Be sure to follow FMA on Twitter for regular progress updates.) There’s no certain timeline for the return of FMA’s full functionality. Previously, searching was also unavailable, but that functionality has since been restored. While the website remains operational and continues to host a full archive of everything that’s been uploaded, the developers have disabled uploading. ( Note: Tribe of Noise recently acquired Free Music Archive. The smash tracks may lack some post-production, but they’re also free. The site also hosts a myriad of podcasts, and renowned radio stations such as Seattle’s KEXP frequently post live cuts from their studio sessions with big-name acts passing through. This synthesis of sources creates a mind-boggling library of tracks that you could spend months browsing through, whether you choose to do so by curator or genre, or go even deeper with its newly returned search function.

The site combines two different approaches to posting tracks: First, it indexes free music posted by all of its partner curators, and second, it allows users to post their own music directly to the archives. Since its inception, WFMU has partnered with dozens of other curators, and the site has become a veritable treasure trove of free content. In 2009, New Jersey-based WFMU Radio embarked on a project to make contemporary music of all genres available to the public, and the Free Music Archive was born.