Decades ago, downloading music was the best option for enjoying your favourite music. Back then, broadband internet was a preserve for a few who could afford the prohibitive costs associated with having fast internet speeds.
As a result, streaming online music was not popular and the go-to solution was to download music on your device and listen at a later time.
Nowadays, high-broadband internet connectivity and the proliferation of smart devices have made streaming online music a seamless and immersive experience. With only a few clicks or taps on your PC or smartphone, you can enjoy hours of high-quality and uninterrupted music.
Still, there’s a demographic that prefers enjoying offline music which, sometimes, is convenient especially when navigating areas with no internet coverage.
In this guide, we explore 16 free and legal websites you can visit and legally download free music.
Things to Consider Before Download Music
Before downloading music, it’s crucial to consider several factors:
- Licensing and Legality – One of the critical factors to consider is the licensing model of the music platform. Ensure that the download license covers the music track’s use: whether personal or commercial.
- Copyright Compliance – Check that the music is not infringing on any copyright laws. Respect the rights of artists and creators.
- Quality and Format – When choosing a place to download music, think about the format and quality. Pick a platform that offers good-quality audio, usually in MP3 format.
- Source Reputation – Download music from reputable sources to minimize the risk of malware, viruses, or other security threats.
Let’s delve into the best platforms and resources that offer free music downloads while in compliance with license agreements and copyright regulations.
1. YouTube Audio Library
The YouTube Audio Library is an awesome site for getting free music for your videos. It’s like having access to a wealth of amazing songs and sound effects to use for your videos without worrying about violating any copyright laws.
What’s cool about the YouTube Audio library is that you don’t need to credit the source of the music in your videos. It’s like a secret guideline that makes everything simple for you. Additionally, if you’re a part of the YouTube Partner Programme, you may profit from the music in your videos.
But remember that, despite how great this YouTube Audio Library is, you still need to be cautious while interacting with music from other sites. It’s like when borrowing toys from your friends, you need to follow their rules to maintain a good relationship.
So the YouTube Audio library can be compared to a fantastic and easy-to-use site where you can access music for your videos. Just remember to follow the rules and maintain a good relationship.
2. Free Music Archive (FMA)
To get amazing music for your podcasts, films, and other media projects for free, visit the Free Music Archive (FMA). It can be compared to a veritable gold mine of independently produced creative music from all around the world. You can listen to and download these songs for your use or to add other creative works of your own such as podcasts, movies, games, and videos.
FMA prioritizes the worth and respect of artists and creators. It provides music under Creative Commons licenses, enabling you to download and use it without restriction provided you abide by the license’s specific conditions. This has made access to music for your projects easy while supporting the artists behind the songs.
One FMA’s of best features is that it allows independent musicians and content providers to interact and grow together. It is like being a part of a large global community brought together by creativity and value for cooperation. Selecting music from FMA not only enhances your projects but also helps musicians reach their goals while growing their careers.
In conclusion, the Free Music Archive is unquestionably a great choice if you’re seeking a site to find and download free, legal music for your creative works.
3. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a valuable resource that provides free music for your projects. It’s like an enormous playground with music created by artists from around the world. Most of the songs that are available for download and listening for free.
One of its greatest features is that it is a platform that allows artists, whether big or small, to share their music with listeners and other creators directly. This means that a broad range of musical genres, including pop, rock, electronic, and hip-hop, are available on this platform. You may also interact with the artists by liking, reposting, and sharing their music as a way to express your support.
Even though not all of the music on SoundCloud is provided for free to use in your projects, you are still able to use a lot of artists’ songs for free as long as you give them credit.
It means that if you use someone else’s song or music in your content, you may need to credit the artist and the song title. It’s like offering an appreciation to the musician for allowing you to use their song.
Thus, SoundCloud is an excellent way to discover and locate music that inspires your creative vision if you’re looking for a wide variety of music and are willing to give credit to talented musicians.
4. Bensound & Incompetech
Are you looking for royalty-free music for your project? Then Incompetech and Bensound are your ultimate go-to resources, as they provide an extensive range of royalty-free music fit for all kinds of uses.
