Hey r/ItunesMatch crew! Tired of streaming services that compress your music into sonic oatmeal? Want to support your favorite artists without giving 30% to a tech overlord? Here’s a lovingly curated, genre-organized list of band-run music download sites—where the band gets paid, the files are yours, and the FLAC flows freely.

🧨 Metal & Hard Rock

Metallica – metallica.com

• Market: Global
• Content: Studio albums, live shows, exclusive merch bundles
• Formats: MP3, FLAC, ALAC, CD, vinyl
• Quality: Up to lossless
• Pricing: Albums ~$9.99+, live shows vary
• Geoblocked?: Nope, Lars wants your money wherever you are
• Fun Fact: You can download entire concerts. It’s like Napster, but legal and ironic.

Iron Maiden – ironmaiden.com

• Content: Albums, live recordings, Eddie-themed everything
• Formats: CD, vinyl, digital (MP3)
• Quality: Standard to high
• Pricing: Varies, but expect premium prices for premium metal
• Fun Fact: Bruce Dickinson flies the band’s plane. Your download probably has frequent flyer miles.

🧠 Alternative & Indie Rock

They Might Be Giants – tmbgshop.com

• Market: Global
• Content: Albums, rarities, kids music, dial-a-song archives
• Formats: MP3, FLAC, CD
• Quality: High
• Pricing: Albums ~$10, bundles available
• Geoblocked?: Nope
• Fun Fact: You can buy songs about science, puppets, and existential dread. Sometimes all in one track.

Radiohead – wasteheadquarters.com

• Content: Albums, merch, vinyl, digital downloads
• Formats: MP3, WAV
• Quality: High
• Pricing: Pay-what-you-want (sometimes), or standard pricing
• Fun Fact: “In Rainbows” broke the internet and your expectations of capitalism.

🪕 Folk & Americana

The Decemberists – decemberists.shop.musictoday.com

• Content: Albums, live recordings, merch
• Formats: MP3, CD, vinyl
• Quality: Standard to high
• Pricing: ~$10–$15 per album
• Fun Fact: You can download songs about 19th-century chimney sweeps and sea monsters. Folk-core is real.

🧬 Experimental & Electronic

Nine Inch Nails – nin.com

• Market: Global
• Content: Albums, soundtracks, remix packs
• Formats: MP3, FLAC, WAV
• Quality: Studio-grade
• Pricing: Free to ~$10
• Fun Fact: Trent Reznor gives away albums like candy. Industrial generosity.

🧡 Pop & Singer-Songwriter

Amanda Palmer – amandapalmer.net

• Content: Albums, live shows, Patreon exclusives
• Formats: MP3, FLAC
• Quality: High
• Pricing: Pay-what-you-want or Patreon
• Fun Fact: She once crowdfunded an album with more money than your town’s annual budget.

🧙‍♂️ Prog Rock & Nerdcore

Jonathan Coulton – jonathancoulton.com

• Content: Songs about zombies, code, and IKEA
• Formats: MP3, FLAC
• Quality: High
• Pricing: ~$1 per song, albums ~$10
• Fun Fact: Wrote the Portal song. You owe him cake.

🧠 TL;DR

• Want FLAC?: Metallica, NIN, Amanda Palmer
• Want weird?: TMBG, Coulton
• Want to support artists directly?: All of the above
• Geoblocked?: Rarely, but check your local laws and VPNs

Did I miss your favorite band-run download site? Drop it below like it’s hot (and DRM-free).

1. Content refinement supported by Microsoft Copilot (AI), October 7, 2025. Contributions include content, structural alignment, terminology tuning, and clarity optimization.