Since the general public has adjusted to commercials being shown before movies we pay good money for, it seems that the music industry has decided now would be a good time to further commercialize summer concerts.

While commercials may actually fit into the pop music genre, it seems that Electronic Arts decided that metal would make a better entry point for pre-concert commercials. During the current tour of animated metal band Dethklok, a commercial was aired before the virtual band took the stage, resulting in boos from the crowd.

Joel Watson, author of "Hijinks Ensue," was there to witness the crowd's reaction to the commercial and has envisioned a music executive's wet dream; a future where song lyrics are edited to include product placement.

Imagine a future where Weezer is pitching Old Navy sweaters and Metallica starts hawking cars for your local Hyundai dealership! I'm sure somewhere someone is plotting to merge Madison Avenue and the music industry even closer as we speak.

Sadly, there's plenty of precedent. Remember how they pimped Janis Joplin's classic "Mercedes Benz" to sell the actual car? That commercial ran in the '80s!

What's my point you ask? Commercials are a part of our lives these days, but they generally provide a discount to the consumer. Advertising on network television foots the bill for favorites such as Lost or Heroes and commercials on radio provide the funds to keep it free. Concerts have had sponsorships via posters and NASCAR stylized tour buses for most of my concert-going life, but if they want to add in commercials before the band takes the stage, the least they could do is offer me a ticket for $25 instead of $30. Better yet provide free parking and no convenience fees and then display that before and after the commercial. I know I would happily watch a commercial if it meant I got something worthwhile for free.

This post is part of our series ranking the top 25 bygone products and trends we'd like to see return.

I've always loved the year I was born -- 1970. To me, it was this perfect time when the world was modern and advanced, and yet still with one foot in this quaint and old-fashioned universe. What do I mean? Well, on one hand, we had traveled to the Moon by this time! Yet the country was still using rotary telephones, there were only three television networks, MTV was just letters in alphabet soup, and, yes, we were listening to vinyl albums.

I almost missed that era -- I didn't really start buying music semi-regularly until the early 1980s and 45 rpms, the small version of the big vinyl records, were going out of style, as were the bigger vinyl albums, being replaced by cassette tapes. But vinyl records were still selling in the 1980, and I clearly remember when Bruce Willis, then star of TV's Moonlighting, came out with a single, "Respect Yourself." I probably bicycled over to my local K-mart, or embarked on one of my early drives in the family car, bought the 45 and happily listened to it in my room, taking a brief break from listening to my favorite artists, Huey Lewis and Debbie Gibson.

Ah, good times.

Anyway, the beauty of the 45 was that -- unlike today -- you could buy a song for a buck and you didn't have to purchase the entire album. That's sadly something that kids... er... oh, yeah. Downloadable, often for free if illegal, music.

So you may well wonder, especially if you're under the age of 30, why anyone would want the 45's to come back. I do think I have one good argument.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

Wal-Mart might not seem like the best place to find out about hot new music. Actually, if you're of the indie-rock school of thought, it's probably by far the worst place to discover new artists.

But if you're more commercially-minded, Wal-Mart has a new site that will be updated every week, offering a new song. According to Wal-Mart:

Build your playlists without breaking the bank. With a new free song every week, you'll have plenty of opportunity to explore the latest bands, reconnect with some old favorites and expand your collection - without investing a cent.

The first song is "Libertad" by an outfit calling itself "pacifika." Check out their MySpace here. Kind of a cool sound actually.

I know: no one buys CDs anymore.

But at $4.99 a pop, Best Buy's collection of budget CDs might be a good way to fill some holes in your library for less than it would cost on iTunes. And remember, you can always upload the tracks to your computer. And let's face it: you need a copy of Abba Live, which would set you back $7.97 on Amazon. This offer is only good online, but my hunch is you wouldn't want to stroll up to the counter and buy an Abba album anyway.

Some other gems include James Brown Live at the Apollo 1962 and a bunch of Rush CDs.

Finding new music that isn't played on Top 40 radio can be difficult, especially in areas without an independent record store or a radio station not owned by Clear Channel. Purchasing a new album can be exciting but you also risk not enjoying the new artist. Purchase enough new music and you're bound to waste a significant chunk of change on duds.

A few months ago I found a cool new website which carries loads of independent artists and prices their songs in a manner which is great for anyone searching for new artists. Amie Street has a community driven pricing model with songs ranging from free to 98 cents. This model makes checking out a new artist easier than grabbing your morning coffee at Starbucks. The catalog covers a large range of music and even includes some well known artists, though you will likely be paying full price for their albums. As the artist or song becomes more popular the price will rise so you are rewarded for trying something new!

