Finding And Downloading Free Music on Google Play Music

As you probably already know, Google Play Music isn't just a music streaming subscription service (confusingly called, Google Play Music All Access). Google also offers a music download store in much the same way as Apple and Amazon do for people who rather like the idea of owning digital music files.

Content is purchased from Google's music store via a pay-per-click system.


And, as you've probably seen, most (if not all) the music on the main page comes with a price tag. So, on the surface you'd assume that there's not much on offer in the 'free' department.

Apart from the 'Free Song of The Week' promotion, is there any more content that can be downloaded for gratis?

Yes, absolutely. You might be surprised to learn that there's more free content lurking under Google Play Music's main web page than first appears. As well as songs, there's also a decent selection of free albums too. Problem is, apart from seeing the 'free song of the week' on the main page, you won't see any other links to free stuff. And, unfortunately Google Play Music doesn't come with an advanced search facility either -- there's no filtering option for instance to enable you to drill down to specifics.

So, how do you quickly locate all this free music that's just waiting to be found?

To find out:

• Point your browser to the Google Play Store
• Sign into Google (via the Sign In button) if you aren't already logged in.

• Click the Music sub-menu option in the left pane and follow the rest of this guide.

How To Download 'Free Song of The Week'

If you know how to do this, then you can skip to the next section which covers how to use the search facility to find more free songs.

1. For the free song that Google offers each week all you need to do is scroll the screen down until you see the link.
2. After you've clicked on the link you can add the whole song to your online music library without having to download it first. To do this, start by clicking on the Free button located on the right-hand side of the song.
3. On the next screen, ensure the track is indeed free and then click the Add to Library button.
4. You should now see a congratulations screen. This gives you further options which are: Close, Share, or Listen. For the purpose of this guide click the Close button to continue.
5. To check that the free song has been added to your music library, click My Music in the left pane. You can then download the song or use the Google Music Manager program.

Using The Search Facility to Find Free Music

As previously mentioned, there aren't any links to free content other than the 'Free Song of The Week'. In order to find more you need to use the service's search facility.

1. To search for single tracks, type in Free Songs in the search box at the top of Google Play's screen. Another search phrase worth trying is, Free Music which can (on a good day) bring up additional content.
2. You should now see a list of songs displayed that are free.
3. To view the list as single tracks, click the See More button in the Songs section.
4. If you want to view the albums that are free (or have free tracks in them), click the See More button in the Albums section.
5. To add a single song to your online library, click the Free button next to it.
6. In the case of an album, click the Free button by the album's cover art.
7. On the pop-up screen that appears, first verify that the item is free and then click Add to Library.
8. Click Close.

To add more songs and albums, just repeat the process.

Tips

• Before downloading free songs, you can stream them for 90 seconds. To play a song straight to your computer or mobile device, just click on its title.
• To be able to download songs from the Google Play Music store (paid or free) you need to have a payment option in your Google Wallet. Don't worry though, you're not charged if it's free.
• After you have added a song to your music library you can immediately share it via Google+ by clicking on the Share button on the congratulations screen.