The Free Christian Music Blog

Announcing The 2009 Free Christian Music Awards Winners

It’s time!  The votes are all in, and it’s time to announce the winners in the first annual Free Christian Music Awards!  You helped picked the nominees, and you voted on the winners – so read on to find out how your favorites did!

Free Song of the Year:

1. Switchfoot – “Mess of Me”
2. Owl City – “Fireflies”
3. Tie: Thousand Foot Krutch – “Bring Me to Life” / Relient K – “Forget and Not Slow Down”

With 41% of the vote, Switchfoot is clear winner in free song of the year, which really isn’t a surprise – Switchfoot’s dedicated fans gave “Mess of Me” a lead from the start, and the fact that it was a radio smash for the band didn’t hurt any.  Taking second place with 34% of the vote, Owl City’s wonderfully-popular “Fireflies”, followed by a surprise tie for third between Thousand Foot Krutch & Relient K.

Free Album of the Year:

1. We Shot The Moon – “Fear and Love”
2. Esterlyn – “Lamps”
3. MercyMe – “10 Live”

The award for “Free Album of the Year” was the closest of all the races this year, with We Shot The Moon’s Fear and Love beating Esterlyn’s Lamps for the title by only 1%, and MercyMe’s digital-only live album 10 Live only 3% behind Esterlyn for a respectable third place finish.

Free Christmas Song of the Year:

1. Relient K – “I Celebrate the Day”
2. Thousand Foot Krutch – “Jingle Bell Rock”
3. TobyMac – “This Christmas”

Relient K may have tied for third for “Free Song of the Year”, but they dominated “Free Christmas Song of the Year” from the start, with “I Celebrate the Day” finishing with 1/3 of the vote.  Not far behind, with 22%, Thousand Foot Krutch’s rocking rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” takes second place, and TobyMac’s “This Christmas” takes third.

Free EP of the Year:

1. House of Heroes – “The End Is Not The End EP”
2. B.Reith – “The B.Reith EP”
3. Esterlyn – “Mending The Meaning EP”

2009 was a good year to be House of Heroes – not only was their The End Is Not The End EP the undisputed winner of “Free EP of the Year” with a whopping 49% of the vote, but the same EP was also the most-nominated of any of the songs or albums in the running.  B.Reith picks up a strong second place finish with 25% of the vote, followed by Esterlyn at third with 20%.

Free Sampler/Compilation of the Year:

1. Tooth & Nail Records – “Fuel Sampler 2009″
2. Huntington University – “Picks”
3. Creation Festival – “Creation Festival 2009 iTunes Sampler”

Taking first place in the coveted “Free Sampler/Compilation of the Year” category by a wide margin is the 2009 version of Tooth & Nail Record’s Fuel sampler, with the underdog and my personal favorite, Huntington University’s free compilation Picks taking second place, followed by Creation Festival’s 2009 iTunes sampler in third.

Most Giving Artist of 2009:

1. House of Heroes
2. Esterlyn
3. MercyMe

“Most Giving Artist of 2009″ is a special category – rather then being nominated by fans, those in the running earned a spot by being exceptionally generous with free music this year.  In an impressive (and much deserved) second #1 victory, the title goes to House of Heroes, with Esterlyn in second, and MercyMe taking rounding out the category in third.

Well, that’s it for this year – what are your thought on the results?  I don’t know about you, but I’m sure looking forward to seeing what’s in store for 2010.  Also, if you’d like to see the full results of the voting, feel free to check out this page for a full list of nominees & how they did.

Tags: B. Reith, Esterlyn, House of Heroes, MercyMe, Owl City, Relient K, Switchfoot, Thousand Foot Krutch, TobyMac, We Shot the Moon

The Weekly Downloads: Dec. 22 ~ Dec. 27

It’s hard to believe it’s Christmas week already!  Despite the fact that the season gets longer every year, it still seems to fly by.  Despite New Release Tuesday taking the week off from downloads, there’s still lots of great music out there this week.  For example…

One of the more exciting downloads for me this week is Seabird’s excellent “Joy to the World”, which is available for free from iTickets, along with Hiram Ring’s “O Little Child”, and Clarkwise’s “The Christ-mas Song (Merry Christ-mas to You)”.  Check it out!

