Download Free Music for Your Website Content
May 31st, 2022Content is a king, and sometimes the king needs music background for support. Drum roll, please. Are you looking for legally free music you could use for your Youtube videos, video games, or independent films you want to share on your website? Here comes a list of websites where you can download royalty-free music and use it for your website content.
But wait. Does it sound fishy to you? How come the music is free and legal, you wonder?
We got you. Coming up next: Copyrighted and non-copyrighted music, the necessary definitions.
How come the music is for free and you can use it legally*
*Feel free to skip to the summary if you want to spare a headache.
1. What is copyrighted music
Most probably, every song you hear on the radio is copyrighted.
If you want to use one of these songs on your project, you will have to obtain a license by paying a fee. We highly recommend doing so in advance. This way, you will avoid a possible wide range of inconveniences.
Copyright protection usually lasts for the author’s lifetime and another seventy years.
2. Royalty-free music is also copyrighted
Also, it is not entirely free.
You buy a piece of royalty-free music only once. Afterward, you can use it for unlimited occasions. Hence, you do not have to pay a royalty (a fee) every time you use the song.
But you may not resell or redistribute music.
For example, you can use that one song for as many of your videos as you need, as background music or as your video series theme.
3. Public domain music – free non-copyrighted music
A song becomes a part of the public domain after seventy years since the artist passed. Afterward, it is free for use by anyone and everyone.
You can download it and use it for your videos. And share it legally.
However, copyright protection law may vary from country to country. Be sure to double-check whether your chosen piece is already non-copyrighted.
4. Non-copyrighted songs under Free Licences
In a few unique cases, some artists have given their creations to the masses via Creative Commons.
That means these artists have permitted free downloads and use of their works
Once again, you can use these songs without their permission.
Artists can set limitations like giving credit in your video or movie. But usually, they allow unlimited distribution of their work.
You can find this music on the Creative Commons website or YouTube’s Audio Library.
Websites with free or royalty-free music downloads
Melody loops – royalty-free background music for video
Melody loops – royalty-free background music for video
A vast database with thousands of royalty-free sound beats. Use the categories filter to find the right melody for your project. May it be an angelic spiritual country for your real estate web presentation.
You can use the tracks as background music in videos, guided meditations you post on your website, and others. You can also modify melodies as you need.
Free Music Archive – instrumental music database
Free Music Archive – instrumental music database
Another website to download music for free.
On this website, you will find instrumental tracks only. These are categorized under 16 different genres and licensed under Creative Commons.
Soundcloud – professional and independent tracks
Soundcloud – professional and independent tracks
This portal is a top website for discovering, streaming and downloading music. Both professional producers and independent musicians share their productions here.
Scroll through the Creative Commons section to look for the right track.
Last.fm – not only a “scrobbler” anymore
Last.fm – not only a “scrobbler” anymore
This online community for music lovers has been with us for years. You may know it by its advanced scrobbling function, which builds up personalized recommendations.
Moreover, you can also find free music here, available for download under Creative Commons.
Bandcamp – popular among independent artists
Bandcamp – popular among independent artists
Bandcamp is an online record store and music community. By buying the track, you are supporting the artist directly.
Some of the artists provide their music for a free download. Just check with the artist whether you can use their work and under what conditions.
Jamendo Music – free music provided by artists
Jamendo Music – free music provided by artists
On this portal, artists share their tracks under Creative Commons. You can stream and download them. We mean the tracks, not the artists.
What kind of music will you find there?
To quote their website: “Jamendo is all about connecting musicians and music lovers from all over the world. Our goal is to bring together a worldwide community of independent music, creating experience and value around it.“
Therefore, independent rock, pop, electronic, and many more. Definitely worth your attention.
Musopen.org – your source for classical music
Musopen.org – your source for classical music
This page allows you to browse royalty-free music by composer, performer, instrument, tag, form, or time period. All the music is royalty and copyright free. Can you Händel that?
Open Music Archive – free out-of-copyright recordings
Open Music Archive – free out-of-copyright recordings
Open Music Archive is a project which sources, digitizes, and distributes out-of-copyright sound recordings. Completely for free. You can browse them by tags or search for them. And then use them for your project.
FreeSound – recordings of possibly all hearable sounds
FreeSound – recordings of possibly all hearable sounds
FreeSound is a vast database of downloadable recordings of… free sounds. Phew!
Are you looking for a bird chirp, Indian percussion, or mridangam stroke dataset? You have come to the right resource.
Have some fun with tags or browse sounds by geolocation. Out of inspiration? Play some random sound of the day!
ClassicCat – listing of free classical music recordings
ClassicCat – listing of free classical music recordings
Do not get scared by the aesthetic of this CATalog. ClassicCat is a listing of 7000 free downloadable classical performances, sorted by composer and work.
Foremost, choose the composer and then the composition. As it is a list, they do not host the music. The website will redirect you to another one with the music treasure, a.k.a. mp3(s).
Internet Archive – a digital museum for all things online
Internet Archive – a digital museum for all things online
This portal might probably not be your first choice for looking for music for your video. Internet Archive collects websites, news, and all the ephemeral digital content uploaded on the Internet. The navigation is not intuitive, but you can stumble upon intriguing and free recordings.
Can you use this piece of music?
In this article, you learned why some music might be for free and under what circumstances you can use it for your project as background music. We also made a list of websites where you can download music for free and shared where to get royalty-free music.
Not 100% sure whether you can use the song? Our infographic will help you out.
Be sure to also read the step-by-step guide for working with the website builder.