Music plays an important part in everything entertainment has to do with human life. I feel like humans would be miserable if music never existed. We find different ways to incorporate sounds to amplify every small and major thing we do. For example, we hum while we’re bored, we tend to emotionally dedicate or associate a song with someone, and we can’t watch a mystery thriller without its suspenseful background score. The endless possibilities of sounds are just unimaginable.
If you’re a YouTube creator or a video editor, you know how challenging it can be to find the right music. A good background audio for a video, including instruments like the acoustic guitar, can enhance the watching experience of the audience.
However, if the music is not suited to the visuals, it can ruin the whole mood, and people might skip it. So, making sure you or your editor use a good background score for YouTube videos is important.
Table of Contents
In this article we will look into📝:
- Defining royalty-free music🎶: I will explain to you what exactly royalty-free music is, and how you can utilize it to make your YouTube content creation journey more exciting and wonderful.
- Pros and cons of using royalty-free music©️: Here, I have made sure to add pros and cons of using royalty-free music as part of your videos on YouTube and what you have to keep in mind before purchasing music rights.
- Top 10 sites to get royalty-free music for YouTube▶️: I’ve carefully listed the top 10 sites where you can easily access royalty-free music. Whatever genre, type, or mood you’re looking for, you can find them here.
All YouTube videos are evolving every day, and creators connect with their subscribers or audience by making sure their YouTube-watching experience is more personal. To make things more personal and emotional, music plays an important role. It uplifts a mood or can shift any mood of the audience; it should be in a way that gives out the right tone and message while incorporating matching visuals.
I have extensively heard creators complain to me about not knowing much about free music that can be used in their YouTube videos. So, I have taken an extra step to shortlist top sites that offer royalty-free music for creators worldwide. Stick with me until the end to get extra bonuses and tips.
(If I could have added a background score to this blog, I would add some exciting, uplifting, happy tune as introductory music.😋)
What is Royalty Free Music for YouTube Videos
Brands tend to make YouTube videos as part of their marketing campaigns, and creators tend to build a profile and make sure their audience is accustomed to their content creation journey by putting out YouTube videos. The way YouTube videos have exponentially grown over the past few years the evolution has been crazy. Make sure your YouTube video is not a boring piece of long video by choosing a soundtrack that keeps the flow going.
It can grip your audience from start to finish, and the soundtrack can engage the viewers more in the video. Specific jingles or fitting soundtracks can evoke specific emotions and feelings; otherwise, it is hard to make just by putting out dry content. So, using music is important, but what exactly is royalty-free music?
If you’re not a music producer or a composer, you don’t own the rights to any music. But the music that you’re trying to utilize belongs to a composer who would probably want you to pay royalties for using it on different applications.
Royalty-free music is a type of music licensing that grants the buyer the right to use it multiple times upon a one-time purchase. Here, the user doesn’t have to pay the owner for recurrent use. These tracks often feature various instruments to create a cohesive sound.
enjoying royalty free music 😅 pic.twitter.com/716eXliEvl
— Julia (@Jula483) March 1, 2024
Some artists and music composers allow creators or video editors to use their music for free without paying the upfront fee, but the copyright belongs to them, and you don’t have to pay anything. This is where you need to be aware of Creative Commons licenses and public domain usage rights. Creative Commons (CC) is a system created to classify different kinds of music.
It’s like many of the artists want the music to be shared and used but under different circumstances. If the user fails to follow the conditions before using the audio, the video will be taken down by platforms like YouTube or face a massive lawsuit.
Now let’s look at the pros and cons of using royalty-free music for YouTube videos
Pros and Cons of Using Royalty Free Music
Yes, as a responsible blog writer, this is the section where I highlight the pros and cons of using royalty-free music.
Pros✅
- Cost-effective: Royalty-free music often costs less when compared to obtaining individual licenses for copyrighted songs or paying an artist for custom-made music. There are many sites that offer inexpensive pricing plans where you can use a wide selection of royalty-free music (yes, if you scroll down you can find them).