-iTickets’ Free Music Page-

Another big download this week is Relient K’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, the first track from Let It Snow Baby…Let It Reindeer.  I picked it up free last year, but you don’t have it yet, I definitely recommend downloading from Tangle this week.

-Tangle.com-

Also worth downloading, FreeCCM.com has MercyMe’s “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and Mark Harris’ “Silent Night”.

-FreeCCM’s Free Music Page-

Last but not least, Gospel Music Channel is featuring “Christmas Is Here” by The Katinas this week.  Enjoy!

-The Katinas’ “Christmas Is Here” on GMC-

That’s it for this Christmas week, see you next week!

Tags: Clarkwise, Hiram Ring, Mark Harris, MercyMe, Relient K, Seabird, The Katinas

Free Live Album from MercyMe

MercyMe is definitely in the got plenty of holiday spirit this year – they’re giving away an entire live album featuring 10 of the band’s biggest hits.  Appropriately, it’s called 10 Live.  Here’s what the tracklisting looks like:

1. “Here With Me”
2. “In The Blink Of An Eye”
3. “You Reign”
4. “Hold Fast”
5. “So Long Self”
6. “Finally Home”
7. “Word of God Speak”
8. “Bring the Rain”
9. “I Can Only Imagine”
10. “God With Us”

I’ve seen MercyMe live before, and while the recording aren’t quite the same as seeing the band in person, it’s still a great album.  You can download the entire thing, just by signing up for the band’s mailing list on their website.  Enjoy!

-MercyMe.org-

Tags: MercyMe

Traveler’s Song: Goodbye Ordinary

iTickets.com has just added two new free song for this week, from MercyMe and Future of Forestry.  This is the fourth or fifth place I’ve seen MercyMe’s  song “Goodbye Ordinary” for free, so I’m not particularly excited about it, though it is a good song.

What’s really got me excited this week is the Future of Forestry song – “Traveler’s Song”.  It’s from their new CD Travel, which is coming out in May.  I’ve been a fan of these guys since they were Searching for Silas, so I’m especially excited for this sneak peak of the new album.

To download the songs, just visit iTickets and sign-in (or sign-up, if you’re not already a member) and click to download.  Enjoy!

-iTicket’s Free Music Page-

Also, VideoRocket, a Christian video website affiliated with iTickets, has added a new free music video download this week from a new band called Reilly.  I was just listening to some of their songs on their website, and they sound pretty good.  You can check out the video by visiting VideoRocket here, or clicking the banner underneath the free music on iTickets.

Tags: Future of Forestry, MercyMe

Free Song from MercyMe

Random fact: To the best of my knowledge, today’s free mp3 is the only breakup song to ever enter the top 10 on contemporary Christian radio.

It is, of course, MercyMe’s song “So Long Self”.  It a fun, rockin’ song about saying goodbye to the old self, and welcoming in new life in Christ.  You can download it for free from Tangle.com (a website formerly know as GodTube), by looking in the bottom right corner of the page.  Enjoy!

-Tangle.com-

I’m looking forward to seeing what Tangle will come up with next week…  Anyway, while you’re on Tangle, you can also friend TFCMB, and watch MercyMe’s excellent and entertaining music video for “So Long Self”.  Have fun! 

Tags: MercyMe

MercyMe “Goodbye Ordinary”

Good news for MercyMe fans – the 20 The Countdown Magazine has got “Goodbye Ordinary”, from MercyMe’s latest CD All That Is Within Me.  The download is supposed to be up for a week, but since it’s over that already, it probably won’t be available much longer.

Finding the download link is a bit hard, but if you scroll down about half way down and look on the left sidebar you can probably find it.  It’s the top blinking box.  Enjoy!

-20 The Countdown Magazine’s website-

Tags: MercyMe

Christmas Series: Day 9 – Sara Groves, MercyMe, Sandi Patty

Christmas is only 5 days away (exciting isn’t it?) and I noticed I’m a couple of days behind on the Christmas series.  The problem was, I forgot that I don’t post on Sunday when I was figuring out my timings, leaving me with two extra days.  The only way I could think of to remedy the problem was to double post, so I hope no one will mind if I post twice as much free Christmas music as normal. 

