By using free creative commons music, you can score (pun intended) the perfect soundtrack for your next video for free.
You can use creative commons music libraries to find exactly what you need, just like you can with free stock photos and free stock videos. And to make things even easier, we’ve compiled a list of 13 of the best resources below. Continue reading to find out more!
8. Archive.org
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that, as the name implies, archives all types of online artifacts, including video, music, images, books, and even websites. One of their projects, the endlessly entertaining Wayback Machine, may be familiar to you.
There are several ways to find Creative Commons music on Archive.org. One approach is to simply search for files labeled “public domain” or the relevant CC license, then filter by media type (“Audio.”)
The Internet Archive also hosts a Live Music Archive, which contains concert and performance recordings. However, all of their content is restricted to non-commercial use. If you’re a brand, this means it’s off limits.
They also host LibriVox, a collection of public domain audiobooks. Sure, it’s not music—but how about incorporating a dramatic reading of Frankenstein into a campaign? Think outside of the box!
Jamendo was founded in Luxembourg to share music licensed under Creative Commons, and it now has over 40,000 artists on its platform. If you’re working on a non-commercial project, there are numerous free options to consider. You can use the search bar or browse by genre or playlist.
They have a separate site for commercial projects that works on a subscription basis. Single licenses are also available for $9.99.
9. Fugue Music
In comparison to some of the other options, Fugue Music is a well-designed and very user-friendly index of Creative Commons royalty-free tracks. It’s an Icons8 project that provides creative resources for designers. That explains why it appears to be so good!
Fugue’s categories are useful for creators, with options such as “Music for Podcast Intro” and “Valentine’s Music.”
All free tracks on FugueMusic, on the other hand, are only for non-commercial projects. As a result, you cannot use them to promote your brand or generate revenue. For commercial use, Fugue Music offers single-track and subscription payment models.
One interesting feature? Fugue Music provides a personal shopper service in which users can contact them with a use case and they will curate recommendations.
10. Uppbeat
Uppbeat provides music for creators, and everything on their website is free to use commercially on any platform. If you’re a brand or content creator looking to monetize your videos, this makes it very easy to search.
The design is simple and straightforward, with tracks organized into playlists and curated collections. You can also conduct a keyword search to locate specific genres, styles, or artists.
With a free account, you can download 10 tracks per month and browse roughly one-third of their catalog.
Uppbeat does have a paid model that gives you access to their entire catalog and unlimited downloads. It also provides access to a library of sound effects.
11. FreePD
FreePD is a collection of public-domain music that you can use however you want without attribution.
Everything on the site is free to use and download, though FreePD does charge a small fee to bulk download all of the MP3s and WAV files. The site is simple and easy to navigate.
Tracks are organized into categories such as “Romantic Sentimental” or “Misc.” All tracks within these categories are labeled with 1-4 emojis to give you a sense of the mood. This is a fun way to browse the listings, and I think “? ? ? ?” is more descriptive than any title.
Kevin MacLeod composed and licensed all of the music on this site under CC-BY. That means you can use anything as long as you give him credit. On his FAQ page, he even provides an attribution template for you to use. You can purchase a license if you do not want to provide attribution.
Because Incompetech focuses on film music, many of the categories and descriptions refer to film genres such as Westerns or horror. If you’re working on a film, this could be the perfect track for you.
You can look for something by mood, genre, topic, tag, or keyword. There are approximately 1,355 tracks on the site.
12. Audionautix
Audionautix offers royalty-free music for use with attribution. It, too, is a one-man show created by musician Jason Shaw. Everything is free, but you can donate to help support the site.
The site is simple to navigate and offers a diverse range of moods and genres. You can also search or filter by title or tempo.
13. Hearthis.at
Hearthis is a music-sharing website for artists and creators in the Netherlands. While most music is free to share but not to use, there are a few places to look for Creative Commons tracks.
One option is to search the Creative Commons playlist, which contains a limited number of tracks.
Another is to create an account and join the Creative Commons group, which has just over 170 members.
Finally, you can find more tracks by searching for keywords such as “Creative Commons.” Hearthis has a smaller collection of tracks and is more difficult to search than some of the other resources in this article. But you never know where you’ll come across the perfect song!