Podcasting 101
Where To Get Music For Podcast
Let’s be real—good music, catchy jingles, and funky sound effects can instantly level up your podcast game. They’re not just mean to fill silence, they also help set the tone of your show and keep your listeners fully engaged.
But here’s the deal… you can’t just grab your favorite songs off of Spotify or Apple Music and call it a day. Thanks to copyright laws not all pieces are up for grabs and the LAST thing you want is legal trouble. But, no need to worry! There are plenty of websites out there that offer royalty-free music just for podcasters like you.
Need help finding that perfect track? That’s what we’re here for! Today, we’re sharing a round up where to get music for podcasts so you don’t have to do the digging yourself. From a mix of free and paid platforms, you can find the perfect vibe to fit your show. Let’s dive in!
Where To Get Music For Podcast
Pixabay
Pixabay is a completely free source of royalty-free photos, music, and videos. All of their content is protected by the Pixabay License, meaning it’s already approved for commercial use with no attribution required. You can find theme songs, outro songs, quick jingles or swift transitions—the world is your oyster.
Youtube Audio Library
The best thing about Youtube Audio Library is that it’s constantly being updated with new, royalty-free music by creatives just like yourself. There, you can also find non-copyrighted music and music made especially for vlogs and podcasts. Youtube Audio Library is also a free source of music, no credit card necessary. It’s a great resource for any genre and mood of music you may be searching for.
Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive is an excellent place to find royalty-free and ‘free to download’ music. The basic version is completely free and suits situations most just fine. But, the pro version offers premium content that could really set your podcast apart. Check out their available licenses to see which plan is right for you!
Incompetech
If finding a versatile, user-friendly site for podcast music is your goal, then look no further! Incompetech’s simple search bar allows users to filter music based on the feel of the music, the genre, the tempo, and the length. You’ll find what you need in no time. If you don’t mind paying a little, you can check out their “standard license fee.” Keep in mind, this license is typically for platforms where you don’t want to (or can’t) credit the music, so you can probably just stick with the free version and be totally set.
Soundcloud
Soundcloud boasts that it is the world’s largest music and audio platform, meaning their variety and selection of music is top notch. To see if Soundcloud works for you, start by signing up for the free account! They’re constantly updating and adding royalty-free music for you to enjoy, so it’s hard to run out options.
Dig By CCMixter
Dig By CCMixter is a great place to find podcast music, theme music, and background music. Just remember that one of the main rules for using the free music for podcasts provided by Dig is that you must give credit to the artist (but this also goes for a lot of other platforms, so no stress.) Artists upload their music, you download and put it onto your podcast, and roll the credits! Voila, done.
Fugue Music
Fugue music has a plethora of music categories, with thousands of different music, sounds, and background noises to choose from. While this site does offer a free version, their paid versions tend to offer you more freedom and versatility. You can search through categories like “happy background music,” “funky music,” and even “music for podcast intro.” It’s super convenient.
Freebeats.io
Freebeats.io produces high quality music from a variety of artists, including rappers, singers, and audio content creators. Their music is easy to download on your laptop and your phone, and it’s completely free. Think of your favorite songs but like… instrumental with a funky little tune added to the background. Trust us, it’s perfect for podcasts.
Purple Planet
Purple planet is a source of podcast music that is all composed, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn. Their site has sooo many categories to choose from and they love to use lots of guitars, percussions, and bass. They offer free music (which you have to credit), or you can purchase a commercial license—no credit required.
Silverman Sound Studios
Silverman Sound Studios offers tons of royalty-free music libraries for films, videos, podcasts, and more, under the protection of the Creative Commons CCBY license. This is another one of those sites where it’s essential to include attribution in exchange for using their creative work. And because Shane, the creator of the music, is so passionate about music setting the vibe for shows, you know you’ll find some good stuff.
StockMusic
StockMusic is a very user-friendly site that allows you to search music based on mood, genre, keywords, artists, and more. They offer two plans; depending on your needs and budget, you can opt to subscribe month by month or purchase individual music licenses as needed. And honestly? The prices really aren’t that bad! Plus, they tend to have deals on their annual fee so you can probably score a super good deal.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock isn’t just known for its images—it’s one of the most popular sources of podcast music and sound effects, too! If you’re in need of unique sounds or noises for your podcast, Shutterstock is a great place to start. Keep in mind, they are a liiiittllee pricier than some of the previous options. Their month-to-month subscription starts at $69, and their annual subscription is $499 (or $49 monthly.) But when the views start rolling in and people are hooked on your content, the platform really pays for itself!
