Content creation feels dull without the right music, be it a BG (background music), intro, or an end note. In this blog, we list down 10 best music websites that can provide you with a wide range of royalty-free music, sounds, effects, and more that are suitable for content creators from every genre, language, category, and style.
Here are the 10 Best Royalty Free Music Websites:
1. YouTube Audio Library:
The list cannot start and end without the mention of YouTube Audio Library, which contains 100% royalty-free collection of music and sound effects for absolutely FREE. It comes directly within the YouTube studio, a clear advantage for content creators just getting started. All music and sound effects can be used in monetised videos without worrying about copyright strikes and takedowns.
Sound effects are available based on moods, genres, duration, and more. Although at times the quality cannot be compared to the paid websites but the accessibility cannot be matched by any other service provider.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Free
- Licensing: Attribution required for some tracks
- Pros: Easily Available,100% royalty-free & easy integration of YouTube videos
- Cons: YT is specific only, and Tracks may sound too generic
- Website: Accessible through YT Studio after login
2. Premium Beat by Shutterstock:
The name needs no introduction. Shutterstock is a market leader when it comes to stock pictures, vectors, and videos, so how can they be behind in sound?
Premium Beat offers a vast library of premium soundtracks and music specially curated for the needs of content creators. These royalty-free tracks are available either through a single purchase or a subscription model. All content available on Premium Beat comes with usage rights clearly mentioned, making it one of the 1st hand choices for corporate and large-scale production & media houses.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Paid | Starting from $9.99/month
- Licensing: A Wide variety available, starting from single track, monthly subscription, commercial or broadcast usage.
- Pros: Professional Approach
- Cons: Can be expensive for certain usages.
- Website: https://www.premiumbeat.com/
3. MixKit:
Another major player in the royalty-free music domain that offers a wide variety of copyright-free sounds, tracks, music, sound effects, etc, for absolutely no hidden costs, yes, it's totally FREE. Even the majority of soundtracks do not require attribution or mention in the video description.
If you are just getting started with content creation and need a music library that provides copyright-free music for multi-platform usage, i.e, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X (previously Twitter), at no upfront costs, then Mix Kit is the perfect choice for you. Also available through an Evanto subscription for more stock assets.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Free
- Licensing: Free for both personal and commercial usage without the need for attribution or mention
- Pros: Best for starters, as it is absolutely free and offers a wide library of royalty-free music for multiplatform usage
- Cons: Tracks can sound too generic
- Website: https://mixkit.co/
4. Pixabay Music:
You may think Pixabay is only for images, but once you explore their music section, be prepared for surprises. Another website where you get 100% free royalty-free music for content creators.
The collection ranges from Lo-fi Jazz, EDM, folk, and you can explore the collections across mood, category, duration, and more.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Free
- Licensing: Free for both personal and commercial usage
- Pros: Great UI and easy to filter music based on your requirements
- Cons: Majorly YT specific
- Website: https://pixabay.com/
5. Free Music Archive:
100% royalty-free music collection across genres, mood, category, and more. Has an easy-to-navigate and user-friendly interface that is best recommended for starting content creators. It also has a PRO model where you get top-class soundtracks from artists across the world.
The free plan is available for download and experimental usage with attribution. In the PRO plan (via tribes of noise), you can download soundtracks for use in YT and other social media platforms for content creation usage without worrying about copyright strikes.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Free + Paid
- Licensing: Available with Creative Commons, attribution required. In the PRO plan royalty royalty-free music is available for monetised videos.
- Pros: Wide collection across genres
- Cons: Licensing is a bit confusing with 2 plans
- Website: https://freemusicarchive.org/ | Paid: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/
6. Audio Jungle by Envato Market:
The sound collection is available alongside a library of stock videos, images, web templates, and more on Envato Elements. It’s a marketplace for content creators where they can get everything royalty-free in one place, a win-win for creators who can afford the initial upfront cost. The licensing comes with an option to pay only for the rights you will be using w.r.t a particular asset.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Paid | Starting from $1
- Licensing: Available for all types of commercial usage, with an option to pay for the rights based on usage
- Pros: One-stop marketplace with a huge library, flexible licensing
- Cons: Comes at a cost, and the options can be overwhelming for beginners
- Website: https://audiojungle.net/
7. Pond5:
As per buzz amongst the creators, Pond5 is amongst the best in the list of royalty-free music websites. It offers flexible purchasing models with the option to pay per asset used. This helps creators looking for sound assets for a single project to download copyright-free tracks without the need to pay a monthly fee. A first-of-its-kind offering in this space, Pond5 offers its customers a subscription plan to rollover unused downloads. Powered by Shutterstock
Key Points:
- Pricing: Paid | Starting from $250 for $25 credit
- Licensing: Standard Licence for personal and commercial usage
- Pros: Flexible Buying Options with rollover policy
- Cons: Requires buying credit packs and an annual subscription for better value
- Website: https://www.pond5.com/
8. Soundstripe:
Offers a wide collection of royalty-free music for modern creators and videographers. Soundstripe comes with PremierPro integration and an AI-powered search assistant to assist you in selecting the right track for your project. Another notable feature is a YouTube clearance tool for hassle-free editing to monetise videos.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Paid | Starting from $49
- Licensing: Tiered licensing for personal and commercial usage
- Pros: Clear information w.r.t licensing
- Cons: Best value is delivered only when you subscribe to the annual plan
- Website: https://app.soundstripe.com/
9. Adobe Stock Audio:
Comes integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud and offers access to a library of varied royalty-free tracks along with other assets, programs, and more under 1 platform.
The biggest advantage is the integration with Adobe Premiere Pro, thereby helping creators search for the right track directly from the program without switching websites or applications. All assets are licensed under Adobe terms and are available to use under a subscription, credit system for single or multi-project use.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Paid | Starting from $29.99/month
- Licensing: Standard Adobe Licensing for single or multiple usage
- Pros: Easy Integration with Adobe Cloud Apps
- Cons: Expensive and not ideal for starters
- Website: https://stock.adobe.com/in/audio
10. BenSound:
Created by composer Benjamin Tissot, the collection feels handcrafted with lots of acoustics, lounge tunes, jazz, and business-friendly royalty-free tracks that sound professional and soothing for your projects.
It provides a mix of free (attribution required) + paid plans for large commercial projects. Easy to access UI with a simple and sweet-to-the-ear music collection.
Key Points:
- Pricing: Free + Paid | Starting from 9€/month
- Licensing: Attribution required for free collection and licensing fee for commercial works.
- Pros: Handcrafted Music that’s perfect for your brand
- Cons: Limited collection compared to other paid websites.
Website: https://www.bensound.com/
