You have the perfect video script, the recording went well, but during the editing process, you notice something is missing: the music. However, you already know the YouTube audio library by heart and have a hard time finding what you need on other royalty free music websites. Luckily, there are plenty of YouTube musicians that have decided to grant other YouTubers the right to use their music for their YouTube videos for free. A lot of these tracks are “fresh” and haven’t been used as much as many of the other tracks from royalty free libraries.
Disclaimer: although these channels offer royalty free music in general, please check each individual video for which rights the creators grants you and whether you have to credit them. Many of the tracks are free specifically for the use in YouTube videos. If you want to use the tracks in somewhere else (for example a game), make sure you have the permission first to avoid legal trouble.
1. RoyalTrax
RoyalTrax offers a selection of royalty free electronic music from different artists. Their tracks have a high production value and are fun to listen to even if you don’t have a YouTube channel. Many tracks of the selection are melodic and intense and would be perfect for all kinds of video montages.
2. Ross Bugden
Ross Bugden creates royalty free music that could easily be used in an epic movie or adventure game. His tracks are extremely atmospheric and beautifully melodic. Many of his songs can be used outside of YouTube as well. Ross Bugden has also published a selection of uplifting tracks that could be used in inspirational videos and vlogs, for example. Here my favorite one:
3. NoCopyrightSounds
To quote NoCopyrightSounds: “NoCopyrightSounds is a music collective dedicated to releasing FREE music for the sole purpose of providing creators with the finest sounds to enhance the creativity and popularity of your content.” They offer a wide array of electronic music tracks that come from genres such as dubstep and hardstyle. Most of their music is very energetic and could be the perfect choice for gaming content as well as fast-paced video montages. NoCopyrightSounds upload new videos regularly – so make sure to subscribe to their channel if you don’t want to miss the latest tracks.
4. ZeroCopyrightMusic
ZeroCopyrightMusic is another royalty free music channel that focuses on electronic music. What makes ZeroCopyrightMusic different from other electronic music channels is that the tracks are less on the energetic and intense side and more on the chilled-out, slow-paced side. This makes them the ideal background score for many vlogs.
5. OurMusicBox
OurMusicBox is the channel by composer Jay Man, who has created more than 5,000 tracks from a wide array of genres and is now uploading them on his YouTube channel. All of Jay Man’s tracks are licensed under Creative Commons and only require you to credit and link to him. Besides offering full tracks, he has also created many short jingles that can be used for channel intros. What’s special about Jay Man’s OurMusicBox is that his music is extremely diverse and are even suited for corporate videos or more filmic work.
6. Free Songs To Use
Free Songs To Use uploads electronic music from genres such as house, progressive, melodic, tropical, future house, big room, trap, chill step, drumstep, dubstep and hip hop. The selection is curated well and has a high production value. Many of the tracks are very melodic and fun to listen to by themselves. At the moment, the channel is uploading new tracks almost every day.
7. Creative Commons kingdom
Creative Commons kingdom is curating creative commons music from all kinds of different composers and sources. While a lot of their tracks fall in the electronic category, there are some notable exceptions with orchestral, acoustic and pop arrangements. Here is an example:
8. Argofox
Argofox is another YouTube channel that focuses on royalty free electronic music. Many of the tracks are perfectly suited for vlog-style videos and video montages and some even for corporate use. Argofox uploads new videos every week and has more than 200 videos.
9. myuu
myuu’s channel is all about “dark” music. His pieces are a perfect fit for dark dramas, horror films, games and horror-style YouTube channels. While all of this music is dark and atmospheric, his arrangements vary: piano, orchestra, guitar and electronic soundscapes are blended together to creep out you and your viewers.
10. HolFix
HolFix makes music “for everyone to enjoy and use for free.” Their tracks fall under many different categories, such as solo piano, chiptune, electronic and orchestral. Make sure to credit HolFix when you use one of their tracks. This one would be a great fit for many vlogs or explainer videos, for example:
11. Spike’s Vibes
Spike from Spike’s Vibes is mostly creating hip hop beats, many of them „chill-out“, some of them darker and tenser. Especially the more relaxing tracks in the collection would work great in many vlogs. All of his music is royalty-free if you credit him with a link to his channel.
More Royalty Free Music Channels?
Did I miss anything? If you know any other channels that offer royalty free music or have a channel yourself where you’re offering YouTubers free use of your music, let me know in the comments!
Thank you for sharing. My favorite royalty free music site is http://www.freemusicpublicdomain.com
very informative article, thank you for adding http://www.filmtv-tracks.com/
another great source for royalty free music
Hi, I have just started a Youtube channel with copyright-free long background music loops, mostly relaxing video loops. Music and Video is original and copyright free. Many more yet to come. All you need to do is leave a like if you liked it 😉
Hey John, that’s great! What’s the URL to your channel?
I think you can also add Music Paradise Pro app to the list. This application is a great source of royalty free music. You can get it from http://musicparadiseproapp.com
Hey Anna, I just started a royalty free music channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmahyHz6Kcm7hJXaQ7Namdg
Would be great if you added it to the list. I will be uploading new music thrice a week. It would also give my channel a little boost.
Ross Bugden & Creative Commons kingdom is my favorite. beside these I use royalty free music apps. Thanks
Some amazing ones here using artists I use as well, My channel is Checknewmusicout (CNMO) and we have plenty of royalty free tracks also
Here there is a choice of different styles of royalty free music. it can be suitable for your project. http://audioluck.com
Hi Anna,
Thak you for the great stuff. This is my favorite one for royalty free music and even for free music: https://www.musicscreen.org it’s from an indie composer, the YouTybe Chanel is also very nice: https://www.youtube.com/user/Musiquelibre2droit