty much says to me game over.

So is it just your music up on this site?

For the time being, this site will host music of which I was directly or tangentially involved, or at least stuff I selected myself. Consider it a party at my house where everybody is invited, and it isn't a potluck - I'll organize all the food and drinks. I may be more inclusive of others' contributions at a later date but of course there are all kinds of social/economic/political issues to work out before that can happen. One step at a time. In any event, there are already plenty of free music sites out there where you can find oodles of great tunes and perhaps upload some of your own. Or make your own site - someday I'll clean up the php code that makes up this site and make it freely available as well. It's kinda wonky but it works.

Why can't I post comments?

As long as the internet allows everyone to be anonymous and unaccountable for their words, it's basically just a giant cage where we silly monkeys fling our feces at one another. I don't want to make things worse. If you really have something to say send an e-mail to matt@freemusicguy.com - if your thoughts are deemed worthwhile I may post them somewhere.

This music available on this web site is free to share under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. That means it is free for your use. You can download as much as you like and do whatever you want with it. You just can't make any money off of it without contacting me first (address below). Enjoy! matt@freemusicguy.com