There are many websites that offer free music downloads. Some of these sites are for personal use such as listening to songs or making a mix for loved ones.
Others offer downloads that may be used for commercial purposes without paying a fee for licensing.
This guide will explore some of the best websites for listening to and downloading music online.
Are you struggling to find a free and legal music download service? Do you want to download some music but you don’t know how to do it? There are many sites that offer a huge range of songs, both new and old.
Free music is one of those things that can be a huge money saver, especially when you have a project where you need to use music or sounds.
There are many places online where you can find free music, but finding the music that fits your needs as a videomaker or producer can be difficult.
In this guide, we’re going to share with you some of my favorite sites for finding free music. We’ll also share with you some tips and tricks we’ve learned along the way regarding using free music in your projects.
BEST MUSIC SITES FOR FREE DOWNLOAD
What Free Download Music Sites?
When you’re looking for free music downloads, there are some great places to go. Free music downloads are everywhere, but not all of them are legal.
It’s always best to use a legal site that is safe and trusted by many. These will give you the highest quality of music and usually have the option of downloading for free on your computer.
There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to websites where you can download free music downloads.
You’ll want to make sure that they offer a variety of different genres so that you don’t limit yourself to just one or two types of music. Some sites will also allow you to choose between different formats like MP3 or WAV files.
1. Soundcloud
SoundCloud is a website and mobile app that gives people the ability to upload, record, promote and share their originally-created sounds.
SoundCloud can be accessed anywhere using the official iPhone and Android apps, as well as hundreds of creation and sharing apps built on the SoundCloud platform.
It’s also possible to use SoundCloud to embed sound clips and playlists into other sites and blogs.
In addition to private listening sessions, registered users can also get detailed stats on their listeners (including where in the world they are), share their sounds across social networks like Facebook and Twitter, connect with new fans, build a following and interact with other users’ creations.
The site’s “follow” tool allows users to follow each other’s updates like Twitter; SoundCloud also has a messaging system similar to Facebook.
SoundCloud offers both free membership services and two kinds of premium membership for users who require additional features and technical support.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is the world’s largest open audio platform, powered by a connected community of creators, listeners, and curators on the pulse of what’s new, now and next in culture.
2. Bandcamp
If you’re a music lover, then you’ve probably heard of Bandcamp. But if you’re more familiar with the likes of iTunes and Spotify, you may not know what it is or how it works.
Bandcamp is a platform that allows artists to sell their music directly to fans, as well as merchandise and tickets to shows.
The service launched in 2008 and boasts more than 1 million artists in its catalog.
It’s also home to over 50 million tracks — most of which are available for free download — and over $300 million in artist sales to date.
When you buy something on Bandcamp, the artist gets paid and the site takes just 10 percent of the total transaction.
This is significantly less than what other online music stores charge (Apple charges 30 percent).
For bands who don’t want to sell physical copies but still have a way for fans to purchase their music, Bandcamp is an ideal solution.
Bandcamp has some other unique features that make it different from other streaming sites: Users can create profiles and follow their favorite artists, who can then send out updates about new releases or tours.
Fans can subscribe to these feeds or subscribe to an artist’s email list through the site, so they never miss a beat when it comes to new releases from their favorite artists.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an online music service that helps musicians post music, earn new fans, and be paid fairly for their work. The site is also great for listeners, who can find new music and artists outside of the mainstream, and offer them critical support.
3. Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads.
The Free Music Archive is directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America. Radio has always offered the public free access to new music.
The Free Music Archive is a continuation of that purpose, designed for the age of the internet. It was launched in 2009.
The music on this site is free for you to download and use (even for commercial purposes) as long as you provide proper attribution.
In exchange for access to the Free Music Archive, we ask you to commit to using it for genuine listening and sampling purposes — to try out tracks and see if they will work in your project.
If you’re not sure whether your use will be considered “commercial” or “non-commercial,” please read our FAQ page on Licensing and Commercial Use.
