Best Background Music For Videos: Top Resources

There are a lot of places where you can find good background music for your videos. YouTube is full of low-quality, copyrighted tracks.

It’s also full of music that is not good for your video.

For example, if you make a serious video about business or health, a light-hearted song with a bunch of laughter isn’t going to be the best choice.

The type of music you choose should always be in sync with your message.

The key to successful background music for videos is to choose the right type of music to complement your purpose and message. You would not use classical music for a martial arts program or rap music for a corporate presentation.

Background music is usually instrumental, although there are instances when lyrics can fit the purpose.

Let’s take a look!

What Is Background Music For Videos?

Music is the soul of an audio presentation. It sets the mood, pace, and tone for a piece of work.

However, the background music should not be distracting or overpowering.

A good place to start is by choosing background music from sites like AudioSparx and Pond5 which have thousands of works available at reasonable prices.

The key point here is to make sure you have the rights to use these pieces of background music.

Best Background Music For Videos

Let’s take a look at our list of the best background music for videos resources. We’re starting off with a favorite of ours, Artlist!

Every pick in this guide

1. Artlist

Artlist is a subscription-based service that provides unlimited access to Artlist’s massive music catalog.

We find Artlist is a great solution for all your background music needs.

Coverage depends on the plan. The Social license is for your own channels: one channel each on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch, plus one podcast. It does not cover client work or paid ads. A Pro license covers personal and client projects, including commercial work, and Pro plans are billed annually.

One Pro subscription covers that user’s client projects. You do not buy a separate Artlist subscription for each client.

Artlist Features

• Get unlimited downloads from the music catalog while your subscription is active.
• Two license types: Social for your own channels, and Pro for client and commercial work. A Social plan does not clear every project.
• Tracks in a wide range of styles and genres.

There are subscriptions for all types of creators!

You can choose a subscription tier that fits your creative needs.

• Social: your own social channels, one channel per platform, plus one podcast. Available monthly or yearly. Projects you publish during the subscription stay licensed.
• Pro: client, branded, and commercial work, plus broader distribution. Billed annually. Assets downloaded while the subscription is active can still be used after it ends.
• A Teams plan uses the same Pro coverage with extra seats. One seat is one user, not one client.

Artlist’s refer-a-friend program adds two extra months when someone subscribes to a yearly plan through a referral link. Confirm the offer on the link you use before you pay. Current rates are on Artlist’s pricing page.

2. Epidemic Sound

Epidemic Sound is an easy and affordable way to use high-quality royalty-free stock music in your videos, films, TV shows, and other projects.

Their library includes more than 55,000 tracks and more than 250,000 sound effects, available to download on an active subscription. You can also search by genre or mood.

Epidemic Sound adds music regularly and offers a free trial before you subscribe.

Epidemic Sound was founded in 2009 by Peer Åström, David Stenmarck, Oscar Höglund, Jan Zachrisson, and Hjalmar Windbladh.

Their goal was to create a platform where anyone can find high-quality music for their videos at an affordable price.

Epidemic Sound Features

– More than 55,000 tracks. Epidemic Sound owns the rights in its catalog, so a subscription clears use without a separate performing-rights license for each song.

– More than 250,000 sound effects to add impact to your production.

– All tracks are organized into folders by mood and genre so you can quickly find exactly what you’re looking for.

3. Audiio

Audiio stock music is a royalty-free music library where you can find high-quality, licensed music for your videos. A free account can download trial tracks. Licensing a real project takes a paid Creator, Pro, or lifetime membership. Creator covers your own social and podcast use. Pro covers client work. Those licenses are not interchangeable.

They have over 100,000 songs to choose from – all professionally produced, recorded and mastered by talented musicians.

You can listen to track previews before you buy them. This way you can get an idea of how they will sound in your project.

Audiio Stock music is an ever-growing library of royalty-free music from independent artists, filmmakers, and producers.

The collection includes ambient, electronic, rock, jazz, soul, and more.

Audiio Stock music is a fantastic resource for video producer.

Whether you’re making a wedding video, a corporate presentation, or just want some background tunes at your next house party, there’s something here for you!

Audiio Features

– Simple Licensing: Free up your time and energy by using Audiio’s clear and simple license.

– Flexible Tagging: their advanced tagging system allows you to filter tracks based on mood, style, genre, instruments, vocals, and much more.

– Quality-Checked Tracks: They’re proud of their music library and want to keep it that way. Every track is carefully reviewed.

4. Pond5

Pond5 is an online stock footage, music, and motion graphics marketplace where users can legally buy and sell content.

It’s a great way to get your project started without having to create the audio yourself or pay a composer to create it for you.

Pond5 creates two types of stock music:

• Premium, and
• Standard.

Both are offered with unlimited use rights and can be used in any type of project, including commercial projects.

