Choosing music to have as the main tune of YouTube videos or in a podcast that we are going to upload to various platforms can be a big headache. Knowing which are the best sites to download free music that you can use in your videos in 2023 is crucial, not only to avoid copyright problems but also to avoid using a tune that we have already heard on another channel. Originality is important on the Internet, and that’s why we must dive to find the right music for our videos.
YouTube Audio Library
YouTube is gaining a reputation for being very intransigent with song copyrights, but at the same time, it also has a tool that every content creator should know about. YouTube’s audio library allows you to search and download music at no cost and use it freely in your videos. You have several filters so you can choose songs by genre, artist, or mood, and there is also a tab with several sound effects to enrich your creations.
Thematic
Thematic is one of the most interesting websites that a content creator should have in his favorites folder. To use it, you need to register, but it has advantages such as the possibility of linking your YouTube channel to receive personalized recommendations based on the content you upload. Its main limitation is that its songs can only be used in videos uploaded to YouTube or Instagram (they promise to add more platforms in the future).
CCTrax
Most ‘mainstream’ libraries are characterized by having music that can be liked by a universal audience. However, if your channel is very specialized and you have clear the genre of music you want to use in your videos, you have at your disposal CCTrax, a platform where you will find a lot of electronic music at your disposal. However, you have to keep in mind that only those songs with the CC-BY license can be used on YouTube without any problems. To avoid problems, the website itself provides a catalog of songs allowed on Google’s video platform.
Pixabay
This website is well known and used to obtain royalty-free images, as well as illustrations or vectors, but it also has a deep catalog of music to download for free. With over 1,000 tracks, you can also perform various searches according to the genre or mood you are trying to imprint on your videos. In Pixabay there is also a tab with which you can search specifically for music for YouTube videos, something always appreciated.
Unminus
Behind the simple interface of Unminus hides a fairly large and varied catalog of royalty-free music. This German website was based on the Unsplash project, which also offers copyright-free images, and its use is very simple since it is not necessary to ask permission either from the creator of the music or Unminus to be able to use it in your videos, although they do suggest that you credit the author.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive offers everything from the option to view the design of web pages from years gone by to playing old video games. Of course, it also includes a wealth of music and audio tracks to complement your videos or live streams on multiple platforms.
Fugue
Fugue is a good alternative if you are taking your first steps in editing and publishing videos on the Internet, as long as they are not going to have commercial use. It has a small downside, and that is that the tracks that are downloaded for free have a watermark. Users who do want to use it for commercial purposes have at their disposal different subscription plans to be able to use the songs it hosts without any problems.
ccMixter Music
In ccMixter, there is also a wide variety of music available for download and use in Internet videos, applications, or video games. It is important to pay attention to the type of license of each one and the attribution to be made when publishing the videos, but it is worth getting lost in its catalog of music, full of original songs, simple and remixes that will give a very original touch to your creations.
TeknoAXE
Welcome to the ’90s. TeknoAXE’s web design inevitably takes us back to the dawn of the Internet, but you can’t doubt that on this copyright-free music site, everything is fast and intuitive. If you want to give your videos a techno or rock touch or add an extra touch of epicness by adding orchestral music, you will find many interesting options here.
Musopen
Classical music is also a very valid resource to use as background music in videos, especially if they are informative. In Musopen you can find a large catalog of this genre free of copyright, but you have to make sure before downloading that you can use each track, as often its use may or may not be allowed depending on the territory or the type of license that has each piece.
Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound’s library has music that can set the mood from your Twitch streamings to your Facebook or Instagram reels. The downside is that its free mode only lasts for a month, and after that, you have to pay for an annual subscription. However, it’s a good place to take advantage of that first 30-day free trial to dig deeper and find interesting tracks for your videos, and then you can go back to one of the free alternatives mentioned earlier in the article.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.