Free Music Archive
You don’t need to create an account, you can download and listen to music without paying (with your private data). FREE doesn’t mean you are free to use, alter or build upon all songs without any conditions. Most of the music on Free Music Archive is licensed under one of the popular Creative Commons licenses.
4. The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive (TIA) is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco with a mission of “preserving the cultural and creative heritage of the internet.”
TIA has been collecting music uploaded by users to the internet via BitTorrent and other file-sharing services since 2000.
TIA has been digitizing these for preservation, and made them available for free listening and download via its site and on mobile apps such as iTunes.
Originally, TIA only included the songs from popular digital music vendors such as Amazon, Apple Music, Beatport, Google Play, iTunes, Rdio, and YouTube.
Since then it has grown to include tens of thousands of other user-uploaded songs. Artists whose music is housed at TIA include Axwell & Ingrosso, Björk, Deadmau5, Death Grips, Jason Derulo, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Korn, Lorde, Metallica, Rick Astley, Skrillex, The Game, The Doors, Tyler, the Creator and many more.
BEST MUSIC SITES FOR FREE DOWNLOADWhat Free Download Music Sites?
When you’re looking for free music downloads, there are some great places to go. Free music downloads are everywhere, but not all of them are legal.
It’s always best to use a legal site that is safe and trusted by many. These will give you the highest quality of music and usually have the option of downloading for free on your computer.
There’s a lot to choose from w
hen it comes to websites where you can download free music downloads.
You’ll want to make sure that they offer a variety of different genres so that you don’t limit yourself to just one or two types of music. Some sites will also allow you to choose between different formats like MP3 or WAV files.
The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive allows the public to upload and download digital material to its data cluster, but the bulk of its data is collected automatically by its web crawlers, which work to preserve as much of the public web as possible. Its web archive, the Wayback Machine, contains hundreds of billions of web captures.
5. Jamendo Music
Jamendo Music is the world’s largest platform for independent music. It offers a catalog of more than 500,000 songs from 150,000 artists who want to be heard and discovered.
These are artists who write, record and share their music freely online under Creative Commons licenses — which means you can listen to, download, and share their music for free on Jamendo, as long as you credit them properly.
Jamendo Music is an ideal place to discover new music that you can use in your projects: podcasts, videos, websites, apps—all for free!
You can also listen to unrestricted tracks on the go or at home with our mobile apps (available for iOS and Android) or on our web player.
Jamendo Music was founded in 2004 with the goal of sharing free music with the world. The service was created by musicians, for musicians—and anyone who loves music!
Jamendo
A subsidiary of Belgian company AudioValley, and Independent Management Entity (IME) since 2019. Jamendo S.A. Originally, Jamendo was a music platform under Creative Commons licenses. As of October 2015, Jamendo no longer presents itself as such but rather as a free streaming service for personal use.
6. Beatstars
BeatStars is a digital production marketplace that allows music producers to license and sell beats and give away free beats.
Recording artists and songwriters can download beats and distribute their beats worldwide.
BeatStars launched in 2008 as a social media site for musicians.
The company transitioned into a digital production marketplace, allowing music producers to license and sell beats online.
The platform has since grown to over 400,000 users worldwide, including record labels such as Roc Nation, Atlantic Records, Shady Records, and more.
Beatstars
BeatStars is a digital marketplace where producers and artists are able to link up without ever getting into a studio together. Artists can pay a bargain-rate fee to download a beat, leaving it open to other artists to use as well, as Lil Nas X did. If they shell out a little more, they can get an exclusive license.
7. Youtube Audio Library
It used to be that you had to rely on professional musicians and artists for your audio entertainment needs.
That’s no longer the case, however. We now have access to free, high-quality music right at our fingertips with the advent of YouTube Audio Library.
The library contains both royalty-free and Creative Commons music tracks that can be used in any video or website, provided they are attributed to the artist.
You’re probably already familiar with YouTube as a video-sharing platform, but did you know it also has its own audio library?
The YouTube Audio Library provides free music that anyone can use in their videos or websites — no attribution required!
