This is not an old-timey musical like Bye Bye Birdie or Grease, which tell tales of half a century ago. Free-The-Music.com tells a tale of today, of here, of now-of the big business of music, corporate greed and media cynicism, and the millions of young music consumers who don't like it.

In the story, three tech-smart teenagers try to block a new law that would lock kids up when they share songs. They engage in a battle of wits with a sly TV reporter from MegaMaxiMedia, Inc., who spins the news, plays with sound bites, and toys with politicians, doing the bidding of her corrupt bosses.

Free-The-Music.com is a modern-day parable about technology, greed, and power-about people trying to do the right thing in a tough modern world-and about young music makers with their own ideas about what songs they want to sing.

With 18 freshly-styled tunes, ranging from the slam-bam "High Technological Speed Chip" to the farcical "Alpha Male," from the sultry "Goin' Negative on You" to the sentimental "I Teach a Child," Free-The-Music.com is a high-energy musical with attitude, sure to become a classic.

The book and lyrics are by William Strauss, a consultant to MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and numerous other media companies, coauthor of several books about today's young people, cofounder of the Capitol Steps, and cofounder of the national Cappies program for high school theater.

The score is by noted composers Bo Ayars and Steven L. Rosenhaus, who capture the pulse of 21st Century youth with delightful melodies and high-impact rhythms of rock, rap, techno, swing, country, love ballads, patriotic songs, big Broadway dance tunes, and more.

The principal cast can be mostly female-8F/4M, if desired. The show can be done by a cast as small as ten, or by an ensemble of any size. The running time is approximately 110 minutes.

Free-The-Music.com has been workshopped at Hollywood's John Raitt Theater, New York's Maverick Theater, and Wellesley College, among other places. A CD sampler, a CD of the Hollywood cast, a music bed CD of the entire score, and a piano/vocal score are all available.

For more information about Free-the-Music.com, an American musical for the new millennium, please contact Bill Lane at CrimsonBlue Productions.