- Legal protection: When using royalty-free music, you don’t have to worry about running into legal issues. Using copyrighted music without crediting or paying royalties can end up in a crisis. Your channel will be at risk of being hit with a copyright claim or the video being taken down or demonetized (you don’t want that, right?).
- Easy to use: Royalty-free music is efficient and easy to use. You can easily download from the royalty-free music library and don’t have to unnecessarily worry about additional fees. You can download music that matches your video’s vibe, mood, and emotions or something that can make your video more engaging.
- Wide selection: There are millions of royalty-free background scores and music available; it’s just that you have to find the right one for your video. Many of the royalty-free music libraries or sites offer a wide range of music in different genres, styles, and moods.
Cons❎
- Lack of originality and overused tracks: There can be a slight chance that the most popular tracks that match your video vibe are overused by many content creators. This can make your video feel like it lacks uniqueness and may make it hard to stand out from the rest of similar videos.
- Limited customization: Using royalty-free music is the most affordable choice, but you can’t edit or personalize the tracks. The lack of customization can become an obstacle in your content creation journey, which is a drawback for most creators.
- Lower quality: Yes, there can be a lot of high-quality royalty-free music around, but some songs or scores can be generic or have scratchy production. Using lower-quality music can also reduce the overall quality of the video.
Top 10 Royalty Free Music Sites
If you have gone through the pros and cons, here’s the list of the top 10 royalty-free music sites you can check out to outsource a wide range of music, scores, and sounds. Many of these sites offer tracks with various instruments, including drums, to enhance the overall sound and atmosphere of the music.
1. PremiumBeat
PremiumBeat is the first on the list to offer royalty-free music for your YouTube video. It is owned by Shutterstock and has a vast, diverse, and sizeable collection of any type of royalty-free music online. They have taken the help of music industry experts to curate around 10,000+ tracks, which you can easily segment by genre, artist, instrument, beats per minute, mood, and more.
Comment
byu/InvokeVideo from discussion
invideography
You can also check out their editor’s pick playlist that features 857 of PremiumBeat’s best tracks, which are unique and of the highest quality. When I tried to look for music for my video, I liked the fact that if you need a slow-tempo song, you can search for it using that. The filters help you easily find the best track that fits your editing vision. However, the downside is that it’s quite expensive, with the subscription monthly fee being much higher than the rest of the sites mentioned in the list.
Pricing: You can access all kinds of music on PremiumBeat with a fee of around $64.95 per month.
2. Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound is second on the list. The site has collaborated with some of the most talented musicians in the industry, and almost all the tracks are featured on YouTube and Facebook videos that rack up over 20 billion views each month. They are currently soundtracking more than 5 million creators around the world. Epidemic Sound has also curated over 725 albums of royalty-free music spanning many genres, moods, and other types to create diverse and high-quality soundtracks.
Comment
byu/Zestyclose-Mood8553 from discussion
inNewTubers
Their offerings include tracks featuring various instruments, including the electric guitar, which contributes to the overall vibe and sound of their royalty-free music offerings. Honestly, I find it to be a perfect one-stop shop for all your video projects, and it’s really easy to use and find the required music for your videos.
Pricing: Personal plans cost around $6 per month. Commercial plans are $12 per month. If you’re a big enterprise, it has custom pricing.
3. Music Vine
Music Vine has a curated catalog from the world’s top production artists, and this music can be utilized by content creators, feature filmmakers, or ad agencies. Music Vine collaborates with over 160 independent musicians to produce over 2500 tracks. You can filter through this music catalog by style, mood, energy, vocals, and even duration. You can also check out their curated collections for particular themes in filmmaking and video production.
Yes, it’s the dream of every YouTube editor and film editor to have access to a library of such music. If you like a certain producer or artist, the site also dedicates a section to highlight the artist so that you can follow them to explore their independent music.
I like the website because of its neat classification of music into three categories: promotional, storytelling, and creative. You can save a lot of time when you know what you want and where to look for music. So, I would suggest you check Music Vine out.
