15 BEST Royalty Free Music Sites (May 2023 List)
Royalty-free music refers to a tune, vocal, composition, or effect with a single or one-off cost or music licensing fee. Once you pay, a piece of royalty-free music can be synchronized with a TV, film, advertising as many times as needed without the producers providing royalty payments to the composer.
These sites are popular because they allow filmmakers to choose from thousands of royalty free music tracks without any upfront costs. For example, there are many collections on the website Free Music Archive, including classical, meditation, Christmas, and more.
Following is a handpicked list of Top Royalty Free Music sites with their popular feature and website links. This list contains Free (open source) as well as Commercial (paid) websites.
Best Royalty Free Music sites: Cheap Stock Music
| Name | # of tracks | Starting Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| AudioJungle | Pay per use | $1 per track. | Learn More |
| Premium Beat | Unlimited | $64.95 per month. | Learn More |
| Bensound | Unlimited | $139 per month | Learn More |
| Pond5 | 10 downloads per month | $199 per month. | Learn More |
| Soundcloud | Unlimited | $9.99 per month. | Learn More |
1) Audio Jungle
Audio Jungle (part of Envato Marketplace) is one of the best stock music websites. It is perfect for just about any project. It offers different tracks of the same music genre in a single pack.
Features:
- Individual drag-drop audio sections in music kits
- The audio jungle offers the best collection of audios for branding
- Different tracks related to the same genre
- Provides multiple audio files to strengthen your brand
- Offers unique free license music for different budget ranges
- Down can download the entire collection simultaneously
- You can get weekly music updates for fresh music and audio
- Pricing: Royalty free music and audio tracks from $1
- Supported platforms: Windows and Mac
Link: https://audiojungle.net/
2) Premium Beat
Premium Beat is one of the better-known royalty-free music sources. It offers a diverse collection of completely free, royalty-free, which is hard to find anywhere else on the internet.
Features:
- Smooth and consistent UI, which makes it easy to find and customize your search.
- You can select a custom loop set.
- Includes handy keyboard shortcuts as a small boon to curating efficiency.
- Pricing: It starts at $64.
3) Bensound
Bensound provides a diverse collection of both free and premium soundtracks. The free licensing option offers by this royalty-free stock music site allows you to use their soundtracks on online videos if you credit them in your description.
Features:
- Download any track from the entire library
- You find the best copyright free music for YouTube videos
- It is one of the best stock audio websites that provide a license certificate that authorizes you to use the modern audio tracks without credits for each old and new music track
- You can use the freely licensed music on Facebook, YouTube, and other purposes
- Pricing: $139 per month
Link: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
4) Pond5
Pond5 offers more than just music. It offers 25 million+ royalty-free stock of music, videos, photos, and special sound effects. It helps you to discover the Perfect Soundtrack for Any Project.
Features:
- You can download a pre-curated free stock music library
- You can explore background music for every genre and mood
- Various after effect templates helps you to become more creative with videos
- Provide a library of 900,000 tracks, including cinematic scores and dynamic pop music
- Starting price: $199 per month
5) Soundcloud
Soundcloud is a music download app that offers high-quality audio. It offers over 135 million royalty free tracks. It allows you to share music streaming with friends and with your family members.
Features:
- You can listen to unlimited audio.
- You can place a video widget on any website.
- You can stream freely licensed music before downloading.
- Allows you to find royalty free music with its unique filters.
- Supported platforms: iPhone and Android devices.
Link: https://soundcloud.com/royaltyfreemusic-nocopyrightmusic
6) Artlist
Artlist is a Royalty free music site that allows unlimited download royalty free music for a fixed yearly price. You will get a universal license for all the amazing music tracks on Artlist.