If you are a content creator or filmmaker, you might be looking for free music too. You might be wondering if there is any website that provides free audio library like YouTube Audio Library from which you can download free music.
YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing service where users can watch, like, share, comment and upload their own videos. The video service can be accessed on PCs, laptops, tablets and via mobile phones.
8. Audiomack
Audiomack is a free music streaming and discovery app that helps users connect to the hottest new music, right now.
The platform can be accessed on desktop and mobile devices, including both iOS and Android.
With Audiomack, users can search for artists, songs, producers, and more to find new music.
They can also listen to trending songs in their area and see what their friends are listening to through social integration with Facebook.
After listening to songs on Audiomack, users can comment on tracks and share them with friends on other social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook) or through SMS.
The platform is completely free of charge; there are no premium accounts or paid upgrades.
Most importantly, the company’s mission is to improve the lives of artists by providing a platform where they can make their work available to fans anytime and anywhere.
Audiomack also has some great features that make it stand out among other Music streaming platforms out there like SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Last.fm, etc.
Audiomack
Audiomack is an on-demand music streaming and audio discovery platform that allows artists and creators to upload limitless music and podcasts for listeners through its mobile apps and website.
9. Datpiff
DatPiff is a website that allows users to stream and download mixtapes (mixed recordings of music).
It features artists who are both signed and unsigned and includes original works as well as remixes.
DatPiff provides a platform for artists — particularly those with less resources—to share their work with the world.
The site streamlines the process of getting your music out there by taking care of the marketing for you.
DatPiff’s team helps generate buzz for your mixtape by promoting it on social media and blogs, as well as through email blasts to a substantial list of subscribers.
In addition, they feature an artist’s mixtape on their home page if they think it has potential; this can be a huge boost in terms of exposure and downloads.
In addition to promoting artists’ work, DatPiff also features various contests and giveaways.
DatPiff
Description. DatPiff, The largest greatest mixtape library on Android! Stream and Download all the hottest Hip-Hop and R&B from our huge collection of mixtapes. New music updated daily and exclusives from all your favorite artists.
10. Musopen
Musopen music is a website where you can find (and listen to) music, but it’s also so much more.
Musopen is a non-profit organization that provides recordings, sheet music, and other resources to the public for free.
Everything on the site is licensed under Creative Commons, meaning that it can be freely distributed and remixed by anyone for any purpose.
But don’t worry—you don’t need to be a musician to enjoy what Musopen has to offer.
Music lovers of all stripes can benefit from this resource.
Musopen
Musopen Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Tarzana, California, launched by Aaron Dunn in 2005. It aims to “set music free” by providing music to the public free of charge, without copyright restrictions.
11. Soundclick
SoundClick is a music-based social network launched in 1997 to allow artists and bands to promote their music online, as well as sell their songs and albums.
The site was originally called “The Soundclick Music Network,” but was eventually changed to just SoundClick.
SoundClick is a popular website for unsigned artists because it provides musicians with a place to upload and share music with fans, while also allowing them to sell MP3s directly (and keep 100% of the selling price) via an optional pay-to-download feature.
The site has been home to many up-and-coming artists and producers such as Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Webbie, Akon, Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, and many others.
In addition to selling music tracks, the site also offers Flash-based player skins that can be customized by members.
One of SoundClick’s most notable features is the SoundClick Charts. These charts rank songs by popularity in different genres, including:
- rap/hip hop, rock,
- R&B/pop/dance/country,
- metal/hardcore/punk,
- instrumental/beats,
- alternative/experimental/emo,
- Christian,
- and more.
SoundClick
SoundCloud is an online audio streaming and distribution platform that allows users to upload, stream, promote, and share music and podcasts. SoundCloud is free, with paid subscriptions offering ad-free listening and offline listening options for fans.
12. Last.fm
Last.fm is a website and mobile app that tracks your musical taste and makes recommendations based on the artists you already listen to.
Last.fm uses this data to create your “scrobbles,” which are visual representations of your listening habits.
Your scrobbles are made up of individual songs, artists, and albums that you’ve listened to, as well as the frequency with which you’ve listened to them.
