Not sure where to get some creative commons or royalty-free music for your podcast? You’re in luck! Here are some of our favorite sources.
1. Incompetech.com
This is one of the older and more well-known royalty-free music sites. All of the music on this website comes from a single artist named Kevin MacLeod.
You’ll probably recognize some of his music from other podcasts or Youtube videos.
As long as you give credit, you’re free to use any songs on the site for your podcast.
There are hundreds of songs to choose from in a wide variety of genres.
2. Freemusicarchive.org
The Free Music Archive has a library full of high-quality songs that you can legally use for your podcast.
All of their songs have been pre-cleared for specific types of uses. Although what you’re allowed to use the music for varies from song to song, so it’s important to verify for each individual rights-holder. Be sure to read their FAQto understand exactly what you have permission to use each song for.
While Free Music Archive is inspired by Creative Commons, and they have a very similar “open source” approach to music.
You can even access their library of songs on Android or iOS devices through their app!
3. 909 Music on Soundcloud
909 Music offers a library of royalty-free music from a few different artists. Their music tends to be more modern and cutting-edge.
You can use the songs featured here in your podcast, advertisements, and other media.
One downside is that most of their music has a similar electronic vibe to it. So depending on your preferences, you might love it or hate it.
4. Musopen.org
Musopen doesn’t just offer royalty-free music, but also sheet music and a free 24/7 stream of classical music radio.
The site offers a wide assortment of music, but most of it tends to be classical music. So if that’s not the vibe you’re going for with your podcast, you might want to give it a pass.
Their rating system is helpful at determining whether a particular song is even worth considering at a glance. Although the site seems less user-friendly than a lot of other free music websites overall.
5. Bensound.com
Bensound started off as a way for one guy to share his music with the world. But now the website features a huge range of royalty-free music from a variety of different artists.
You can easily browse through different genres like Acoustic/Folk, Cinematic, Corporate/Pop, Electronica, Urban/Groove, Jazz, Rock, and more. Plus sort the selections by most popular or newest. There are over 200 tracks to choose from.
We really like this site because the music actually sounds good and uses real instruments. As opposed to some sites whose royalty-free music sounds more like a single-track MIDI file from the 1990s. It’s probably one of our favorite resources for great royalty-free music.
Like all the other sites on this list, just be sure to give them and the artist credit if you use their music. (It’s part of the license agreement.)
6. Danosongs.com
The first site on our list was just one guy that puts out tons of great royalty-free music that you can use in your podcast. And Danosongs.com is quite similar.
Dan-O operates on a donation model. So it’s not completely free, strictly speaking. But you’re free to download, listen to, and try out all of the songs on his website. But once you actually use a song in a project that you publish, you need to either donate or pay for a song license.
The nice thing is that $50 donation gets you a license to use all current and future songs on the site royalty-free. There’s a wide range of high-quality songs to choose from including electronic, cinematic, acoustic, piano, and even vocal tracks.
7. CCMixter.org
CCMixter is a global music community of over 45,000 musicians around the world.
The site has music, remixes, samples, a capellas. Users are encouraged to download, cut up, sample, and share the music however they like.
The musical offering is pretty broad. But as you’d expect, there’s some good and a lot that’s not so good. Since users can upload their own music, it’s a less curated experience and might take some time to sort through to find your diamond in the rough. But if you need your music for free, it’s a good place to start your search.
8. Purple-planet.com
Purple Planet Music is run by a couple of guys in England named Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn. They compose, perform, record, mix, and produce all of the songs on the website.
All of their songs are royalty-free and free to use as long as you give credit back to the site.
We like that their music features real guitars, percussion instruments, and basses to give it a more natural feel. Although they have some more electronic music as well.
Their music isn’t sorted by genre or instrument. Instead you choose based on the feel you’re looking for, such as “cute,” “creepy,” “Americana”, “chilled,” and more.
9. Youtube Audio Library
Most people aren’t aware that Youtube has a huge selection of royalty-free music available for use and download. If you’re hosting your podcast on Youtube, you can even overlay music onto it directly on the site after uploading your video.
10. Soundbible.com
Soundbible doesn’t offer music, but instead focuses on sound effects.
We thought we’d mention it since many podcasts use sound drops for comedic effect, and it can really increase the perceived quality of your broadcast.