32 Best Places to Find Royalty-Free Music for Commercial Use in 2024

Updated Monday 16th October 2023

According to research conducted by Texas A&M University,  background music in marketing materials gets more attention and excitement amongst consumers, increasing their likelihood to buy in the long run.

So, it's fair to say that background music is important!

But, hiring an artist to produce content for you can be extremely costly… Thankfully, there are sites that offers high-quality, royalty-free music you can use.

For clarity, royalty-free music doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t pay for them, but you can use them more or less how you like after paying a one-time licensing fee*

* Actual usage and fees vary from site to site and license to license but typically range from $25 to $500 per year. 

In this article, I share our updated list of the top sites that offer royalty-free music to help you create jaw-dropping marketing videos for your business.

32 Best Places to Find Royalty-Free Music for Commercial Use in 2024

List of The 32 Best Places to Find Royalty-Free Music:

SoundCloud

SoundCloud

With a library of more than 265 million songs to boast, SoundCloud has all the reasons to top this list.

Besides smoking the competition with a high music volume, they have a social element that displays how many “likes” a particular song has. This can help you decide whether a specific song can attract viewership. 

The songs on SoundCloud, however, aren’t entirely duty-free. They have a wide selection of terms.

Some songs have copyrights that are fully reserved, others songs have some rights reserved while others are licensed under Creative Commons

Songs that are under Creative Commons license can be used by the members of the public but under specific conditions as stated by the creator. You will, therefore, need to filter your search results by the Creative Commons license category to find royalty-free songs.

It’s also worthy to note that not all songs under this license are royalty-free, hence, ensure that the song in question is free of charge before using it.

YouTube Audio Library

YouTube Audio Library

You can easily access over 200,000 free tracks in the YouTube Audio Library if you have a YouTube channel.

Most of these songs are licensed under the public domain or Creative Commons, meaning you can use them for your marketing projects after choosing a pricing plan. 

What’s more, YouTube Audio Library lets you filter your search results by the mood, license type, and the number of times a song has been downloaded.

This not only eases the search process but also provides insight into the highest performing type of music that would positively impact your marketing. 

Whereas all music listed on the platform is categorized as “copyright safe” by YouTube, you should check to ascertain before using them for commercial purposes. 

Jamendo

Jamendo

Unlike other sites on this list, Jamendo was created with a primary focus on helping marketers, and advertisers access music for their commercials. This licensing firm boasts over 200,000 license-free tracks listed on its website for you to use. 

What makes Jamendo more appealing is the ease of searching for a song in its catalog. They have drop-down boxes that let you choose the type of project you want (for instance, “software” or “advertising”). They also ask you to select a platform on which you will post the content.

For instance, selecting “Twitter” will give you a list of some excellent music that’s more common with Twitter Ads. 

You can also refine your selection by filtering the search results by theme, genre, duration, or instrument. While it may cost more than other sites to license a track, it remains one of the best options. 

Besides single tracks, Jamendo also has an in-house radio background music bouquet designed for various businesses such as airports, hospitals, amusement parks, etc. This music bundle contains up to 27 different playlists that are ad-free. Be sure to check that out too.

Premium Beat

Premium Beat

Premium Beat is another royalty-free site with an exquisitely curated music library. The Shutterstock subsidiary site has a vast array of carefully selected music that is top quality and unique. This means you might find well-polished songs on Premium Beat that aren’t available on other commercial music sites. 

What I liked the most about Premium Beat is that all its music is cleared for copyright. The site is also very easy to manoeuvre. It is signposted with as little information as possible, with an option of grouping songs in playlists or marking as favorites. 

To access content on the site, you’ll need to pay a one-time fee for a copyright license, and you are free to use it whenever and however you like. With the backing of Shutterstock, you need no other assurance that Premium Beat is reputable and reliable. 

Bensound

Bensound

What’s fascinating about Bensound is that all the available music is created and produced by a single person – Benjamin Tissot. When Benjamin Tissot founded Bensound, he aimed to promote his songs by selling them as royalty-free commercial music. 

The site has since grown and features a wide selection of music across genres such as pop, acoustic, cinematic, and electronica, among others. 

There are several perks to using Bensound. It has a friendly interface that makes it easy to search for music. Moreover, each song is clearly described with details in terms of genre, theme, mood, and duration. And if you encounter trouble browsing their music library, there’s an insightful FAQ document that explains everything you need to know. 

That’s not all. You can use any of their music under the CC license for free on the condition that;

  • The music will be used for non-commercial purposes 
  • You’ll credit the content to Bensound.com. 