Pond5 stock music is a collection of royalty-free tracks that you can purchase and download online.

The Pond5 library includes contributor footage and original music tracks.

Pond5 has been in business since 2006. It was founded by Tom Bennett and Marcus Engene as a marketplace where contributors license footage and, later, music and other media.

Shutterstock acquired Pond5 in 2022. Pond5 still sells contributor stock. It is not a catalog owned by Getty Images or Adobe Stock.

Pond5 Features

– You can find all types of music on Pond5. They have a special section for public domain tracks as well as royalty-free stock music that you can use for your YouTube videos.

– The Royalty-Free Stock Music section is divided into 16 categories with hundreds or thousands of tracks in each category.

– The tracks are easily searchable using search terms or by browsing the different categories.

5. Music Vine

Music Vine is a music licensing platform for video creators and brands.

They provide access to a selection of curated songs from independent artists, handpicked by Music Vine’s team of music supervisors, to create the perfect soundtrack for your project.

It’s not just a library of songs — it’s also a community of over 12,000 carefully selected artists and composers.

They each have their own profile on Music Vine, so you can browse their work and learn more about them.

Music Vine Features

– Their team of A&Rs scours the globe to find the best talent and licenses carefully selected tracks for Music Vine’s library.

– Their criteria are simple: each track must be highly original, technically excellent, and ideal for use in your videos.

– They aim to offer you an affordable alternative to custom commissions.

6. Musicbed

Musicbed is a full-service music licensing company for creators of all kinds that bridges the gap between artists and filmmakers.

They work with thousands of artists and a large catalog of songs from every genre you can imagine.

Musicbed licenses music for use in Films, TV Shows, Commercials, Video Games, YouTube Videos, and more.

Musicbed has music from all your favorite genres including Pop, Hip Hop, Rock, EDM, Country and Alternative.

Musicbed’s platform makes it easy for any filmmaker to find the perfect song for their film in a matter of minutes.

Musicbed Features

• Search the catalog by emotion, genre, tempo, and instrument.
• Stream entire albums from their artists.
• Create playlists and save favorites.
• Sort by genre and mood.
• Filter by tempo and instruments.

7. Premium Beat

PremiumBeat is the leader in high-quality royalty-free music for new and traditional media.

With over 40,000 hand-picked tracks, they’ve got you covered for everything from cinematic scores to driving indie rock, and everything in between.

Find the perfect track for your video project in minutes. Search by genre, mood and more!

Premium Beat Features

– PremiumBeat works with a team of composers and music editors who are all professional musicians. This means that every single track in their library is original.

– Their library is royalty-free, but each download needs the license tier that matches the project. A Standard License is one project, not every use.

– Licenses include the full track, loops, and stems where those versions exist.

8. Soundstripe

The process of finding good music to use in your video projects can be a major hassle.

SoundStripe is a startup that aims to solve this problem by offering up royalty-free music without worrying about paying licensing fees.

Soundstripe’s pricing lists Personal at $19.99 a month or $119 a year, for your own non-commercial projects and one YouTube channel. Pro is $39.99 a month or $239 a year and covers individual commercial work such as client projects and digital ads. Pro Plus, which adds stock video, is $69.99 a month or $399 a year. Business and enterprise plans are separate.

Soundstripe Features

– Unlimited downloads and access to their whole library. No hidden fees, and no extra cost.

– Royalty-free music. What you can do with it depends on the plan. Personal does not cover client or paid commercial work.

– No cancellation fees. Don’t like the service? Cancel anytime with no early termination fee.

Soundstripe

9. Audiojungle

AudioJungle is a leading royalty-free marketplace for digital audio files, where you can buy and sell music, sound effects, and loops.

Their collection is curated by AudioJungle’s expert staff and features some of the best audio talents in the world.

The AudioJungle marketplace is open to all musicians, producers, and sound designers.

You can sell your tracks here easily, whether you’re just starting out or already have a large catalog of work. It’s free to sign up and upload your tracks, so register today to get started!

Audiojungle Features

– AudioJungle is an Envato Market product, which means it’s a curated collection of royalty-free audio files.

– This means every item on AudioJungle has been through an approval process performed by their experienced moderators.

– They pride themselves on the quality of their products and their customer support.

10. Motion Array

On Motion Array you’ll find thousands of tracks in every style, from corporate music and cinematic scores, to upbeat indie rock and fun pop songs.

If you’re new to stock music, they have a growing library of help articles to get you up to speed.

If you’re in need of royalty-free music for your video projects, take a look at Motion Array’s Music Library.

You can filter by genre, mood, and style to help find the perfect track for your project.

Motion Array Features

– Includes Music for Video, Music for Games, Music for Websites, and Music for Apps.

– Offers standard license and extended license options.