Incompetech was established by Kevin MacLeod to offer an extensive library of music that is royalty-free and suitable for a variety of uses.
These websites provide a wide range of music options so you can advance your artistic endeavors without worrying about copyright violations.
5. Musopen
Musopen is a valuable tool for getting royalty-free music for a wide range of use cases including video games, independent films, and YouTube videos.
It’s easy to explore, listen to, and download music for artistic uses with the tool’s ability to browse music by composer, performer, instrument, tag, form, or period.
Musopen offers content creators a convenient and lawful resource in that any music uploaded on the platform is free of copyright and royalties.
You can use the platform and peruse its extensive collection of royalty-free music to boost your project without worrying about copyright violations.
6. Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a great resource for accessing a variety of digital information, such as books, music, movies, and software, is the Internet Archive, which is a useful tool for education, and entertainment as users can access and explore a large variety of content.
By enabling users to access and preserve digital content, the platform guarantees that priceless content will be accessible to future generations. The Internet Archive is a treasure of freely available digital content, whether you’re searching for rare music recordings, vintage books, or historical records.
7. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a music portal through which independent musicians may directly share and sell their songs to listeners.
It acts as a venue for artists to display their work in a wide range of genres, and styles, and fans can find and support their favorite upcoming artists by buying music and merchandise.
Thanks to its intuitive design and artist-focused approach, Bandcamp has gained popularity among music fans and creators too.
8. Audio Library
Content creators looking to access a wide variety of royalty-free music and sound effects can do so with the help of the Audio Library platform.
This platform enables users to quickly locate the ideal soundtrack or sound effects for their podcasts, videos, and other creative content by exploiting its wide range of audio resources.
Thanks to the platform’s simple user interface, artists are able to explore the collection and download their desired audio assets without having to worry about violating copyright regulations. Users have the ability to browse music by mood and artists, as well as by genres such as dance, hip-hop, cinematic, and more.
Furthermore, Audio Library gives companies and brands the option to license their music for use in commercial projects. For content creators looking for high-quality, royalty-free audio content for their projects, this portal is a valuable resource.
9. CCMixter
CCMixter, is a thriving community music website, that offers a venue for sharing and creating open music along with encouraging remix culture. This site is a global network of over 45,000 musicians, it invites people to join the mix version in their forums by providing a wide range of remixes, samples, and pells.
The music on the site is available for free for non-commercial use as long as correct attribution is given, thanks to the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License. Remarkably, commercial usage is permitted for music licensed under CC-BY as long as proper credit is given.
The community came together to create extensive libraries of pells, samples, and fully produced tracks centered around colorful themes for previous remix events hosted by ccMixter, including Songs of Solidarity, Magic Hours Secret Mixter, and Whale Songs Remix Event.
Furthermore, users have access to freely licensed music on ccMixter for usage in a variety of their content, such as podcasts, games, apps, and videos.
The platform’s dedication to assisting musicians, producers, and listeners is demonstrated by its revised Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which takes into account contemporary international standards and best practices.
All things considered, ccMixter is a great tool for users looking for excellent, freely licensed music and for building a supportive, cooperative music community.
10. Jamendo Music
Jamendo Music is a website that offers a wide selection of songs from various genres and free music downloads. It functions as a music streaming site where users may listen to and download songs for free.
This website is useful to all lovers of music as independent musicians can upload their songs for public listening. It is a great resource because it offers a wide variety of songs in several genres.
Furthermore, Jamendo Music offers free mp3 downloads and offline and online music listening, making it a convenient and approachable platform for music fans.
The platform is made up of a community that treasures Indie music and supports over 40,000 independent musicians worldwide. Users can search for music by album, artist, track, genre, theme, and mood, making music discovery and access easy.
11. Pixabay
Pixabay is a thriving creative community that shares royalty-free photos, movies, audio files, and other resources. Pixabay’s safety is guaranteed since it releases all of its content under the Content License, even for specific commercial purposes without needing permission or giving credit to the creator.
You can access numerous high-quality photographs, videos, and music which are added nearly on a daily basis. Additionally, Pixabay offers an easy-to-use interface that lets users access an extensive variety of content and control their submissions.