You can view your scrobbles in a variety of ways — by artist or album, by playlist, or by chart — and can also explore recommendations based on what other users with similar tastes have listened to.
For example, if you love listening to Taylor Swift but have never heard of Ingrid Michaelson, Last.fm might recommend that you check out her music because many people who like T-Swizzle also like Ingrid and her sweet ‘n’ salty lyrics.
You can also use Last.fm to discover new and trending music through artist charts and music news that’s relevant to your interests.
Last.fm
Last.fm is a global online music service that tracks people’s music listening habits – across many devices/platforms and via its world-class personalized music service – to help them discover and share new music through recommendations, exploration and the integration of social networking tools.
13. Reverbnation
Despite what its name might suggest, ReverbNation is not a nation of people who like to make reverberating noises.
Instead, it’s a platform for musicians to get their music out on the web and potentially get discovered by those who might want to hire them for gigs or sign them to their label.
But how does it work? And is it worth your time and money?
It’s a website where you set up an account and create a profile. Once you’ve made that profile, you can upload music, videos, photos, and bios so that anyone can hear your stuff. ReverbNation offers three basic plans:
- free,
- select, and
- premium.
The free plan allows you to have fans stream your music through ReverbNation widgets (like songs), but they can’t download the song unless they pay for it — or purchase the whole album.
ReverbNation : Artists First
15. Audionautix
Audionautix is a music website founded by Jason Shaw, and it features songs that have been composed and recorded by Jason.
His songs are published under the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY), meaning you can download them and use them however you like, as long as you give credit to Jason.
Audionautix provides various genres of music under the CC-BY license, including country, rock, dance, trance, funk, and many more.
The one thing you cannot use Audionautix songs for is any kind of commercial project.
That includes using it in your YouTube videos if you’re running ads on them. If you’d like to use it for commercials or monetized YouTube videos, contact Jason for a license.
If you do want to use Audionautix music for your non-commercial projects, download the MP3 files from the site and include attribution whenever you use the songs.
Add a credit in the video description field on YouTube or in the credits section at the end of your film or other media project.
You can also add attribution in the form of an audio track that plays during or at the end of your video or project.
Audionautix
Music libraries are companies that represent a large catalog of music for the purposes of securing synchronization licenses (aka “synch licenses” or “sync licenses”). A synch license is needed whenever music is used within an audiovisual production such as a film, tv show, advertisement, video game, etc.
16. Noisetrade
NoiseTrade is a music platform for artists to share their work and for listeners to discover new artists.
It’s free for artists and listeners, but there’s a twist — listeners have the option to pay what they want, either in money or by giving their email address or postal code, which helps the artist collect meaningful data about their fans.
NoiseTrade’s slogan is “music to your inbox” because it includes a newsletter service that allows artists to reach out directly to their fans.
Thousands of Albums. Completely Free. Completely Legal :: NoiseTrade :: Paste Magazine :: NoiseTrade
17. Amazon Free Music Store
Amazon Free Music Store is a promotional website where you can download free songs and albums.
The music is provided by a variety of well-known and up-and-coming artists in many genres, including alternative rock, country, pop, rap and hip-hop, jazz, and more. This article explains how to find the music you want to download from the website.
On the Amazon Free Music Store website, you’ll find a wide range of popular music from well-known artists as well as many new and emerging performers.
The music that’s available changes from time to time as new songs are added or other deals are offered.
If there’s something specific you’d like to download for free but aren’t sure when it will be available, sign up for notifications at Amazon Music Newsletters so you’ll be alerted when that particular artist has free music available.
Amazon Free Music Store
Amazon Music Free provides ad supported access to top playlists and thousands of Stations. Amazon Music Free doesn’t require a subscription or purchase. Unlike Amazon Music Prime and Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Free includes ads.
18. Cctrax
CCTrax is an online music source that carries over 100,000 tracks of music without copyright restrictions.
That means that all of the music you can download for free from CCTrax is legal to distribute, and artists can even remix the work under Creative Commons licenses.