Pricing: Music Vine has two packages. The Pro Lite plan costs $19.99 per month. The Pro Standard plan starts at $35.99 per month.
4. Bensound
Next on the list of sites that offer royalty-free music for YouTube videos is Bensound. It has a vast collection of tracks in genres such as acoustic, folk, cinematic, corporate, pop, electronica, urban, groove, jazz, and many more. They state on their website that they operate under the Creative Commons license. This means that you can use their music on YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms, but you have to credit Bensound. If you don’t want to credit them, you can buy the license.
Comment
byu/nintyboy72 from discussion
inNewTubers
The steps are easy: you can pay for the monthly subscription to the service and credit Bensound, or you can choose to pay per track. I’ve used Bensound, but I find that their tracks can be a bit repetitive. Good for background music, but not for something that needs to stand out.
Pricing: There are three pricing structures. Standard plans cost €9.99 per month. Extended plans cost €19.99 per month. Premium plans cost €39.99 per month. The pay-per-track price varies.
5. Purple Planet
Purple Planet is a royalty-free music website owned and operated by a three-person musical team. It boasts a vast collection of royalty-free music from real instruments, like guitars, piano, and percussion instruments.
You can see that Purple Planet offers free music with credit to the creators and commercial licenses. What I like most about Purple Planet is that the music is made by real-time playing instruments, creating an aura, unlike the AI-made music we often hear these days.One of my editor friends felt this, “Purple Planet has some nice tracks for free. It’s simple to navigate and find what you need.”
Pricing: You can download free music with credits. The standard license is $8, and a broadcast license costs around $40.
6. Audio Jungle
I think Audio Jungle is one of the best and most cost-efficient websites for searching for royalty-free music. The cost of music or sound starts at an affordable one dollar and varies in price depending on the type of music you’re looking for.
They also have a lot of music categorized based on genre, mood, emotions, and more. It’s helpful that they bundle sounds into media or music packs, allowing you to choose similar sounds within the same sound system.
I’ve found some great tracks on Audio Jungle, but I wish there were more affordable options for smaller creators.
Pricing: You can pay per track and use Audio Jungle.
7. Marmoset
The tagline for Marmoset is “music licensing and custom music with soul,” and that’s impressive. But what would impress you more is the fact that big brands like Netflix, Apple, and Google have collaborated with this website, giving you confirmation that the quality of royalty-free music on their platform is legit. It’s a full-service music agency that offers users soul-filling music to meet any mood and energy.
What I liked about Marmoset is that content creators can choose any type of music from their impressive catalog across various genres. You can also find unique sounds and scores that you won’t find anywhere else. The best part is that it’s affordable for creators who are working with a budget when it comes to audio mixing their YouTube videos.
Pricing: There are two package options: Individual plans cost $12 per month and Business plans cost $39 per month.
8. Jamendo
Jamendo is another site that offers any type of royalty-free music to its users, but I’ll tell you about their biggest flex: their catalog has over 50,000 songs from over 40,000 artists in over 150 countries. HUUUGEE, right?
Considering that’s a whole lot of music to choose from for your project. If you’re a music artist, Jamendo offers help with creative commercial licenses to gain monetary recognition for your work.
What I like about Jamendo is that you can choose to play the sound you like most, and you don’t have to worry about missing the track because you get to play the song even when moving to other pages on their website. So, their vast collection helps you download the one that matches your video the most.
Pricing: Jamendo has a standard license that costs $19 and a large license that costs $49.
9. Artlist
Artlist is a site that offers creators beautiful soundtracks and background scores. They partner with indie artists around the world to create original tracks that can be utilized by marketing agencies, creators, or brands to enhance their video experience. They have collaborated with National Geographic, Microsoft, and Toyota to create video soundtracks. That’s super cool.
Comment
byu/snickyboi19 from discussion
invideography
You can also filter thousands of tracks by mood, theme, genre, instrument, tempo, and duration. They also provide opportunities to showcase their artists’ tracks and spotlight their albums. What I really like is that you can browse through unique music, and Artlist drops new music monthly.