– Provides a free download of the week pack that includes a preview track, full track (320kbps), and a license certificate.

11. Mixdown Music

Mixdown Music is a collection of original music tracks produced in-house by a team of producers and composers.

Their stock music library is continually updated with fresh and interesting tracks, making it the perfect place for content creators to find royalty-free music for their next project.

12. Foximusic

Foximusic stock music is a library of high-quality music and sounds for use in videos, podcasts, and other projects.

Use the search bar to the left to find music by mood, genre, or instrument.

Once you’ve found a track you like, click the play button to preview it.

Clicking the title will take you to a page with more information about that track — including licensing information and ways to purchase it.

13. Tunepocket

TunePocket stock music is a stunning collection of instrumental background music tracks for videos, TV, film and other media projects.

TunePocket stock tracks are created by a team of professional composers and producers.

No need to wait for custom music to be composed or recorded for your project. Simply get a license and use them in your projects immediately!

14. Marmoset

Marmoset is a full-service music agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA.

They represent and curate unique, handpicked bands and composers from all over the world.

Their music has been heard in hundreds of commercials, films, television shows, promos, and video games.

Their publishing catalog includes songs by artists such as Radiation City, Typhoon, The Domestics, Afrosonics, The Doubleclicks and more.

15. Songfreedom

SongFreedom is a stock music subscription service, which gives you access to a catalog of royalty-free songs from artists who control their own copyrights.

It’s different than other stock music subscriptions because the songwriters who own the songs in SongFreedom’s library have decided to partner with them, meaning you can use their songs without fear of copyright infringement.

16. Videvo

Videvo was a stock footage and audio library. Freepik acquired it, and the standalone Videvo subscriptions are gone. videvo.net now redirects to Freepik’s video library, and Freepik has since rebranded as Magnific, which says it is the same company on a new name. Free clips that remain can still require attribution, so read the license on the file you download.

17. Jamendo

Jamendo Stock Music is a commercial music library providing high-quality royalty-free music for video, TV & advertising productions.

The music is composed, recorded, and performed by professional musicians, and curated by their team of music supervisors.

What Is The Most Popular Background Music For Youtube Videos?

Background music is a great way to get your viewer’s attention and keep them tuned in. It can also help you create a more professional video.

Tons of sites out there offer free background music for your videos as well as free sound effects, but picking the right tone for your video can be tricky.

The genre of the song should match the topic of your video. If you’re making a video about how to get a six-pack, rock or hip hop will probably be a great choice.

If it’s not relevant to your chosen topic, people will turn off your video pretty quickly.

You don’t want something that has too many lyrics because it will distract your viewers from what you’re trying to say.

What Music Do Youtubers Use In The Background?

I’m sure you’ve been on the internet and stumbled upon a video where the background music was just awful.

It’s so painful to listen to that you actually want to turn off your speakers.

Thing is, though, music is very important in videos.

It gives the video that extra touch that makes it more than just plain talking into a camera. But what is the right kind of music to use at all?

Now, youtube has a lot of videos where they talk about stuff but put no background music at all.

And they’re fine! Just remember that if you decide not to use background music, your video will probably have less impact than it could have had if you would have put some in there.

Other times YouTubers will just use one track throughout the whole video and it works great!

Those are usually personality-based channels such as Smosh or Onision.

But most people don’t do this because it can be risky to do this since you might get a copyright strike if you do this without getting the rights for using the song first.

But let’s say you want to get some really good tracks for your videos. You’ll probably want to.

Is Background Music Good For Videos?

I like to talk about how important audio is for video. I also like to talk about how important visuals are for audio.

This is because I’m a visual person and I often get lost in words.

Telling a story in an audio-only form is more difficult than it sounds, but with the right tools and enough practice, it can be done.

The best way to tell a story in audio format is through background music.

The question remains: Is background music good for videos?

It depends on what you mean by background music. If you mean music that is there but you don’t hear or listen to it then the answer is no.

If you mean background music that is meant to be heard, then the answer is yes.

High-quality Stock Audio From Our Partners

Have you ever needed a certain sound effect for your project, but could never find it?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably looked everywhere on the Internet to find the perfect audio clip that fits your needs. But sometimes it’s just not available.

If it’s free, then chances are it’s not high quality. If it’s high quality, then chances are it costs an arm and a leg.

I’m sure many of us have thought about recording these sounds ourselves, but the equipment or software is often expensive and difficult to use.

This is where Freesound comes in.

Freesound is a collaborative library of free sound effects. As of October 2026 it lists more than 730,000 sounds, not a few thousand. Files come in formats such as WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, and Ogg.

Each sound has its own Creative Commons license. Some allow commercial use and some do not, so a free download is not cleared for every video.

Find A Similar Track Inside Your Music Library

The world of music is vast and diverse. There are millions of artists and millions of songs available online.

