When you create a video to share on YouTube or another site, you may want some background music or musical cues to enhance it by filling the empty space. The following are sites that provide royalty-free or copyright-free music to use in your online videos. Some sites don’t require a paid subscription but require you to sign up. Most of the songs or clips require you to credit the creator in your video description.

  • YouTube Audio library - The most comprehensive location for royalty-free music and has the most straightforward interface to use. You can filter the options by Track title, Genre, Mood, Artist, Duration, License type, and Date added. Here you can find hundreds of free music tracks and sound effects to use in your videos. Be aware that a lot of the songs require you to credit the creator of the track. Be sure to do this, so you’re not flagged by YouTube.
  • Incompetech - Royalty-free music to use for videos, presentations, and other projects. Requires credits be given to the musicians.
  • Musopen - Mostly classical music by famous composers.
  • Dig ccMixter - Music for videos, games, and podcasts. They require credit given to the musician.
  • Envato Elements - There is a free version and a paid unlimited use version. The free version allows for 12 free downloaded files per month. For the unlimited version, the plans currently start at $16.50 per month.

If you come across a site claiming to provide popular, copyrighted music for free, beware. These songs are not for use in any videos unless you have the consent of the musician. Most musicians with copyrighted material do not allow their music in any video, except their copyrighted music videos.

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