Philadelphia, PA 19103-1189
(215) 567-7710
FAX (215) 567-7850
Contact: Communications and Development
FREE LIBRARY TO OFFER DOWNLOADABLE MUSIC FROM COMPLETE SONY MUSIC CATALOG TO ITS CARDHOLDERS
PHILADELPHIA, April 1, 2011—Free Library of Philadelphia cardholders will now be able to download songs from Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists through Freegal, a new database service provided by educational media company Library Ideas.
Freegal increases the size and diversity of the Free Library’s digital collections by offering access to hundreds of thousands of Sony Music songs. Under the terms of the agreement, registered card holders of the Free Library can download three Sony Music tracks in MP3 format each week at no direct cost via freelibrary.org.
“We are excited to offer a service that delivers access to great music, offers compatibility with many devices, and is very simple to use,” said Siobhan A. Reardon, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. “We think the Sony music collection will be incredibly popular with our patrons, and it will enhance our extensive collection of digital music resources.”
“Sony Music has an incredibly expansive and popular catalog, and we are really excited to partner with them on this, a very important product for libraries,” said Brian Downing, co-founder of Library Ideas. “A library is a focal point of the community that requires many tools to excite people about library resources. More than anything, that is the reason for the service.”
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Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia system consists of 49 branches, three regional libraries, the Parkway Central Library, and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. With more than 6 million visits annually, the Free Library is one of the most widely used educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia.
Library Ideas
Library Ideas is a new media company focused on the educational markets, based in Fairfax, Virginia. The Company offers music, movie, and language learning solutions to public libraries as part of its developing product suite.
Sony Music Entertainment:
Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including American Recordings, Arista Nashville, Arista Records, Aware, Battery Records, Beach Street Records, Black Seal, BNA Records, Cinematic, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Epic Records, Essential Records, Flicker Records, Fo-Yo Soul, GospoCentric, Hitz Committee Entertainment, J Records, Jive Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, Polo Grounds, RCA Records, RCA Nashville, RCA Red Seal, RCA Victor, Reunion Records, Slightly Dangerous, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Verity Records, and Volcano Entertainment. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
04/01/2011
Department of External Affairs, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1189
(215) 567-7710, FAX (215) 567-7850