To use Bensound content commercially, you’ll be required to pay an annual subscription which gives you access to unlimited downloads of mp3, WAV files, and a license certificate. 

The downside of using Bensound is that it has less variety of music compared to the majority on this list. The website is also updated less often since all content is produced by a single musician.

Artlist

Artlist

Artlist is one of the most extensive music libraries, feeding the world’s biggest brands, such as Netflix, Nike, and Coca-Cola, with lots of royalty-free content. If this fact doesn’t win your heart, perhaps their vast music library will. 

Artlist updates its website daily with over 25,000 high-quality songs and 30,000 sound effects. What’s more enthralling is the ease of finding the ideal music for use: 

First of all, the site is delightful to use. It is super straightforward to navigate. All songs are categorized and curated according to themes, genres, instrumentals, and modes. You can easily filter by such categories to find the ideal track for your commercial needs. 

Moreover, there’s a “For You” interphase where you can get customized suggestions and a “Spotlight” page for trending content.

Their music licensing is also not as complex as you’d might think. They have a universal license with which you can make use of their entire music catalog without stress. This subscription requires an annual one-time fee. 

Besides the annual fee, Artlist has different other pricing plans. Depending on your creative needs, you can select a “Social Creator” plan to produce content for social media or the “Creator Plan” to cover commercial projects. 

StoryBlocks Audio

StoryBlocks Audio

With over 10,000 royalty-free tracks to choose from, StoryBlocks lets you access and download unlimited content and use them for either personal or commercial purposes. They also update their music library regularly so you can be assured of fresh music daily. 

StoryBlocks works almost like most of the sites covered in this article. For example, they allow you to filter music by genres, moods, and instruments before suggesting relevant songs. You can see a list of songs categorized according to their duration or by entering a keyword on their search bar, such as “Caribbean Background Music.” 

Their pricing is also very reasonable. They offer cost-effective deals that are as low as $10 a month, giving you value for your money. 

Filmstro

Filmstro

While Fimstro’s music library is typically curated for filmmakers, marketers can also find ideal royalty-free music to use in their commercial marketing. In fact, the feature of filtering searches by category works tremendously since you can input keywords such as “Excercise and Workouts” to find songs listed under that category. 

As a marketer, Filmstro also comes in handy when creating creative commercial projects, thanks to its “adaptive music” feature that lets you adjust the power, tempo, and depth sliders of any song to match your preference. 

Filmstro’s pricing plans vary depending on what you want to use the music for. Whether you are a personal customer, freelancer, or company and want to access their royalty-free music, Fimstro has got you covered. 

Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive

If you are looking for a variety of music styles done by independent musicians, then Free Music Archive is the right place to go. It is a music library that boasts more than 150,000 tracks from various genres that range from RnB, classical music, pop, folk, and numerous others. 

The site has a simple user interface that seamlessly lets you search for music. You can filter searches by genres, names, instrumentals, and duration while checking whether they are popular (they have a popularity index feature). 

Also worth noting is their FAQ guide that highlights all the requirements for accessing music copyrighted under a Creative Commons license. As the name indicates, all tracks are free on Free Music Archive, but you must attribute Creative Commons licenses. 

Epidemic Sound

Epidemic Sound

The music library that closes our list of the best places to find royalty-free music is the Epidemic Sound. It is a favorite for most marketers because of its high-quality content and massive track list of over 35,000 updated every other week. 

Its search feature goes beyond what other sites offer. You can filter search results by genres, moods, vocals, tempos, and lengths to find the best match for your type of project. 

Epidemic Sound lets you bundle all the legal rights bound to a song so you can use one license across multiple social media sites. In other words, it tackles all the complexities of music licensing for you. 

Soundraw

Soundraw is an AI-powered music generator that allows users to create unlimited original songs and instrumentals instantly.

The advanced AI composes music in any genre, mood, and length. Soundraw is great for content creators, advertisers, or anyone looking for unique background music.

Incompetech

Incompetech offers one of the largest catalogs of royalty free music tracks for download.

Created by composer Kevin MacLeod, the site has over 3,000 tracks and sound effects available under Creative Commons licenses.

The music spans many genres from classical to electronic. Incompetech is a top choice for YouTubers, podcasters, and video creators.

Free Loops

Free Loops provides thousands of high-quality, royalty-free audio loops, sample packs, and sound effects.

Musicians and producers can download loops for hip hop, house, jazz, and many other genres.

All files are free for commercial and non-commercial use.

Freesound

Freesound is a collaborative database of audio samples, clips, and recordings.

Users can browse and download from over 500,000 royalty free sounds uploaded by a community of musicians and sound engineers.

Great for finding unique sound effects.

