How to Get Music on My iPod Nano for Free

Music streaming has taken over the commercial music industry in recent years, but MP3 and AAC music downloads are still available legally for free online. Get music on your iPod Nano or other iPods for free at numerous websites and import it into your iTunes library.

Get Free Music

Obtain free music legally from a variety of sources. There are websites like Jamendo and NoiseTrade where artists post their songs or even full albums for anyone to download for free. This music is made available through Creative Commons licensing, which means that you can download and use the music as you please, so long as you do not attempt to profit off it. Both sites require that you sign up for free before you can download music.

Free Music Archive is another option for getting free music. You can download both public domain and Creative Commons music files. You do not have to sign up for a user account to download anything, but if you do, you get added features, such as the ability to build your own music collection on the site.

Amazon.com offers thousands of free music downloads to its users. Sign up for an Amazon account if you don't yet have one and then browse for songs by popularity, artist, title, album or release date (see relevant link in Resources). You can also download music for free from SoundCloud. SoundCloud features music shared by independent and professional musicians.

Another option is your local library, as some offer free music downloads.

Import MP3/AAC Files Into iTunes

Import MP3 or AAC files to iTunes by following these steps:

1. Launch iTunes on your computer and then click the “File” menu button, then “Add to Library.”
   2. Navigate to the folder on your computer where you stored the downloaded music files. Select the files, then click “Open” to import the music into your iTunes library.
   3. Wait for iTunes to import the music.
   

Import CD Music Into iTunes

You can also add free music to your iPod Nano by importing any CDs you own into iTunes.

1. Open iTunes on your computer. Insert your CD into your computer’s CD or DVD drive. If your computer does not have a drive. you can ise an external USB CD drive.
   
2. Click the “CD” button on the top left of iTunes. Click to either “Import all songs on the CD” or click “No” to select specific songs to import. To import only  select songs, remove checkmarks next to any songs that should not be imported.
   
3. Click “Import CD” and wait for iTunes to import music from the CD. Imported songs will appear in your iTunes library.
   

Add Music to Your iPod

1. Open iTunes and then click the “Library” tab to view your iTunes music library.
   
2. Press and hold the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard to select the songs to add. Keep holding the key down and use your mouse cursor to drag the songs to your iPod on the iTunes sidebar under “Devices.”
   
3. Wait for iTunes to add the music to your iPod and do not unplug it until iTunes says it is safe to do so.