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

Usually the fantastic freebie is available right now, but today I am giving you a heads up so you can be ready for a truly Fantastic freebie only available tomorrow.

Saturday April 19th is National Record Store day, celebrating independent music stores across the world. Most of the action will be taking place at small indie record stores across the U.S. with numerous freebies available, depending on your location.

You can find a list of participating stores online at the official Record Store Day website, as well as a schedule of appearances and performances by bands big and small. Metallica is kicking off the day with a signing at Rasputin in San Francisco and many other bands will be playing at independent shops across the nation including; The Donnas, Broken Stereo and Business Casual DJs. In addition to free performances and the chance to meet some great bands, many stores will be giving away free goodie bags and running in store specials.

Unfortunately my local store shut down a few months ago and the closest participating store is two hours from me, so I won't be able to partake in the festivities. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a free performance or special at your local store, rock out for me while you're there!

If you're a college student, you absolutely must sign up for Ruckus.

Here's the deal: it's completely free to sign up and you can download as much music as you like (They have just about everything!) for free.

The catch? You can't burn stuff onto CDs or iPods etc. But if you're cool with listening to music on your computer, this is definitely the way to go.

You need a college email address to sign up but pssst: if you have kids or friends in college, you may be able to talk them into lending you their log-in information.

I admit it. I love iTunes. How can you argue with 99 cents per song? Especially if you're like me and you only like one or two songs per album. You can pay a small price for just the songs you want, rather than purchasing the whole album.

But there are other players in the music download market who may be poised to snatch some market share from Apple.

One up-and-coming competitor for music downloads is Amazon. Its MP3 store was launched in September, and single songs are selling for only 89 cents.

An extra benefit from Amazon? The songs are in basic MP3 format without any of the "digital rights management" controls on them like on Apple's downloads. This means that consumers can download the songs and put them on any MP3 player (not just an iPod).

A lot's been written about how Boomers are the ones driving the concert business these days. That's because we know great music when we hear it. And we're willing to pay big for the privilege of hearing it again.

Back on March 10th I wrote a piece for Bloggingstocks about my chance encounter with Jimmy Page of the great Led Zeppelin. I was doing the routine I had done over 200 times the previous 15 years: riding the train to London-Gatwick airport, walking over to the Northwest Airlines ticket counter and waiting for my plane. The ride to Minneapolis, non-stop is 8 1/2 hours...a nice dinner, two movies and a four-hour nap. But that day was different.

I was getting off the train when I spotted an older gentleman with a young boy -- his grandson. It was Jimmy Page, founder and lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin, waiting to hop on the train for the ride back to London. I jumped back on the train and felt like a 50 year old groupie -- but I had to meet him. In my humble opinion, and I am from a very musical family, (although the genes of talent didn't come my way!) is that Led Zeppelin was, is and will always be the greatest band ever. My college age kids love the band: their dorms are full of Zeppelin music and they weren't even born when the band broke up in 1980.

A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive produced some results that might make you want to go buy your kid a violin, or at least a recorder, for Christmas: 83% of people who earn more than $150 thousand per year had some type of musical training as children. 86% of college graduates and 88% of those with higher degrees had music lessons as children.

Of course, there are some potential flaws. Kids from wealthier families are more likely to have access to musical education as children -- and go on to college.

But proponents of The Mozart Effect have to be pleased with this data.

Looking for some gifts to turn your, or someone else's, little Johnny into a musically-literate college grad earning $150 thousand per year? Here are a few ideas:

• Classical Music for Children: A Toddler's Introduction to Classical Music: At just $3.99 on Amazon with an average review of 5 stars, it's hard to argue with this choice.
• Beethoven Lives Upstairs: I remember this movie from my own childhood. I have no idea whether it's contributed to my earnings potential, but it's a very entertaining introduction to the work of Beethoven and the world of classical music.

However, the study did not specify training in classical music. So maybe you just buy them a copy of Dance Dance Revolution for whatever system they happen to have (if you've managed to resist societal pressures to buy your kids a video game system, more power to you).

As an aside, I got hoodwinked into playing Karaoke Revolution: American Idol for several hours with friends the other night. Definitely not my thing, but it's probably a good gift. And hey, maybe it'll help them get rich and support you during your golden years!