Some folks in the Sociology department at Columbia University have been thinking about the same thing and are doing an experiment about pop music. And, they can use your help. If you participate you will have a chance to discover and download new music for free. The site is here.

I'm told that all the downloads are free and legal so the site is a great place to find new music, help support emerging artists, and help out science -- all at the same time! And, the folks behind the research tell me that they are conducting basic social science research and that they are not involved with any record companies and will not benefit financially from this research in any way. So, check it out!