The service offers over 6,000 albums of free and legal music downloads under Creative Commons licenses.
The difference between free and legal is important to note. They have a wide range of electronic, classical, pop, rock, jazz, and ambient music under the Creative Commons license.
You can browse the site by genre or artist. If you are into electronic, for example, you can browse through techno and trance albums. To find a particular album or song, use the search function at the top right of the main page.
The website also includes a blog with plenty of music news and reviews. There are also other ways to get music through CCTrax: they have a mobile app available on iOS and Android as well as a desktop application that will sync your library across all devices.
19. Google Play Store Free Music
Google Play Free Music is the first streaming music service to be integrated with the Google Play Store.
It provides music downloads on the go and lets you listen to your favorite tracks anytime.
For a monthly fee, you can download any song or album in MP3 format and enjoy it wherever you are. You can also save your music for offline playback.
The Google Play Free Music library has over thirty million songs from artists like Adele, Katy Perry, and Bruno Mars.
The Google Play Free Music app has many features such as live streaming radio stations, curated playlists, local file-sharing options, ability to control volume level while playing music, and much more.
The app also allows you to create your own playlists by adding your favorite tracks to queue up next time you want to live in the land of shuffle.
Google Play Store Free Music
Google has made its streaming music service Google Play Music free to use, without a subscription. The catch is that you’ll have to listen to ads, similar to the way free versions of Spotify and Pandora (P) work.
Try Google Play Store Free Music
20. Spinrilla
Spinrilla Music is a music streaming service, available on iOS and Android devices. We like to think of ourselves as the mixtape version of Spotify.
In addition to our exclusive music content such as mixtapes, albums, and singles, we also have a large catalog of major label artists and their official releases.
We’ve got millions of songs for you to stream for free anytime, anywhere!
Spinrilla’s mission is to bring you the best rap music from around the world. We aim to be the most convenient way for you to discover and listen to your favorite hip-hop artists.
Our app has been featured in The New York Times, Mashable, The Fader, and many more!
Spinrilla Music was built by rappers for rap fans in 2008. With over 1 million daily users, they proudly call themselves “The Mixtape King”.
Spinrilla
Spinrilla. Hip-hop enthusiasts can get access to thousands of mixtapes from their favorite artists and DJs with Spinrilla. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, features an offline mode that allows users to listen to mixtapes without internet access.
The Legal Side Of Free Music
The first thing to keep in mind about using free music is that there are certain restrictions on what you can and cannot do with it.
Most of the time these restrictions are clearly spelled out on whatever site the music is from.
However, there are some general rules that apply to all free music: The artist retains all rights to their work. You cannot sell their work or claim it as your own.
You cannot redistribute the work in any way (such as including it on a CD) without permission from the artist.
In most cases, you must give credit to the artist in your project — meaning both verbally and with an on-screen credit
How To Find Music For Projects?
Finding music for projects can be a daunting task. With so many songs to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start.
Luckily, there are many great websites that offer royalty-free music so you don’t have to spend countless hours searching for the right song.
These sites also offer other benefits like high-quality audio and ease of use.
When you’re working on a project, whether it be a movie, television show, video game, or anything else that involves sound, it’s very important to have the right music.
Not just because of the melody and harmony of the composition but also because it has to fit the mood and flow of your piece as well.
I’ll go over some tips for finding music for projects so that you can make your work come alive with the right sounds.
Here are some tips on how to find music for your project:
- Search using specific keywords like “background music”, “instrumental music” or “royalty free”.
- Listen to samples before downloading the full song(s).
This way you’ll know what it sounds like and can make an informed decision about whether or not it’s right for your project.
- Use a website that offers previews (or previews with watermarks) so that you can hear what the songs sound like before downloading them.
- Look for sites with good customer service so if there’s ever an issue, they’ll be able to help you out quickly and easily!
First off, you need to decide what type of music would work best in your project.
For example, if you’re working on a movie about war then there’s no point using upbeat piano pieces unless they’re meant to contrast against images of violence.
