# Has anyone figured out how to get Freegal to work?



## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

Hi, I hope this is the right place to post this question. Freegal is a Web service where you can download tracks of music recorded by the Sony label. I have access to it through my public library. I can download three tracks per week. The length of the tracks doesn't matter. That might not make sense, but that's not my complaint.

The main problem I have with Freegal is that its search capabilities are really, really, bad. For example, I downloaded 3 out of 4 movements of a symphony, and foolishly did not write down a URL or record the exact steps I followed to find them. If I remember correctly, of course I knew the composer, the number of the symphony, and even the orchestra. I searched for the recording many times using just about every reasonable combination of words in the search fields, but I was never able to find the symphony again so I could download the fourth movement.

Freegal has help pages and FAQ's which essentially give you suggestions that anyone who has ever used a search engine would follow, and which would work, if one were using a good search engine.

So, has anyone out there figured out how to find classical music on Freegal?


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Singularly evil search engine. Some suggestions:

You know the orchestra - type it in and see if it finds it or at least what it actually calls the orchestra.

Now use the proper name of the orchestra and the composer name to see if you can get near the album.

Now use the proper name and the composer name and the symphony to see if you can get near the album.

Note that at each stage you may need to expands the choices or see more or whatever.

Best of luck. I've almost given up on it. I mean, we know Gould is on Sony but not on Freegal - total waste of time.


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## campy (Aug 16, 2012)

Freegal's search engine is abysmally bad. I don't know how it could possibly get worse, but I'm betting it will in a few months.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

I cannot imagine how it could get worse. I have not encountered such a bad search engine anywhere else. What makes you think it will improve soon?



campy said:


> Freegal's search engine is abysmally bad. I don't know how it could possibly get worse, but I'm betting it will in a few months.


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