Musopen

Musopen offers free public domain sheet music and classical music recordings. The library contains thousands of scores and pieces performed by renowned artists.

Music students, teachers, and performers can access and download audio files and sheet music for free.

Opsound

Opsound is an online platform that allows independent musicians and artists to upload their music under Creative Commons licenses for others to freely use and remix.

Founded in 2005, Opsound aims to foster a community of sharing and collaboration in music production.

Artists can distribute their tracks through the site and choose from various CC license types like Attribution and Noncommercial. This allows their music to be used by vloggers, podcasters, and more while still retaining credit.

With over 4,500 tracks, Opsound contains original music spanning genres like classical, jazz, electronic, hip hop, and more. It's a great resource for finding unique underground music from indie creators.

NoCopyrightSounds

NoCopyrightSounds is a popular YouTube channel that uploads electronic, EDM, and pop music for free use in videos and other media.

With over 30 million subscribers, it has become a go-to destination for YouTubers and vloggers to find high-quality tracks to use as background music.

The channel uploads new music every week and all songs are licensed under Creative Commons allowing free use with attribution.

From upbeat melodic dubstep to future bass and chill pop, NoCopyrightSounds has a diverse catalog of free music perfect for content creators.

SoundImage

SoundImage provides royalty free stock music and loops available for commercial use, with tracks starting at just $1. Their library contains over 60,000 files spanning a wide range of genres and moods.

From cinematic scores to rock anthems, SoundImage has professional quality background music for video projects, games, podcasts, and more.

Users can search for tracks by genre, instrument, tempo, and length to find the perfect customizable audio. SoundImage is an affordable stock music site for creators on a budget.

AudioJungle

AudioJungle is one of the largest marketplaces for stock audio, including music, sound effects, and loops.

With over 2 million tracks, it's a top resource for YouTubers, podcasters, and video creators looking for high-quality background music.

AudioJungle has a massive library of songs and instrumental tracks spanning every genre imaginable. Users can search for the perfect track and license songs starting at just a few dollars.

MotionArray

MotionArray offers a subscription based library of stock media including video templates, footage, images, and music.

For a monthly fee, members gain unlimited access to thousands of audio tracks and sound effects for commercial use.

From cinematic scores to upbeat pop music, MotionArray has all the sounds needed for professional video projects.

Mixkit

Created by Envato, Mixkit provides a completely free library of stock music and sound effects. The collection contains over 300,000 high-quality audio files that are 100% cleared for commercial use.

Mixkit is frequently updated with new tracks spanning many genres from acoustic to electronic. It's a superb resource for video editors and content creators on a budget.

Unminus

Unminus offers a handpicked selection of downloadable ambient music perfect for podcasts, vlogs, presentations, and more.

The tracks have a relaxed, minimalist vibe available under a Creative Commons license. Users can browse clips by mood and download high-quality MP3 files starting at just $4.99.

Vlog No Copyright Music

This popular YouTube channel features a library of free vlog background music. With over 600k subscribers, it's a go-to source for YouTubers looking for upbeat, positive songs to use in their videos. New music is added frequently across genres like pop, electronic, acoustic, and more.

Royalty Free Music

The Royalty Free Music subreddit is a community for sharing and discussing royalty free tracks. Users frequently post free downloads and links to creative commons resources. It's a helpful spot to discover more hidden gems across the web.

Free Stock Music

Free Stock Music curates an updated list of top sites to download free stock music and audio. The list links to resources like YouTube audio libraries, sound effect sites, and creative commons music hubs. It's a great way to quickly find free music for projects.

Looperman

Looperman is a community site where users can share and download each other's musical loops, samples, and sounds. The library spans genres like hip hop, house, pop, and EDM. All files are royalty free to use in original productions.

Free Music Archive

The Free Music Archive offers a library of creative commons licensed music available for free download. The tracks come from independent artists and span many genres. It's an excellent source for finding unique music.

Dig CC Mixter

Dig CC Mixter is a community music site where artists can upload their songs for remixing or downloading. Musicians can find acapellas, samples, and instrumental parts to create new mixes. All files are under Creative Commons licenses.

About Author

Arielle P

Arielle P

Songwriter | Music Producer | Engineer.

With a background in music production and a strong passion for education, Arielle is dedicated to helping emerging artists navigate the music industry. She has worked with a diverse range of artists, from indie rock bands to well-known hip-hop and grime artists. Arielle's unique approach to teaching focuses on empowering artists to take control of their brand, ensuring they retain creative ownership throughout their journey. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting with new sounds in her home studio and sharing her insights through music production tutorials and workshops.

📧 Email Arielle