On the other hand, if you’re filming something like a love story where two people fall in love despite their differences then perhaps something more lighthearted such as a ukulele would work better here.
Secondly, think about how long can this song last? Is it going to be short or long?
Short songs are usually used only when there’s very little dialogue happening on screen while longer ones tend towards having more talking parts (and therefore more opportunities for leeway).
If there’s lots of dialogue though then perhaps something shorter would suit better otherwise people might get bored listening!
How To Use Stock Music?
If you’re looking to use music in your video, one of the first things you should do is look into stock music.
Stock music is great because it’s usually affordable, there’s a wide variety, and it’s easily accessible.
I mean, you can even listen to it on YouTube! But with so many options, how do you choose?
The key to using stock music for your video is to find the right song for its narrative. When picking a track, keep these three questions in mind:
Is the song appropriate for my audience?Is the song appropriate for my brand?What emotion do I want my viewers to feel?
Keep these questions in mind when choosing a song, and then take the time to evaluate each track before downloading.
You can start by searching tags like “epic” or “funny” that is close to what you think you want.
Then, listen to tracks and narrow down your search based on their tempo, instruments used, and the emotion they evoke.
That way, when you find something that connects with your audience, you’ll know exactly how to use it!
Best Free Music Websites
With the recent explosion of music streaming services, you might be wondering where to get your music fix for free.
The good news is that there are still a few websites out there that let you download music at no cost.
From the list above, we’ve listed our absolute favorites below:
1. Internet Archive
The best thing about the Internet Archive is that it’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free access to all knowledge, including music.
In addition to being completely free and legal, they have a huge library of songs available for download. Everything from classical to rock can be found here.
2. Soundcloud
SoundCloud lets users upload their own music and podcasts for others to listen to. It’s also a great place to find remixes and demos that you won’t hear anywhere else.
Many artists even upload their music here before releasing it on other platforms, so it’s possible you’ll discover your next favorite tune here first!
3. Noisetrade
NoiseTrade has one of the largest libraries of any website on this list with over 600,000 songs available for download in multiple genres ranging from jazz to metal.
They have both individual tracks and full albums from artists such as The National, Neko Case, and Beach House among others. If you
Best Copyright Free Music
Copyright free music is a phrase used to describe music that you can use for free.
There are several ways to use this music:
- You can put it in your videos and monetize them,
- You can use it as background music on your website or while recording a podcast,
- You can create presentations using these songs.
There are a number of things you should be aware of when using copyright free music:
All copyrights belong to their respective owners.You don’t have to pay royalties.You can use the music in any way you want.The songs are mostly under Creative Commons license.You cannot claim that the songs are yours.
Best Music Sites For Free Download – Wrap Up
That’s it, everybody — we hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through the best music sites for free download.
As we said at the beginning, this list is by no means exhaustive, but if you’re looking to get into the habit of downloading music legally and absolutely free of charge, these sites will get you started on the right foot.
Many of them offer a ton of other perks as well, so be sure to check out what else they have in store for you.
We’re sure you’ll find something to keep your ears happy (and your wallet full).
If you don’t know what all the fuss is about, then we should tell you that downloading music for free online is still a big deal.
Many people are looking for free music downloads, and there are a lot of different reasons for it.
Some people might be looking to download music because they don’t want to pay for it, while others might just want to check out new artists or album releases that aren’t available in the local store.
There are a lot of different reasons why people are looking for free music downloads, but there is only one truth – you can get them if you know where to look.
We hope this guide has shown you the way to download free music.
Matt Crawford
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Great info on getting free music for use in videos. Thanks!
Thanks, Pete.
Thanks for sharing this list of music sites! I’ve been looking for a way to legally download music without breaking the bank. I’ll definitely checking out these sites and see what they have to offer. Great post!
Great post! I’m always looking for new ways to legally download music without breaking the bank. Thanks for sharing these top music sites – I’ll definitely be checking them out!
Thanks for the comment
Great list! I’ve been looking for a reliable source to download music legally for free. Thanks for sharing these top music sites. Will definitely give them a try!
Appreciate the comment