Free legally downloadable mp3's

I bet you are wondering how it could be possible to download mp3's for free. Well, it's not completely free. You can exchange 10,000 United Airline frequent flyer miles for 100 mp3's from SonyConnect. SonyConnect is probably a lot less known than Apple's iTune.

The site is a bit cumbersome to search, and it doesn't have all the songs. But I have found pretty much all the songs I wanted (I am inclined toward mainstream pop/alternative/classical). Mp3's that you download are all protected, so it's not completely transferrable. You can burn to any CD you want. I don't have an mp3 player, so I don't know if I can transfer them to mp3's in the downloaded format. I basically make them unprotected mp3's by first burning to CD then ripping it again so I can do whatever I want with them.

So is it a good deal? I never redeem my frequent flyer miles to actually purchase airline tickets. I just don't fly enough to accummulate enough miles. To me, it's a great deal because I would have to wait FOREVER to redeem my miles for a decent ticket instead of simply trading 10,000 miles. 100 songs is a lot, I think. I also think the ability to trade for mp3's is a better deal than getting free magazines.

I mentioned to another friend about United's partnership with SonyConnect, and she was surprised. So I figure this is probably not well known. I think I might actually take up some time to write to Delta/Continental/Northwest to see if they could also partner up with somebody (be it SonyConnect or someone else) for mp3's. I'm sure airlines would love to see their patrons not use the miles to take up seats, and consumers would love the idea of getting seemingly free mp3's legally!