Wondershare Anireel
The Easy Way to Create Riveting Explainer Animations.
Smoother animated video creation to bring your imagination fast to life.
In this article
Wondering about the music for video editing? Well this article is a gem for you then. In this article, we are going to talking about what are the 10 best sources of free music for video editing. Not only that we are also going to give you the most and frequently asked questions and the confusions you people had. So, stay tuned till the end and find out which website is the best for you.
Part 1: How to License Music for Videos
What is Free Music?
Videos are incomplete without music. The music that you are used to listening which increases the taste of watching your favourite video is usually produced or taken from someone else. The actual owner of the music doesn’t give you free access to use it. But there are several music sources from where you can just pull the music out that suits your video, and use it for FREE, and that is called FREE music.
5 Ways to License Music for Videos
CC0 |
CC-BY |
CC-BY-SA |
CC-NC |
CC-BY-ND |
| In this category, you are allowed to use the music in whichever way you wish to. Also, in this category, you are not required to pay credits to the actual owner of the music. | In this category, if you want to use the music you need to give the attribution to the real owner of the music. However, you are allowed to use the music whatever way you want to use it. | Under this license, you are allowed to use the content as the re-distribution or re-use of original licensed work. You can use the work under “the same, similar or a compatible license”. | Under this license, you cannot use the music for monetary gain. That means if you want to use this music for monetary gains you need to have the written permission from the artist. | Under this license, you cannot use the music in any video, without having the written permission from the original artist. |
Part 2: 10 Fantastic Free Background Music Sites for Video Editing
No. 1 Free Play Music
Licenses: CC BY and CC BY-NC
Description of the site:
Free Play Music is the place where not only you will find music that is free for your video but also you can stream the music you wish to. Over here you will find various kinds of music for your videos, all you have to do in the feature section is find the music that suits your video type and just download it.
No. 2 ccMixter
Type of license: CC BY and CC BY-NC
ccMixter is an amazing platform for DJs for mixing their talent with the vocals that singers post on this website. Basically, it works as a platform for collaboration, singers, musicians, and DJs post their work samples over here, when artists like each other’s work, they collaborate their work together.
On this platform, you can find an ample amount of free music for videos that can be searched just by the genre you are working in.
No. 3 Incompetech
Type of license: CC BY
Incompetech is a great platform for video editors who work in different genres, this platform is a huge database of the best royalty-free music sources. The platform is founded by the musician and composer Kevin Macleod who has contributed thousands of music and sound effects that can be used for absolutely free. All you need to go on this website and search for the background music that suits your video perfectly, also you can search your music according to the genre, mood, topic, popularity, and more.
No. 4 YouTube Audio Library
Type of license: Royalty-Free and CC BY
YouTube is a huge database for free video music, and if you are tired of searching for the perfect audio for your video and haven’t checked on YouTube, you got to jump on YouTube, because it has everything you need.
If you are planning to create videos or you have a freelancing video project, and it needs to have some background music in it. You can just go on YouTube and find your favourite free music clips by genre, instrument, mood, duration, and license type. It also allows you to filter the music clips according to your needs.
No. 5 Free Music Archive
Type of license: All CC types and Public Domain
Free Music Archive is also known as FMA, this website is also an amazing platform having tons of genres and categories of music from where you can choose your music. You can also search the music by song title, clip duration or type of license. FMA works with radio stations, artists, and industry enthusiasts who offer their work for free to use for normal people. Not all music on this platform is free so make sure when you check the license before using the music for professional use.
No. 6 Jamendo
Type of license: All CC types
Jamendo is the website where you can find two categories to choose from, Music and Licensing. Well, the platform consists of music that can be used for commercial purposes that mean it gives you the License of royalty-free music and the songs are licensed under the Creative Commons. Nonetheless, if you want to use the music for commercialization, you can find a button saying “music for videos” and head over there to find and download music free to download and use in your videos.
One of the drawbacks you will face on Jamendo is most of the music clips are not allowed to be used for commercial use. Secondly, there is no sort of searching technique from where you can filter the music for commercial purposes. To do that you need to open and read the information about each music you like.
No. 7 Musopen
Type of license: Public Domain and all CC types
Musopen is the sort of open-source platform that provides you to download free music for videos editing and whatnot. The platform is itself saying that “setting music free”, what they mean to say is, you can find any sort of material related to music on that site for free. Some of the materials are- free music for video editing, educational materials, and sheet music. You can find a lot of files on this website that are orchestral pieces, either registered as public domain or under a Creative Commons license.
One of the most amazing things you will find on this website is the variety of material you get here is too vast for example you can have a music clip of historical figures like Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, as well as renowned pieces such as Carmen, The Valkyrie, and The Barber of Seville. Also, you can find the option to filter out the library by certain constraints like period, mood, length, composer, orchestra, period, mood, length, and what not... So, this can really be a hidden gem for you if you were not aware of it yet.
No. 8 SoundCloud
Type of license: All CC types
SoundCloud is a social media for musicians, they hang out over here and share a ton and ton of songs. The platform has a collection of more than 125 million songs. However, you will find the contents on this site protected under the license type “all rights reserved. Most of the users of this website choose to protect their songs and work on this website.
If you are searching for music clips that are free to use and also for commercialization, then you can simply go on the search bar and find the type of song you are searching for. For filtration, you can change the default “To listen to” filter setting and put it according to your needs.
No. 9 Bensound
Type of license: CC BY-ND
Bensound has a collection of a variety of sources including royalty-free music for videos, websites, animations, and more. You can explore this website by the genre you are working in, popularity, uploading date or tags. Most of the material on this website can be found with an attribution no-derivatives CC license. Under this license, you are allowed to use the content as free background music for videos all you need to give is a credit to the site (source credit). But make sure you are not mixing the song or creating a new song.
No. 10 AudioNautix
Type of license: CC BY
This website AudioNautix is created by the composer Jason Shaw to share the music of his own show it to people and let them use it without paying a dime. So, his passion for sharing music has given a lot to people and you can find a lot of music on this website. Just browse by genre, tempo, and keywords.
Bonus:
You got great options from where you can find your favorite background music. However, what are your plans on editing the video? Perfectly and without errors? Did we catch your mind? If yes, read this word aloud – ANIREEL! Yes, presenting Anireel which is a great and a one-stop solution for anyone who is in need of professional video editing. It provides creative and really helpful functionalities that no other tool can. From lip sync to text-to-speech, it has all varieties of editing features one could ask for. Try it yourself and bring the best in your video.
Part 3: FAQ About Background Music
1. What is the purpose of background music?
Ans: The purpose of the background music is to give the atmosphere of the scene. In simple words, it enahces the quality of the video. A video without a relevant background music is like a body without a soul.
2. Is background music important?
Ans: Yes, to keep viewers engaged and add fun to the video. When there is no background music, the viewers might lose interest in a few initial seconds.
3. What is another word for background music?
Ans: Accompanied and Backing
4. What is BGM?
Ans: BGM is an abbreviation for Background Music. Since we live in SMS era and short abbreviations seem more trendy so sometime BGM is also used in place of background music.
5. What are the sources of free background music?
Ans: The 10 best sources are mentioned above in this article.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Hope you find this article important for yourself and could solve your problem of finding FREE music. Let’s find out what have we talked about in this article:
● General question about the license of music and the type of licenses.
● 10 best sources of FREE music are listed.
● Some frequently asked questions regarding free music and background music.