Are you looking for Music to use in a YouTube video? Not everyone can afford to pay for music production companies, and individual composers create Music specifically for use in YouTube videos.
Who doesn’t love free music resources? YouTube audio library is one of the main ones, where different composers showcase their talents that you can download for free and use in your videos. Why not use this great resource? Well, the Music from YouTube is strictly for YouTube. You shouldn’t be using the audio in other mediums such as FaceBook.
YouTube’s Audio Library Terms and conditions states:
Audio from this library is intended solely for use in videos and other content you create. You may use music files from this library in videos that you monetize on YouTube.
By downloading Music from the YouTube Audio Library, you also agree:
- Standalone distribution is not permitted (i.e., you can’t distribute or sell the files separately from videos or other content that you create; and
- You won’t use the files in an illegal manner or connection with any unlawful content.
There are plenty of other options online. Some are free, some are small fees, and some are by subscriptions. Make sure the Music you choose is copyright free or else face a copyright strike against your channel by the creator or music production companies. As well, read the fine print.
There are two types of licensing for YouTube audio files.
- Attribution required
- Attribution not required
Attribution required audio files are licensed under Creative Commons terms. Meaning you need to give them credit.
Attribution not required audio files show no licensing information. Meaning you don’t need to give them credit.
Honestly, it’s always good to give the creator credit, especially if it’s royalty-free. Why? Think about this. A search may come upon YouTube when somebody does a Google search on a musician or music artist in Google or any search engine. Who owns YouTube? Google! YouTube’s algorithm places a lot of importance on the keywords on your videos.
Choose 1-2 keywords that accurately describe your content to maximize search traffic to your video. Please include them in your video’s description and title to increase its chances of ranking in potential viewers’ search results. If done right, this can boost SEO, subscriptions, view counts, and watch time. Crafting a YouTube description and including links in the YouTube description for your latest video often can feel like an afterthought. You put so much work into planning, shooting, and editing your video; understandably, fine-tuning that description can almost feel like a nuisance. You want to get started promoting your video. Having a sentence or two isn’t going to do much, though.
Let’s get started with your music resources:
Bensound
Here you can download royalty-free stock music for YouTube and other multimedia projects from jazz, rock to pop and urban audio. It’s free as long as you give credit to Bensound.com. If you can’t or do not want to credit Bensound or need high-quality files (mp3 and wav) and for the “Premium” tracks (with the blue button), you can buy a Bensound Pro License. You will also get a license certificate as well as a proper invoice. To buy a license, click on the track picture on the categories pages.
Mixkit
Mixkit is a gallery of stock video clips, music tracks, sound effects and video templates. They carefully collect clips, tunes, and video and art templates. License? On Mixkit, they have specific permissions for each of their item types. Be sure to read which license applies to your download and use. You can use Music under the Mixkit Stock Music free license in your commercial and non-commercial projects for free.
Chill Hop
Have you heard of lo-fi beats? You may not, but I know you may have seen this thumbnail on YouTube.
Now, we are talking, right! Lo-fi (short for low-fidelity) sounded like a throwback of old-skool hip hop music when computers weren’t a big part of the mixing! Nowadays, the sound of low-quality is created on purpose as part of aesthetic reasons! To use lo-fi beats from Chill Hop, you need to create an account with Chill Hop and allow them to have access to your YouTube channel. It’s all about accountability. After you download the music file from the creators’ page, a credit link will appear. Copy this in your Youtube video description, and you’re good to go.
No Copyright Sounds
No Copyright Sounds is another copyright-free platform, like how the name is called, No Copyright Sounds! Like always, always give credit to the artists. They did work hard to create the sounds, give credit where it is due.
Tekno Axe
Tekno Axe is another platform found on YouTube, allowing you to royalty-free Music for your videos and films for commercial and non-commercial purposes. I probably would give them credit just in case your video pops up a Google or YouTube search.
Pixabay
Pixabay? Yep, Pixabay has high-quality photos, videos, illustrations, but as well Music too! Like the first two resources, Pixabay expands the resources to include other necessary needs, such as Music. Yes, the Music is free for commercial and non-commercial use.
Free Stock Music
You are free to use Free Stock Music on social media, but you have to credit the artist. If you cannot credit Free Stock Music in your project or wish to use the Music outside of social media, you will have to purchase a license.
RYYZN
This is extraordinary where two artists, two David York and Jessie Elias, a Vancouver-based alternative pop duo, are currently doing a copyright-free series. They release a song per week for 101 weeks straight. At the time of creating this list, this song marks week 56 in a row!
Artlist
Royalty-Free Music at your fingertips. Music added Daily. 100% Copyright Free. Explore The Best Music. Get Unlimited Downloads. Unlimited creative freedom for content creators worldwide.
Stream Beats
Harris Heller, an artist, created StreamBeats. The agreement on the StreamBeats website specifies that you can use Heller’s music, “solely and exclusively in connection with User videos that are contained on User’s Twitch, Mixer, Youtube, Podcast or equivalent channels.” But do read the entire agreement. There are plenty of things you can’t do.
Free Music Archive
The Free Music Archive offers free downloads under Creative Commons and other licenses. The website uses creative commons licensing definitions, so be sure to check out the icons in the pop-up for information about how you’re allowed to use the music. The one thing you’ll want to look for is this dollar sign with a line through it—which means you can’t use this free music for commercial use. If you don’t see that icon, you’re clear to use it for commercial purposes. Click for more information about each creative commons use.
MusOpen
MusOpen provides recordings, sheet music, and textbooks to the public for free, without copyright restrictions. Focusing on music in the public domain allows access to expired copyrights, making these songs available for redistribution or reuse, including commercial use.
Free Music for Commercial Use
Free Music for Commercial Use is a YouTube page. The channel is filled with audio created by independent artists around the world. Each song can be used for you freely.
ccMixter
ccMixter is a unique website, like many others listed here, is filled with Indie music that you can use for commercial or personal use. Look at the specific songs for details about giving credit or not, but most artists want attribution if you use their mixes.
PacDV
You may use these tracks free of charge in your video, film, audio and multimedia productions. All PacDV ask is that you link back to their website or give them credit in the description or credits: “Music by www.pacdv.com/sounds.”
Purple Planet Music
Purple Planet Music is a site filled with royalty-free music that you can use for commercial purposes or personal purposes. Attribution to the site is necessary, and some files may have a small fee associated with their use on commercial projects.
Tunetank
Tunetank library is a music channel that offers no copyright music for YouTube videos. Accurately credit the creator in the description under your video to use copyright-free audio. The website is sorted by genre and mood for any content.
Slipstream
Here’s another source for royalty-free music, built for creators by creators. Protect your videos from copyright claims. Monetize your content and never stress about copyright claims. If you sign up for the free account, get a thousand free audio to use in your videos and live streams.
Subscription Plans
Many companies will still offer royalty-free music for videos and other commercial projects at a cost. They will provide either a one-time fee to use the audio clip or charge a monthly or yearly subscription fee at affordable prices. The following are a few that have been around for creators.
- Music Bed
- Soundstripe
- Epidemic Sound
- Deposit Photos
- DL Sounds
- Storyblocks
- PremiumBeat
- Soundotcom
- Jamendo Licensing