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FreeCCM.com, the official free music website of Ino Records, has got some nice free mp3s this month.  The big one they’re promoting is Sara Grove’s “Toy Packaging”, a soft melodic song about how frustrating it is to get toys out of the packaging.  It’s quite lighthearted (there are some pretty funny sound effects later in the song), and all around good.

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The other two songs are MercyMe’s “Joseph’s Lullabye”, a Christmas song written from Joseph’s perspective, and Sandi Patty’s “O Holy Night”.  Enjoy!

-FreeCCM.com-

Tags: MercyMe, Sandi Patty, Sara Groves

Free Music from FreeCCM.com – Bart Milliard, POD, Chris Rice

Today’s free music comes from FreeCCM.com, the official free music site of INO Records.  They updated the site about once a month, and this month, they’ve got music by Bart Milliard (of MercyMe), Chris Rice, Joy Whitlock, and P.O.D..  Now, you need to a registered member of FreeCCM.com to download the songs, but signing up is fast and free.  No a big deal.  It’s free. 

-FreeCCM.com-

Tags: Bart Milliard, Chris Rice, Joy Whitlock, MercyMe, P.O.D.

Site Updates: B. Reith, Sara Groves, Dizmas, MercyMe, and Mike Farris

Seems like all of the music sites seem to pick the same time to update. Great for you, but it certainly makes my job a little bit harder. Despite that, I’m going to attempt to catch up with the new music that’s out there…

Beginning with FreeCCM:  the site has know got new free songs from Sara Groves, with her song “Honesty”, MercyMe, with “Grace Tells Another Story” from the groups new CD All That Is Within Me, and Mike Farris with “Selah! Selah!”:

Next up is FreeGotee.com, who recently added new hip-hop artist B. Reith to their site.  Joining John Reuben, Relient K, Family Force 5, and Stephanie Smith, B. Reith has his song “Cold World” up for free download.

And lastly, iTickets has new free music up. This week it’s Dizmas’ excellent “Shake It Off”, from the band’s new self-titled CD that just came out. It’s a great song that I highly recommend to all rock fans. Remember though, it’s this week only. (No pressure. )

Tags: B.Reith, Dizmas, MercyMe, Mike Farris, Sara Groves

5 Sites: If You’re Not Signed-Up, You’re Missing Out

Over the years I’ve come across quite a few good sites with free and legal Christian music, but occasionally, I’ve found some great sites. Sites you have to join access. And it’s worth it. This is a list of my favorite members-only free music sites.

(It will probable be changed from time to time, so be sure to bookmark this page!)

5. MySpace.com – Despite user security issues, if you want to access the music stored on MySpace, you’ll need an account. Personally, I have a “junk” account that I use to download songs. Just make sure to talk to your parents about it.

4. FreeCCM.com – The only record label-run site to update it’s selection occasionally. Right now, it has music from The Afters, Addison Road, Laura Story. Previously it’s had Skillet, Disciple, MercyMe, and more. Definitely a site to watch.

3. iTickets – Since MyFreeMusicFriday is pretty much dead, I’ve decided to replace them with new comers iTickets. They are giving away one song a week to all iTickets members. Sign-up is a pain, but after that it’s easy to get the music, lyrics, and concert info.

2. The Free Christian Music Blog – Umm, this is a bit awkward, but even if I didn’t run it, I would still recommend it. I usually post once daily, with any style of music possible. Sign-up box is on the right at the top of the page.

1. HearItFirst.com – One of the oldest and best site for Christian music. You have got to sign-up for the mailing list. Once a week they’ll send you a free song to your inbox. I just got Sanctus Real’s “We Need Each Other” free, just for being a member. Admittedly, the website is confusing, but in this case the pros (music) out weight the cons (annoyances).

Tags: Addison Road, Disciple, Laura Story, MercyMe, Sanctus Real, Skillet, The Afters