Features:
- Offers 2 months of unlimited music downloads for free if you have enrolled in their newsletter
- It helps you to create amazing videos with unlimited music & SFX
- Allows you to find your music through filters like mood, instrument, and genre
- Provide advanced filtering options to filter music tracks based on the type of instrument used
- Three pricing plans 1) SFX $12 per month 2) Music $16 per month 3) Music + SFX $25 per month
Link: https://artlist.io/
7) Jamendo
Jamendo is a music streaming and offers unlimited download for royalty free music. It is suited for music explorers who want well-curated playlists and radio stations. The songs uploaded at Jamendo website are protected by Creative Commons license, thus never letting you in copyright trouble.
Features:
- Discover new indie artists.
- Provides royalty-free music for commercial use.
- This royalty free music site comes with a built-in online radio feature.
- Provides a massive collection of 500,000 free MP3 songs.
Link: https://licensing.jamendo.com/en/royalty-free-music
8) Hooksound
HookSounds is an exclusive royalty free music site that offers a variety of original tracks composed by the best musician from all over the world. It provides modern, trendy, unique music to its audience.
Features:
- Every song and track variation is well composed, produced, and curated.
- You can have unlimited access to the entire library, sound effects & Intros.
- High-quality WAV files included.
- It offers personal or business content for your use.
- Large-scale custom tracks solutions.
- Support third-party app integrations.
- Three pricing plans: 1) Premium-$29/month 2) Business- $49/month 3) Enterprises.
Link: https://www.hooksounds.com/royalty-free-music/
9) Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound is Royalty free music site that allows you to search for music based on genre, mood, length, temp, and vocals. It provides a subscription with unlimited downloads and no copyright strikes.
Features:
- This royalty free music site allows you to search for music based on genre, mood, length, tempo, and vocals.
- It offers commercial streaming and VOD.
- Provide three custom Pricing Plans to suit your needs.
- It offers a 30-day free trial.
Link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/
10) Soundstripe
Soundstripe offers dozens of filters to browse the best royalty-free music downloads from up-and-coming artists and Grammy-winners. This site allows you to shoot through the royalty-free music library.
Features:
- You can sort through the royalty-free music library.
- Make playlists, favorite songs, and more.
- Grab the clips you need from their music catalog of Royalty-free videos.
- You can list your channel with Soundstripe.
- Allows you to submit your video link.
- This Royalty free music site offers good quality SFX.
Link: https://www.soundstripe.com/
11) Icons8
Icons8 app helps provide royalty free music for all non-commercial use. This cheap royalty free music site provides your audience with high-quality music right from your app or website.
Features:
- You can download a free desktop app for Windows or Mac and work offline.
- Music’s free for non-commercial use.
- Supported platforms: Windows and Mac.
- Pricing: 1) Free 2) Single Track @9 per track 3) Subscription– $13 for 15 downloads.
12) Taketones
Taketones is a royalty free music site that helps anyone can find what they need. The extensive library of tracks is regularly updated.
Features:
- Offers Royalty free music for your videos
- You can save your time by avoiding wasting your time browsing inappropriate songs
- You will get the necessary music in 5 minutes
- You do not require to worry about copyright issues
Link: https://taketones.com/
13) Audio Network
Audio Network is a popular royalty service that provides over 100,000 original music tracks composed by highly regarded musicians and royalty free artists.
Features:
- Provides a wealth of music and tailored music licenses
- Offers more than 100,000 original music tracks
- Allows you to use music on multiple platforms
- Listen and download tracks for your project
Link: https://us.audionetwork.com/content/music-glossary/royalty-free-music
14) Filmstro
Filmstro offers royalty-free music that spans over 65 categories, like mood, music genre, and instrumental palette. Still, they also let you customize each track by its momentum, depth, and power.
Features:
- Ability to upgrade/downgrade between 2 license tiers.
- Easy to use interface.
- It offers browser extensions for Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro.
- Provides two months money-back guarantee.
- Supported platforms: Mac and Windows devices.
Link: https://filmstro.com/music
15) Purple Planet
Purple Planet is an independent library of royalty-free music. It has been sorted according to how music makes you feel instead of by genre. It offers an easy, one-click download with no nag screen.
