Are the songs at MacIDOL really free/legal?

[chrooke]

Mostly. I'll take these separately:

Free: Each artist decides for each song whether or not to allow downloads, and what, if anything, to charge. Some artists request you leave them a tip for listening to their music. Check the song information and artist page to see if this is the case.

Legal: MacIDOL requires that all artists have proper rights to any song they post. Each artist sets their own rules for use of their song. If you see a download button for a song, the artist allowed downloads. Look at the song information to determine if the artist would like you to leave a tip somewhere, and to see if there are any restrictions for redistributing the song or making derivative works. If there are no instructions, you may safely assume you are permitted to download it for your own personal use (else the artist would not have permitted downloads), but contact the artist if you want to redistribute, use the song commercially, or use it in another work.

If you find your copyright is being violated by an artist at MacIDOL, please take action as described in the Terms of Use.