The website has grown to be a valuable tool for individuals looking for free resources for their creative. Interestingly, Pixabay first made its photos available under the CCO declaration, which deeds content into the public domain.
12. Last.fm
Using Last.fm platform users can scrobble everything they listen to from any Spotify app on any platform or device by connecting their Spotify account to Last.fm, a music recommendation service.
The platform connects its user’s musical worlds by integrating their preferred music services and enabling sharing, watching, and listening. Users can interact with the global community of Last.fm’s listening habits and trends in real-time.
Furthermore, Last.fm provides an app that lets users monitor the music they stream and access charts, data, and customized listening reports while on the road.
The app lets users explore listening history, browse tags, artists, and related content, and also access listening records for the previous week and year, as well as personal artists, albums, and track charts.
Last.fm is easily accessible on social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where users can remain updated on the latest features and news related to the platform.
13. BeatStars
BeatStars is an online marketplace for music producers that allows them to license, sell, and give away beats. It allows the download and sharing of beats by recording artists and composers all around the world.
BeatStars is a community of over 10 million creators that provides access to an extensive collection of over 8 million type beats, instrumentals, hooks, and sound kits in a range of genres, including hip-hop, drill, trap, R&B, and more.
BeatStars guarantees smooth incorporation into customers’ workflows by being compatible with popular recording applications such as FL Studio, Ableton, Cubase, Pro Tools, and more.
14. Audiomack
Audiomack, the free, unrestricted music-sharing and discovery platform gives authority to labels, fans, tastemakers, and artists. Its other features available to authors for no cost include private links, advanced statistics, and limitless storage.
Through its iOS and Android apps, users can find and download music that is trendy and charting, use less data, and download songs for offline listening. Additionally, Audiomack provides a label advertising system that enables musicians to earn money from their back library and attract millions of new listeners.
Audiomack provides RSS feeds to power podcasts even without having a premium account, along with free, unlimited storage. Several features are available for users to explore, such as playlists with meticulously selected beats from various genres, including reggae, hip hop, Amapiano, Rap, Latin, EDM, R&B, and Afrobeats.
The premium subscription option feature provided on this site helps to support the artists that customers watch and access extra content.
15. Amazon
Amazon is your best option if you are looking to enjoy music and wish to download songs for free. You’re at the right place because they have an extensive collection of songs in many genres that you can download lawfully.
By exploring them on Amazon, you might find songs by your favorite musicians or find new ones altogether. Additionally, you may listen to the music offline, so you have the opportunity to enjoy your favorite songs even when there is no online connection.
It’s an enjoyable and secure method of getting free music and supporting the artists at the same time.
16. ReverbNation
ReverbNation is an online platform that helps artists showcase their work and take advantage of opportunities in the music business. It offers tools and resources made to assist musicians get more exposure, performing live, and even being paid.
ReverbNation is a dedicated crew that listens to thousands of songs each week and selects the most suitable ones to offer to artists. It features a large range of musical genres and promotes independent musicians worldwide.
ReverbNation collaborates with APM Music to make excellent music from industrious musicians. Additionally, the platform has features such as Band Equity, a popularity metric that takes into account reach, influence, accessibility, and recentness. ReverbNation is an excellent tool for musicians wishing to advance their careers and reach a larger audience.
You can learn more about ReverbNation and its features on their official website and through their app available on the App Store.
Can I use downloaded music for commercial purposes?
Definitely, Music that you download from different platforms might be used for business purposes. These platforms provide royalty-free music, which can be used in commercial projects and can be done without losing sleep over any legal issues. They offer easy access to excellent music for a range of creative interests.
Conclusion
These platforms serve a diverse variety of users, such as musicians looking to contribute their works, content creators looking for royalty-free music, and music lovers discovering new sounds it’s a breeze.
There’s a world of music just waiting for you to discover, collaborate with others, and create. Embrace the boundless possibilities and let the music move you.
You might also try MusicRevolution that has over 90,000 tracks online with new music being added all the time. Single tracks start at just $9.99.
We have also created a page of royalty-free music tracks that are absolutely free to use for your film, documentary, animation or other commercial applications.