Features:
- It offers free downloads of royalty free music
- Provides vast selection and clear instructions on how to deal with Content ID claims
- Purple Planet has divided the genres into how the specific music feels or sounds. For example, creepy, cute, emotional, hope, and more
- Royalty-free music sites are its relaxation and therapy music
Link: https://www.purple-planet.com/
How to choose the best Royalty-Free Music for your YouTube videos?
Here are steps to find out Free music for your YouTube Videos:
Step 1) Determine the mood of your video and hence the type of music. It can be a romantic one, rock’n’roll’s, mysterious, etc. You just need to select a track to highlight the mood.
Step 2) If you want to add voice or voiceover in your video, avoid using music with words over another voice or essential sounds.
Step 3) Sync an action in your video with the music change or the “first” or the “last” beat.
Step 4) It’s always good to try our 3-5 different music tracks that seem to be great for your video stock footage.
Step 5) You need to play the final video once or twice repeatedly to check for errors. You may also send a version to a friend or two and ask for an opinion.
FAQ:
❓ What is Royalty Free Music?
Royalty-free music refers to a tune, vocal, composition, or effect with a single or one-off cost or music licensing fee. Once you pay, a piece of royalty-free music can be synchronized with a TV, film, advertising as many times as needed without the producers providing royalty payments to the composer.
✔️ Which is the Best Royalty Free Music Sites?
Following are the Best Royalty Free Music Websites:
- Envatomarket
- Premium Beat
- Bensound
- Pond5
- Sound Cloud
- Artist
- Jamendo
- Hooksound
- Epidemic Sound
⚡ Why should you use Royalty Free Music?
Royalty free music has become an increasingly popular type of music that is offered by many websites. The main reasons for using royalty free music are:
- There are no copyright restrictions, so you can use it in any way that you like.
- You can share your songs online since there are no restrictions on doing so after downloading them.
- You can find songs with lyrics, instrumental, of different genres, and remixes easily.
- It allows you to use the same song in multiple places without paying a Royalty fee.
- You can create your own custom mix and remix the song however you want.
🚀 What is Public Domain Music?
Public Domain Music is music that was created before 1923. The term public domain refers to the fact that anyone can use it without fear of legal consequences. This music is usually not owned by anyone and has no copyright restrictions on it.
🏅 What is a Creative Commons License?
Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization that provides various licenses that allow creators to share their work with the general public, such as photos, videos, and music.
👉 Can I use Royalty Free Music on YouTube?
Yes, you can use Royalty free music on YouTube. This means that you can use royalty free music in your videos without the need to pay royalties. However, you should remember that it is not advisable to use royalty free music for commercial purposes.
❗ Can I use 30 Seconds of a copyrighted track?
There is one popular opinion that under the “fair use” provision, it is safe to use less than 30 seconds of a track without the owner’s consequences. However, it is not always true. Moreover, Copyright law is very complex and different from one country to other. So, instead of taking a risk, you should use royalty free music.
⚡ Can I make money from royalty-free music?
Yes. The free music can be used for commercial purposes if mentioned in the license agreement.
🌟 What is the difference between free and paid royalty-free music?
Royalty-free music has many restrictions. However, the biggest advantage is that you can pay once for the music license to avoid any limitations to your work. On the other hand, paid royalty-free music is likely to have a higher sound quality than free royalty-free music.
❓ Is it illegal to use royalty free music?
It is entirely legal to use royalty free music for any purpose that does not include selling the song. The downside of using royalty free music is that you will have to pay a fee for every time you want to use it. This can get expensive very quickly, especially if you are using it in a commercial setting.
🚀 Is copyright-free music the same as royalty-free music?
No. Copyright free music means songs with expired copyrights or whose rights have been sold to a third party. You can achieve the copyright of copyright-free music, whereas royalty-free music sites provide you the right to use the songs, not their copyrights.