Good quality background music, jingles, and sound effects play a pivotal role when it comes to adding professional value to your podcast. Music and other unique sounds can boost the quality of your podcast, set the tone of your shows, and help you catch and keep your listeners’ attention.
However, not all pieces of music can be freely and legally used for podcast content. You can’t just use any old song without the explicit permission of the artist/owner of the music. In fact, if you do, you could be in violation of copyright laws. But, don’t worry. There are tons of websites out there that offer royalty-free music just for podcasters like you.
So, today, we’re sharing a round up of free and paid sources of music you can use in your podcast. Check out the top 20 free and paid sources below!
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.
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.
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 most just fine. But, keep in mind that the pro version offers premium content that could really set your podcast apart.
Incompetech
If finding a free, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 many categories to choose from and they love to use lots of guitars, percussions, and bass.
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.
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.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is one of the most popular sources of podcast music as well as images, illustrations, videos, and sound effects. If you’re in need of unique sounds or noises for your podcast, Shutterstock is a great place to start. Music subscriptions start at $5 and top out at $49 for their most comprehensive music package.
Pond5
Like Shutterstock, Pond5 is also a popular source of podcast music, sound effects, after effects, and more. With sound effects starting at just $2 and many different plans to choose from, this site is excellent for those on a budget.
Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound boasts access to over 90,000 sound effects and 35,000 tracks. Plans range from $9-$19 per month and all plans include unlimited downloads. Want to try it out first? Sign up for their free trial.
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 $9.99 all the way up to $99, depending on your music needs.
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.
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.
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 over 30 categories of music to choose from, in addition to 30+ categories of sound effects – just wow. Their plans start at $15 per month, but don’t worry. If for some reason you’re unhappy, you can cancel your subscription for free at any time.
Take your podcast to the next level by investing in music.
Whether you need music for a Youtube video, a podcast episode, or you’re just in search of some unique podcast intro music, there are tons of options out there for free and/or cheap, totally legal music. Just remember to keep all copyright laws in mind and make sure you’re covered before using any music found online.
For additional information about all things podcasting, head on over to the Dear Media Blog. And, as always, feel free to drop any questions or comments for us below!