Pond5
Like Shutterstock, Pond5 is also a popular source of podcast music, sound effects, after effects, and more. Here’s the thing about Pond5: there’s plenty of different ways to go about buying music. You can shop per-song, and you’ll find plenty of options ranging anywhere from $5 to $7,000+ (Don’t ask us why there’s such a versatile range!). But, there is over 1 MILLION options to choose from, so you can def find something in your budget with no stress.
OR, they have credit packs and tiered monthly subscriptions (for much less than $7k, BTW.) Take a look at their available options and see which plan is right for you and your podcast!
Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound boasts access to over 90,000 sound effects and 35,000 tracks. Plans range from $9-$16.99 per month and all plans include unlimited downloads. Want to try it out first? Sign up for their free trial! You can get a free 30 day experience for both their creator subscription ($9.99), and their PRO subscription ($16.99).
Jamendo
Jamendo is a free music streaming service that offers a royalty-free music library for everything from podcasts to commercial use. They have over 250,000 music tracks and licenses that range from $9 all the way up to $99, depending on your music needs. You can see which music is most popular at the moment, you can search through playlists handpicked by music experts, or you can just search for something if you have a particular vibe in mind. They make it super easy to find an abundance of sounds!
Musicbed
With customers like Nike, Netflix, and Tesla, it’s clear to see why Musicbed is so popular. Musicbed offers two plans, one that allows you to pay as you need and one for those who need access to new music all the time. Just select the coverage that best fits your podcast needs and get to downloading.
Soundstripe
With 200-250 new tracks added each month, it’s easy to see why Soundstripe has so much music to choose from. Soundstripe offers three plans that range in price from $9.99 to $33.99 per month, with the most expensive plan offering unlimited access to music, videos, and SFX plus customer support for freelancers and creative teams. But just to show you how valuable of a space this is, brands like Adobe, Puma, Fabletics and Disney use Soundstripe. Makes you wanna see what all the hypes about!
AudioJungle
AudioJungle is a popular source of podcast music because they offer royalty-free tracks starting at just $1. With over 1.9 million songs and tracks to choose from, you’re sure to find exactly what you need without breaking the bank. This isn’t offered just for music, though. You can find a HUGE range of different sound effects—they have everything from “game sounds” and “domestic” sounds to “nature sounds” and “misc.” You’re bound to find something that fits your platform just right.
PremiumBeat
PremiumBeat has 36+ categories of music to choose from and has two different pricing plans to help you maintain your budget. Plus, their licenses cover all social media platforms, so you can use the music any way you want.
Storyblocks
Storyblocks has SO many categories of music to choose from. You can search through artists, genres, moods, projects, seasonal sounds, and more. On top of this, they also have over 16,000 sound effects you can snag to elevate your podcast in a variety of ways. Their plans start at $15 per month for the “Creator” subscription and $40 per month for the “Standard” subscription. But, if for some reason you’re unhappy, you can cancel your subscription for free at any time! We think you’ll be preeettyyy impressed though. We know we were!
Trackclub
Trackclub is a great resource for podcast music, theme songs, outros, and more. With hot new release each week (and sometimes even everyday), you can always search for new songs that best for your vibe. And if you wanna search for songs, you can use filters to nail down a specific vocal type, a certain mood, your preferred genre, which instruments you wanna hear most, the energy you’re craving, and even the BPM… hello??? Yes, please! Their plans range from $12 to $39 per month, so make sure to hop on and see which plan is best for you.
Take your podcast to the next level by investing in music.
Whether you need music for a Youtube video or a podcast episode, there are tons of options out there for free and/or cheap, totally legal music. And, there are just as many high-quality subscription-based platforms, too! Just remember to keep all copyright laws in mind and make sure you’re covered before using any music found online. It’s time to take your podcast to the next level.
For more help with elevating your podcast, check out these posts:
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