Finding the right music for your video content isn’t always easy but it’s an important element to incorporate if you want to create great videos. There are endless ways to stream and listen to music but most of these songs can’t be used in your videos. Sometimes finding music isn’t the problem, it’s finding royalty-free music that can be a pain. Luckily for us, others have had this problem too and taken action to fix it by creating resources for collecting and distributing royalty-free music!

Take a look at these six different resources next time you’re looking for that perfect song to accompany your video content. Remember to pay attention to the creative commons licenses of tracks as some may require that you give credit to the source within your video. Paying attention to the creative commons licenses is also important if you’re video is monetized, some artists will allow free commercial use of their songs, while others won’t.

Free Music Archive 

The Free Music Archive, launched in 2009, boasts an impressive library of high-quality and legal audio downloads. Inspired by the open source software movement, Free Music Archive provides the framework for collaboration between artists, curators, radio stations, festivals, museums, and more to share music. The free Music Archive also provides a great deal of information about creative commons licenses and how they work.

Public Domain 4U

Have you ever wondered what happens to old music? Well, one outcome is entering the public domain. If a copyright was never renewed, then the content no longer has any intellectual property rights to them, meaning public domain content can be used however you like. Public Domain 4U lets you browse through plenty of old music from the early 1900’s as well as modern music so you can find the perfect track for your video.

Spinnin’ Records

Slightly more modern than other free music sites, Spinnin' Records releases high-quality copyright-free dance music that can be used and monetized in YouTube videos without the need of a license. All Spinnin’ Records asks is a link back to their YouTube channel in return. Using Spinnin’ tracks outside of YouTube is possible but you’ll have to get in contact with them for specifics

Musopen

Musopen is similar to Public Domain 4U because it also catalogues music that has had the copyright expire. Musopen provides a vast collection of royalty-free classical music for you to choose from, as well as free sheet music and educational materials.

ccTrax

ccTrax gives you a wide array of free electronic music to download and use in your videos. Download full albums at once and browse through genres including ambient, downtempo, dub, jazz, and more. All audio files can be used non-commercially and downloaded in MP3 format.

Chillhop Records

Another great resource for music for your YouTube videos is Chillhop. They allow creators that are subscribed to use music without any copyright claims or content ID. You can also use the music without signing-up but must give credit. Make sure to pay attention to what audio you’re grabbing because some songs are not under the same creative commons license.

Remember it’s always important to take note of the creative commons licenses for each song or website. Each website does a pretty good job of explaining how to credit or the terms of usage but always pay attention. If you would like to learn more about licensing types and conditions you can head over to the Creative Commons website.

These "royalty-free music" resources are brought to you by Custom Fit Online, a Whistler-based SEO and digital marketing consultancy.

Filed in // Content Development, Internet, Marketing