Some 35 years after becoming one of the first musicians to meld traditional folk music with rock and roll, Roger McGuinn is still pioneering the folk/tech connection-online. The founder, lead singer and lead guitarist of the legendary rock group the Byrds, has become one of the most recognizable names on MP3.com. His page on the site artists.mp3s.com/artists/11/roger_mcguinn.html offers free downloads of nearly a dozen of his recent solo recordings in the MP3 music-compression format that is transforming how audio recordings are distributed. McGuinn offers renditions of old English ballads (like "John Riley"), sea chanteys (like "The Bonny Ship the Diamond"), blues (like "James Alley Blues") and gospel (like "Mighty Day")-all with his infectious vocals and trademark jangly sound of the 12-string guitar and banjo.

"It's very satisfying to get my music out so quickly and easily," notes the 57-year-old recording veteran, who satirized having to "sell your soul to the company who are waiting there to sell plasticware" in his 1960s hit, "So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star." The Internet has been receptive to McGuinn. "It's a good thing that a folk song can be in the top 10 of MP3.com," he says. Since the Byrds' heyday, he adds, "the music business has grown to unbelievable proportions." And its hold over pop music still impinges on the new abundance economy of digital downloads. McGuinn explains: "I had a problem last month trying to use 'Mr. Spaceman' on MP3.com. The publisher denied permission, even though I wrote the entire song." (One advantage of folk songs: They are in the public domain.)