Is it possible to download music on here without paying money?

• Mar 13, 2020 - 01:52

Anytime I try and download a piece of music it always forces me to upgrade my account to a pro account I don't know if there is some way to get out of that screen to download it or I have to pay money to download it, and then print it.


Comments

You ask:
Is it possible to download music on here without paying money?

This forum here is musescore.org. (Check the address in your web browser.)
Any file attached to a post here can be downloaded without paying money.
For example:
Happy Birthday.mscz
(You never know what to expect here, as musescore.org caters to the free MuseScore editor software (i.e., the desktop - not mobile - app).

There also exists another website - musescore.com
Have a look here for an explanation of the difference:
https://help.musescore.com/hc/en-us/articles/210257565-What-is-MuseScore
https://musescore.org/en/node/277874

So...
On musescore.com -- original and public domain (PD) scores are available for download free of charge - but you have to be logged in - you can use a free account (no subscription or trial).
Here's a PD example:
https://musescore.com/james_brigham/scores/1494541
Also...
On musescore.com -- music protected by copyright is downloadable by obtaining a paid Pro subscription.
More info.:
https://musescore.com/groups/musescore-updates-and-statuses/discuss/504…
https://musescore.com/groups/musescore-updates-and-statuses/discuss/504…

In reply to by Tomas.sekerka

If you use the "search for scores" field at the top, then indeed you'll be directed towards the .com sister site, as that is the online score sharing platform.

If you're logged in into your free account you can download all scores that are public domain (and correctly labeled as such) and all original score from users that have chosen to make them available for free.

In reply to by Jm6stringer

@jm6stringer: Could you edit your excellent answer to also note that on musescore.com you must be logged in with a free account:
" original and public domain (PD) scores are available for download free of charge - but you have to be logged in - you can use a free account (no subscription or trial). "

This threw me off, and maybe other readers also. Thanks!

( Also, to create a free account, one currently the flow is Log in - create account - fill in form. )

In reply to by gdnghtjohnboy

Then contact support@musescore.com.
I've just visited that link without being logged in (using a private browsing window). Clicking the download button opens a popup with file formats to choose from.
I clicked on "MuseScore mscz" and was asked to log in or create a free account. Logging in with my free account (https://musescore.com/user/32983039) immediately started the download. No questions about Pro being asked.

In reply to by Crystalyu4

You need an account to download anything on the score-sharing musescore.com, but a free account suffices for most scores. Only ones that are copyrighted protected require a paid account. So if you're logged in with a free account but are seeing that message, that's your answer right there - this is song under copyright protection.

For further questions about the score-sharing website musescore.com, best to ask over there on that site.

In reply to by dejjesushi

Wow did you hear those bum notes in there. Was this scanned from a PDF? Ive already been warned herein not to waste my time with these PDF/midi converters. I have seen why myself. So if the goods MS.com is selling has been as said - contrived, I wouldnt waste my time and money on it.

In reply to by 123bedford

musescore.com doesn't sell goods; they sell a service. That service includes many things, but one of them is, the ability to download user-created arrangements of copyrighted music. The service itself works as advertised, but of course, since we are talking user-created scores, their quality will vary. There are truly professional-quality scores there, but also scores from people just learning music, and everything in between.

If the music in question is protected by copyright, then the owner (estate ...) is entitled to royalties, even for scores. And so, that's where all of this comes from. (But there are plenty of public-domain materials which are free.)

Famously, a contemporary composer based a successful pop song on a composition by Rachmaninoff, innocently assuming that it was public. It wasn't. And so it was that a composer who died in 1943 was added to the author-list, and his estate now shares royalties from the tune.

Very Entertaining Citation: https://www.cmuse.org/you-cant-believe-how-much-rachmaninoff-influenced…

If you subscribe, then the accounting and payment of royalties is handled for you. And I find this to be an extremely valuable service. I'm grateful to the copyright owners who are so willing to make their works available, and to MuseScore for making this conveniently and legally possible.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

I concur on anybody (who chooses not to pay anything) asking the uploader for this or that composition. In fact, I went through the significant labor to mirror ALL my MuseScore compositions on my music website - just for this reason. If Joe Average person wants any of my output for absolutely free, they need only take some extra time to go to my personal domain. They can get a MS native file, and a PDF plus MP3 / WAV audio rendering.

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