So you don’t have to worry about using the same generalized music all the time. My creator friend told me this, “Artlist is a bit pricier than some other options, but I think it’s worth it for the quality and variety.”
Pricing: Artlist is a monthly subscription platform ranging from $9.99 per month to $39.99 if billed annually.
10. Soundstripe
Soundstripe is the last website on this list, where they provide unlimited music, SFX, and video downloads, which you can use anywhere, including YouTube or broadcast. Yes, Soundstripe also partners with various artists around the world to produce songs, and you can find the right one by filtering through pace, genre, instruments, key, vocals, and beats per minute. You can check out the curated playlists from genres like action, wedding, romance, and even sad emo.
Comment
byu/InvokeVideo from discussion
invideography
You can sign up to create an account to follow artists, build playlists, like songs, and create a playlist for yourself. What I was impressed by is its collection of 29 sound effects you can use to enhance your video. What I like is that it is free to sign up and use, and at the same time, the subscription plans are affordable and offer extra perks, but I wish they had a larger library. It’s good for basic needs, though.
Pricing: There are two pricing plans for Soundstripe. Creator plans cost $9.99 per month, billed annually. Pro plans cost $19.99 per month, billed annually.
Tips and Bonuses✨
To help you find the right track for your video, the main goal you have to keep in mind is that the audio should match the content of the video perfectly. For that, you need to describe your video as precisely as possible. For example, use different adjectives, such as whether the video is more on the groovy side, has a romantic vibe, or is inspiring.
You can also describe your video using emotions like happy, cheerful, surprised, or sad, and use themes like sport, travel, family, or background. This way, you can filter out music from the sites easily and find the one that perfectly fits your video.
❇️Pro Tip: If you’re still struggling to choose between hundreds of options for background score or music, you can do one thing. Go to YouTube, find a video that’s similar in style and topic to yours, and listen to the music they’ve used. You can then describe the type of music they’ve used, such as the instruments, tempo, or style. This can also help you decide faster on what type of music to choose.
Extra Bonus Tip✨: Well, let’s be honest: the whole YouTube content creation journey is not as easy as it sounds. From content ideation to shooting it, finding an editor, and now making sure you put extra time into finding music with no copyright issues that matches the video, posting after editing, and tracking, the whole process sounds hectic. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to manage, my bonus tip is going to help you.
You can easily connect with a video editing subscription service like Graphically, which can assist you with editing, finding music that fits your video, and saving you time by only paying a monthly fee. This means you don’t have to worry about subscribing to multiple royalty-free music sites or paying editors or audio specialists separately. You just pay a fixed amount and get your YouTube video ready in your hands. Connect now to know more about this absolutely fantastic service.
Conclusion
Music is one thing you can’t avoid in your life. If you’re trying to build a content creation journey, you should always be aware of the types of music around. Ensuring the video has great quality is the first step toward the long-term goal of monetizing your content. This means the video should also have top-notch quality audio in the background.
Now, I hope this article helped you understand the different sites where you can find free music. I also hope the extra bonus tips help you grasp the reality of the content creation journey. If you’re still looking to ensure you have original music, you can hire a freelance composer to create royalty-free music for your project, or you can connect with Graphically, which has an in-house editing team with years of vast experience creating monetized YouTube videos for top clients.
FAQs
1. Where can I get royalty free music for YouTube?
Here are some places where you can get royalty-free music: Public Domain, which offers freely available originals. You can also find royalty-free music and sources from YouTube Audio Library, Free Music Archive, Jamendo, Purple Planet, and Bensound. These sources provide various options for finding music suitable for your needs.
2. How do I add royalty free music to my YouTube video?
To add royalty-free music to your video, you first have to choose a music track that is free to use. Then, you can edit your video using top video editing software and import the audio clip to fit the video. You can drag the music track to the timeline in your editing software, making sure it aligns with the visuals. You can then adjust the music volume or edit and balance it if it overpowers other important sounds or dialogues in the video. Once you’re satisfied that it fits the whole video perfectly, you can export the video and post it on YouTube.