Noise Trade has a fascinating idea for a music site, and I for one am impressed. Old school music producers are violently opposed to the ‘something for nothing’ facet of internet marketing, but there are hundreds of examples that show how a little free sampling can lead to a lot of word of mouth advertising.

So, here’s how it works: if you’re a music fan, browse the site and see what musicians and music you can find that you like. You can hear full-length samples, so you won’t be cut off thirty seconds into a song before you know if you like it or not.

If you do like it, you can trade your email address and zip code for a download of the song. An mp3 that’s totally yours, totally legally. No piracy here, no indeed. Just the opposite – this is capitalism. If you like, you can even tip the artists, up to 100 dollars.

If you’re a musician, or in a band, you can upload your music to Noise Trade for free. Yes, free. Folks can come by, listen to what you’ve got to offer, and if they like it, they might download it and even tip you. You keep 80% of the tip, and you get the email addresses and zip codes of the folks who downloaded your music.