Steve PMHPlanning to add music to your YouTube videos?
You’ll need to make sure you’re covered, copyright-wise. One of the biggest concerns of content creators is copyright strikes due to the use of copyright or licensed music. When this happens, your video may either get demonetized or get taken down.
This begs the question: what music can I use on YouTube to prevent these instances?
What Music Can I Use On YouTube?
Content creators aren’t allowed to use copyrighted and licensed music in any of their projects due to copyright laws. Instead, it’s best to use royalty-free music found on YouTube and huge music databases like Pond5 and Foximusic.
There are several channels available for royalty-free music, here are the best 12 ones.
12 Best Websites for Royalty-Free Music
Prevent copyright strikes and demonetization by using the music featured in the websites below:
1. YouTube Audio Library
Let’s start this list off with one of the biggest and most popular free music sources on YouTube: the YouTube Audio Library. This YouTube channel is specifically made to help content creators find No Copyright and Royalty Free Music for their videos.
All of the music found on the YouTube Audio Library channel is 100% free and legal to use on any platform. Furthermore, it contains playlists that are organized by genre, instrument, mood, and duration.
The channel also has “Top 50” videos for when you don’t have time to listen or go through the thousands of videos it has to offer.
You can access this music library by either clicking the link above or directly from your YouTube account. Simply go to Creator Studio, Create, then Audio Library.
If you decide to use any of the music published in YouTube’s Audio Library, don’t forget to leave full links and/or credits in your video’s description box.
YouTube also states that claiming, remixing, or selling said music is strictly prohibited (unless explicit consent by the original artist is given).
2. Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive (FMA) is a website that offers free access and download to openly licensed original music, provided by thousands of independent musicians, curators, and aspiring artists.
FMA founders have been actively compiling and uploading free music on this website since 2009 and continue to receive millions of visitors every month.
The best thing about FMA is that all music found on the website is pre-cleared for certain types of uses. This is great news for YouTube creators who want to follow copyright laws and monetize their videos.
All artist information is listed under the track you’re listening to. If you’re a fan of the music provided by the artist, you can leave a “tip” or send a donation directly to the artist’s PayPal account (which is usually listed on their song profiles).
FMA organizes their music by genre, chart, curator, and even year. If you’re in a rush, quick previews are available.
If you wish to use any of the music found on the FMA website, you’ll find all licensing conditions on the song page of the artist who uploaded the song. Basic contact information is listed on the same page, as well. You don’t need to create an account to download any of the songs.
3. No Copyright Sounds
No Copyright Sounds (NCS) is another big-name YouTube channel that features copyright-free music dedicated to the content creator community. With over 30 million subscribers, it’s one of the most popular free music channels on the platform.
Like YouTube’s official audio library, NCS is also a great source of copyright-free and stream-safe music. All of NCS’s music is cherry-picked from some of the best artists of YouTube and beyond.
The playlists created by NCS are arranged through genre, mood, artist name, and year. It also features several “Best Of” lists, including Best Gaming Music, Best Trap Music, and Best Indie.
Besides crediting the creator’s name in your description box, there are no other special requirements needed to use any of the music on the NCS channel.
4. Bensound
Created by Composer and Musician Benjamin Tissot, Bensound offers royalty-free music for artists and YouTube content creators.
All the tracks found on the website are listed under Creative Commons attribution licenses, which allows you to distribute, copy, or display the work in whatever fashion you wish—as long as proper credit is given.
As Bensound’s music tracks are meant for multimedia projects, creating remixes and using them for music production is prohibited. However, cutting, fading, or editing the length of the music is A-OK.
Most of the tracks found on Bensound are free to download. However, special subscription options are also available.
For instance, its Standard subscription allows you to download tracks only available for purchase and receive a license certificate that authorizes you to use said tracks without needing to add credits (valid forever).
On the other hand, extended subscriptions allow you to use the music in web adverts, TV, and the like, just in case you decide to create a website for your YouTube channel.
Music found on the website can be sorted by genre, popularity, and length.
5. HookSounds
HookSounds is an exclusive, world-class royalty-free music site that offers original tracks composed by some of the best artists found online.
Some of the music found on this website has been used by big-name companies, such as Disney, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and more, making it a favored option for many creators.
This website garnered its popularity by working with skilled musicians who create high-quality, non-generic music with distinctive sounds unique to the artist’s name. You can also find thousands of sound effects along with the music.
You can get full access to HookSounds after registering for a monthly or annual package for a small cost. This fee is given to support the artists who curate and upload their music to the website.
6. Looperman
Looperman is a pro-audio resource website that offers free loops, sound effects, and tracks. Individual tracks are found through detailed user tags, such as the song’s BPM, key, loop type, and even MP3 file size.