The internet has made it possible to access almost any song imaginable at the click of a button.

This has not only changed the way that people listen to music, but also the way that they discover new tracks.

Websites such as SoundCloud, Spotify, and Bandcamp have given users unprecedented access to music.

However, streaming services can be overwhelming for listeners who are looking for something specific.

There is no public search engine called Audio Find Similar that identifies stock cues the way Shazam identifies songs.

For background music, use the similar-track or reference-song search inside the library you are licensed with. Those tools compare a cue you already like with other tracks in that catalog. Shazam can name a commercial song you hear, but naming it does not give you a license to use it.

Stock Audio Licensing Made Simple

Stock audio refers to audio files that are sold for use in multimedia. These include video or computer-based training, presentations, and commercials.

Stock audio is not the same as music played on the radio, TV or live performances. It is a different kind of product.

There are many reasons to buy stock audio.

For example, you may need an audio file for a product demo, game, or application.

If you are in a hurry and just need a few words or sentences, you can download a recorded audio clip and save time.

Trial and error will help you determine what you need to buy. But before purchasing that stock file, make sure it meets both your technical and aesthetic needs.

Audacity is a free software that can be used to convert mp3 files into several other formats like WAV and OGG Vorbis.

You may also use Audacity for converting the file into an mp3 format for easier storage.

You should use this software if you want to add effects to your recording like echo or fade in/out options.

You can also clean up the recording using Audacity by removing background noises and other unwanted sounds.

What Is Youtube Audio Library?

The YouTube Audio Library is YouTube’s own collection of royalty-free music and sound effects, available in YouTube Studio. It is not a store run by Free Sound Effects, and the tracks are not priced from $0.99 to $1,500.

Tracks from the Audio Library are copyright-safe in YouTube videos. If you are in the YouTube Partner Program, you can monetize videos that use them. Some tracks use a Creative Commons license and need an artist credit in the video description. Others do not.

YouTube’s help pages treat the library as safe on YouTube. They do not promise the same clearance for every other platform. Tracks marked Creative Commons Attribution can be used more widely if you credit the artist. Do not assume a standard Audio Library track is cleared for ads, client work, or a podcast off YouTube.

What Is Audiojungle?

The music industry is a tough one. It takes years of effort and loads of luck to be able to make a living out of it.

The good news is that you can use the internet in order to circumvent these traditional barriers and get right to the point. By creating your own music, you can sell it online and reach a worldwide audience, no matter where you live.

Tons of people have already done this on AudioJungle, which is why they’ve put together a short guide that will explain the basics of how everything works.

They’ll outline what AudioJungle is all about, describe how they work with creators and buyers, give you tips on how to succeed on their site, and tell you about the benefits that come from being an active contributor

The information will help you get up to speed quickly and start making money as soon as possible.

Audio Jungle is a huge supplier of high-quality audio for commercial and personal use. Whether you’re looking for sound effects, background music, or professionally produced original tracks, Audio Jungle has it all.

AudioJungle does not offer a free library of 16,000 downloadable tracks. It is a paid Envato marketplace. You can preview a file before you buy it, then download the licensed version after purchase.

What Is Audioblocks?

Audioblocks was Storyblocks’ music library. Videoblocks, Audioblocks, and Graphicstock were later unified under the Storyblocks name, and the music catalog is now part of Storyblocks. Its exclusive music is branded Storyblocks Label.

Storyblocks sells subscriptions, not $1.50 clips.

How Does Audioblocks Work?

The library now lives on Storyblocks. You can browse royalty-free clips and music, preview a track, and download it under an active subscription. Storyblocks does not sell tracks one at a time. A download stays licensed for the uses that plan covers, which is narrower than any project forever. A free account is limited to watermarked previews.

How Much Does Audioblocks Cost?

Ignore older Audioblocks prices such as $11.99 a month or a 300MB free cap. On Storyblocks’ pricing page, Essentials is $21 a month billed annually and does not include music. Unlimited All Access is $30 a month billed annually and includes music and sound effects. The Small Business plan is $40 a month billed annually and also includes music. Larger business licenses are quoted separately.

What Is Free Music Archive?

The Free Music Archive is an online archive of free music. It was created by WFMU, the longest-running freeform radio station in the United States.

The collection includes recordings of live performances from WFMU and other radio stations, interviews, “lost” studio recordings, and original compositions.

Licenses are not all the same, and they do not all allow commercial use. Each track is under a Creative Commons license, a U.S. public-domain dedication, or a custom license, and the song page states which one applies.

WFMU founded the archive in 2009. Tribe of Noise acquired it in 2019.

You can download files without paying. The Free Music Archive hosts the audio. It is not only a list of links to files elsewhere. Follow the license on the track. Some files allow commercial use, and some do not.