View Static Version

Background Music An incomplete guide to a complicated subject

Things to Know

Assume You Can't Use It: Licensing and Clearances

In most modern music there are actually two copyrights to be aware of: one for the musical composition, notes, or lyrics and another for the actual performance and recording. Where many people go wrong is they assume having the clearance for one gives them freedom to use the other.

Copyright does not apply to the composition of Beethoven's 5th Symphony; it is in the public domain. However, if you chose to use the very popular version by the London Symphony Orchestra, you would be breaking the performance and recording copyright.

CC, Royalty-Free, and Public Domain to the RESCUE!

Do not worry, you have options! There are several licensing structures that give artists the ability to share their work and allow you to use it:

  • Creative Commons (CC) has many different sub-classes and but is usually free to use with some restrictions and attribution. Most of the resources I will point you to will have some variation of CC licensing. There are many variations of CC licenses with different requirements for attribution and restrictions on use. Always check the licensing language from the creator to see if it falls within your use-case.
  • Royalty-Free is not always cost free but when you purchase a Royalty-Free license you are generally granted the non-exclusive right to use that audio without having to pay additional costs to the copyright holder.
  • Public Domain is the least restrictive, but finding things in public does not mean that you have domain to use them. If it is not explicitly listed as public domain, you should assume it that it is not; no sound recordings have entered the Public Domain because of copyright expiration (as of 2020). More info on copyright duration for musical works here.
Always double-check each track's licensing

Resources

Below you will find a list of sites I recommend in the order I recommend them. The first bullet point will link you to the music resources and the second bullet point will link to the license page, if available. Additional information is included that you may find helpful when choosing which sites to use. Free resources often take a hit in quality and some hosting sites are easier to search than others, so manage your expectations. If you aren't vibing with a particular resource don't spend much time on it move on to the next one. Note: Sound effects resources can be found at the bottom of this list.

Pixabay

MixKit.co

BenSound

TakeTones

Audionauti

Fesliyan Studios

NoCopyrightSound

  • https://ncs.io/music
  • https://ncs.io/usage-policy
  • No-login for download
  • Filter by genre, mood and a toggle for tracks with instrumental versions
  • Really high quality music
  • Instrumental version is often a version of a song with lyrics and the lyrical version is the only one that can be previewed you have to click the download button to get a download of the instrumental version.
  • It looks like the site is going through a redesign so some broken links and other odd other bugs might pop up on you.

Musopen

  • https://musopen.org/music/
  • Each track has link to license
  • Filter by composer, instrument, historical time period, mood, length, ratings and Licenses
  • High-quality downloads require paid membership; all tracks are available in standard-quality
  • Account required for download
  • This site is specifically targeted towards classical music
  • Includes free downloads of sheet music for those of you that want to play the music yourself

Youtube AudioLibrary

  • https://studio.youtube.com/ Login then click Audio Library on side menu.
  • Pre-cleared for YouTube use (i.e., YouTube's bots won't copyright strike this music)
  • Licenses for use outside of YouTube are unclear
  • Account required for download
  • Filter by Mood, Genre, Duration, and more

Purple Planet

FMA

Freeplaymusic

CCMixter

CCtrax

  • https://cctrax.com/
  • License on each album page
  • No-Login for download
  • Filter by License, Genre, Tag
  • Genres focused more towards electronic, jazz and modern classical

NetLabels

  • https://archive.org/details/netlabels?tab=collection
  • Licensing info available on each item
  • No-Login for download
  • Search and Filter are not as intuitive as other sources; it might be more complicated finding something useful for specific needs. But if you're just browsing it's worth checking out
  • This is a collection from The Internet Archive, an expansive digital library preserving significant websites and other digital cultural artifacts, millions of which are in the public domain

EDM Royalty Free

  • https://edmroyaltyfree.net/
  • License info at bottom of page
  • Login-requited to go through check-out even with free items
  • Music focused on Electronic Dance Music some of the songs are tagged with Premium and require purchase of at least a standard license

FreeSound.org

BBC Sound Effects Library

  • http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/
  • Extensive high-quality sound effects library
  • Usage license info is at the top of the page
  • Account required for download
  • Filter by Category (e.g. "crowds", "footsteps", "factories", etc.)
  • The best free resource for sound effects

This guide was created by Scott Barnes - Digital Media Specialist at the Sanford Media Center. If you have more questions or need help bringing your multimedia projects to life, don't hesitate to contact us.

NextPrevious