This is great for users who have ultra-specific music requirements for their videos. Music and loops are organized through genres, stats, categories, and software used.
You’ll need to create a free account before you can download any of the tracks, but once you do, you’ll have access to thousands of free files to use for your YouTube videos.
7. IncompeTech
If you’re an aspiring YouTube creator, you’ve surely heard of Kevin MacLeod. After all, he’s one of the most popular royalty-free music creators on YouTube and has created music pieces such as Sneaky Snitch, Scheming Weasel, and The Cannery.
IncompeTech, run by Kevin MacLeod, is where he uploads all 2,000+ of his music tracks and audio files.
You can use the music found in IncompeTech for YouTube videos, streaming sites, live productions, and more, as long as proper credit is given.
All of his music is free to use and download, but you can get an Extended license for a fixed price to receive licensing documents and use said music without attribution.
8. ccMixter
ccMixter is a global music community with over 45,000 musicians and music creators around the world.
Despite its minimalistic website design, ccMixter houses some of the world’s biggest royalty-free audio tracks and records. Plus, it hosts monthly remix events wherein the ccMixter community creates libraries and samples centered around the monthly theme.
Most of ccMixter’s music is free to use under Creative Commons. The website also offers several playlists for you to browse.
You can search for the music you want according to genre, instrument, BPM, and date. You can pick the license you’d like to use, as well, whether it be “free for commercial use” or “royalty-free ccPlus license.”
If you’re looking for something ultra-specific, you can use the digccMixter option, where you can search for certain music using tags and filters.
9. Pond5
Pond5 is one of the best websites for content creators who create videos that require stock-footage and royalty-free music.
You’ll find a great source of sound effects and tracks in the “Music” option on the website’s upper right corner. Once there, you’ll be able to search for music based on genre, mood, instrument, and other keywords. You can also use the “Explore” option for libraries and more.
Music and stock-footage sometimes require a small fee to download, but there’s a decent selection that’s 100% free. To find free tracks, simply scroll to the bottom of the filter options and check “Public Domain.”
All music (and video!) in this section is licensed under Creative Commons. You can start downloading tracks once you create an account.
10. Artlist
Artlist claims to be the “best music license in the world,” and honestly, that may not be too far from the truth! This website was previously used by companies like Netflix, Ikea, Nike, and Google for various purposes, including commercial use.
On Artlist, there’s no limitation on how and where you can use the music you download. You can even use it for film festivals and cinema productions if you wish. Furthermore, it also has a large selection of high-quality and realistic sound effects to use on videos.
With an account, you can download free watermarked song previews. If you subscribe to their annual package, you’ll unlock unlimited downloads and unlimited use.
11. Foximusic
Foximusic is a music production house that offers thousands of copyright-clear music. For a small price, Foximusic allows users to use a selected number of tracks on an unlimited basis.
Similar to Artlist, you can use the music you’ve purchased in any way you like. This includes global advertising, TV/Radio broadcast, and, of course, YouTube videos!
Music found on Foximusic is organized according to genre, mood, price, and popularity. You will also find a “collections” tab that’s hand-curated by Foximusic’s support team.
12. Mixkit
Mixkit is a massive library of over 54 million royalty-free music, stock videos, photos, templates, and more—all of which are invaluable to a YouTube creator. Most of the content on Mixkit is 100% free to use and download. Attribution or credit are not required, either.
Best of all, you don’t need to create an account to download or use the music and content found on the website.
You’re only limited to the amount of music you can download per day, but you can subscribe to their Unlimited plans for an exceptional price. For millions of creative digital assets, I’d say it’s worth it! Mixkit also offers some nifty editor kits and packs free of charge.
How Can I Legally Use Copyrighted Music On YouTube?
If you’re not a big fan of royalty-free music and want to use copyrighted music instead, there are some guidelines you need to follow. These are as follows:
Get Approval From the Original Creator
If you want to legally use copyrighted music on one of your YouTube videos, you’ll first need to get approval from the original music creator. This can be done by leaving them a comment on their YouTube video or sending them a message directly via YouTube inbox or email.
As long as permission is granted and proper credit is given, you may use their music in your YouTube video.
Get a License for the Song
Getting the approval of big-time music creators is oftentimes a long and lengthy process. Furthermore, there’s a chance that the creator may not respond to your messages or refuse your requests directly.
If this happens, you may want to find a way to properly license the song of choice. Not all songs have this option, but if they do, licensing information is usually written on the creator’s YouTube “about” page or official website.
Licensing a song may require you to pay a fee as a small compensation for a creator’s work. However, it’s important to keep in mind that purchasers have limited rights to use the creator’s work without a separate agreement.
Therefore, if you want to use the creator’s music for more than standard background purposes, you still need to directly contact the music owner.
