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If you’re opting for creating your own marketing videos or using a global video product service or platform, then you’re going to want to make sure you have all the elements you need to create a killer video. One such important element of marketing videos is your background music. It sets the mood and tone of your brand and message, and can take your YouTube and other video marketing to the next level.
There are three main types of royalty-free background music licenses you want to search for to ensure they allow you, the purchaser or downloader, to use the music for as long as needed. Ultimately, giving your video ads a long shelf life and saving you licensing fees. These include public domain, Creative Commons and royalty-free. Here is an explanation of each.
Public Domain
This music is not protected by copyright and can, therefore, be used without permission. This can be distributed, copied and used for free by everyone, as it belongs to everyone.
Creative Commons
This is a public copyright license often found on marketplaces, where an artist uploads music with some rights reserved. Such as requiring credit or setting out whether a user can share, use or build upon work they have created.
Royalty-Free
This is music you have the right to use as much as you want without needing to pay continued royalties. Bear in mind that this can be free or paid-for music. Meaning royalty-free doesn’t necessarily mean totally free.
In this post, we give you top places where you can find royalty-free music for your marketing videos, and highlight what licensing type content you will most likely find there.
1. AudioJungle
Cost: From $1 per track
AudioJungle is Envato Market’s royalty-free music video library that includes hundreds of thousands of music options, from classical to heavy metal. They also sell sound effects and music kits, making them a one-stop shop for royalty-free music and sounds.
License Type: Royalty-free
2. Audionautix
Cost: Attribution
Offering music tracks for every mood, Audionautix is an easy-to-use music download library that specializes in YouTube-friendly content. You can use the music commercially for a small fee or provide a link to this website from yours as compensation. Additionally, they state they have a special arrangement with YouTube, ensuring YouTube will not silence or remove your video even if some unscrupulous party claims the music as theirs.
License Type: Creative Commons
3. BeatPick
Cost: Varies by track and usage needs
Another royalty-free track download platform is BeatPick. With this platform, you can search using a number of filters including keywords, instrument, genre and mood – just to name a few. Another handy feature of this music library is that you can create a list of songs you like using their Beatlist feature, helping you narrow down your search.
License Type: Creative Commons
4. Bensound
Cost: Commercial license from $139 per year for unlimited downloads
With hundreds of tracks, Bensound was created by Benjamin Tissot. If you’re just looking for background music for educational videos (in other words, content you won’t be pushing with web advertising platforms like Facebook or Google), then you’re looking at around $45 per track for unlimited licensing. For YouTube and other PPC video campaigns, tracks will cost around $139, making it an affordable option if you’re looking for multiple tracks for multiple videos throughout the year.
License Type: Royalty-free
5. ccMixter
Cost: Free with attribution
ccMixter is a platform that acts as a community for creators and therefore features a variety of artists. They have a section of music that is specifically earmarked for commercial use, which will only cost you a link to their artist.
License Type: Creative Commons
6. DanoSongs
Cost: From $10 for one track with an unlimited commercial license
Another artist who has created a database of tracks you can use royalty-free is Dan-O. His library, Danosongs, has royalty-free options that can be paid for and download per song or for all songs. You can remix, edit, loop and adapt the music and are free to distribute and transmit the music.
License Type: Royalty-free
7. Epidemic Sound
Cost: From $15 per month for content creators
Epidemic Sound is a subscription service library of royalty-free music and sounds. It is best-suited for those brands that are churning out a lot of video marketing. Why? Because it works out a lot cheaper for those of you wanting access to a variety of music for a multitude of video marketing content.
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License Type: Royalty-free
8. Jamendo
Cost: From $49 per track for commercial use
Jamendo’s stock music section is comprehensive and has a variety of options to suit your needs and budgets. You can either pay for and download one track in the moment or buy credits for the library and save to use. It’s their collections of music for specific uses, such as YouTube and fashion, that make it super easy to find the right tune for your needs.
License Type: Royalty-free
9. IncompeTech
Cost: From $25 per tack
Another artist-run library for music is IncompeTech. They offer a variety of collections including electronic, rock, world and film scoring moods.
License Type: Royalty-free
10. Musopen
Cost: Free
If you’re looking for classical music specifically, then Musopen is the royalty-free music download platform for you. Although licensing differs from track to track, a lot of their content is listed copyright-free and can be copied, modified, distributed and used for commercial purposes without asking permission.
License Type: Royalty-free
11. Partners in Rhyme
Cost: Varies
From music loops to full-length tracks, Partners in Rhyme offers a host of download options. They also have a variety of sound effects and midi files to choose from. Some tracks and albums will include fees, but there is quite a bit of content that’s free.
License Type: Royalty-free
12. SoundCloud
Cost: Varies
SoundCloud’s free streaming site is a great way to find background music for your marketing videos. Most of its library is listed under Creative Commons, meaning artists set the terms and price for the license. Downloadable music will have a ‘buy license’ option, which will then take you to a platform like Envio market. Here’s a ‘background music for video’ playlist to get you started.
License Type: Creative Commons
13. Storyblocks
Cost: From $9 per month for up to five downloads
Storyblock is a platform for sourcing royalty-free content. If you’re looking for music and sounds specifically, their AudioBlocks section has millions of tracks, looks and sound effects to download. According to their licensing, all their content can be used multiple times for commercial and personal projects and will give you more downloads for your buck.
License Type: Royalty-free
14. YouTube Audio Library
Cost: Mostly free
Last but not least, let’s look at a video marketing giant’s own free music resource. YouTube Audio Library offers a mix of free (public domain) and Creative Commons (set by artists) licensed music. There are thousands of free music tracks and sound effects for you to choose from.
Here are some background music tips for your YouTube marketing videos:
License Type: Public domain and Creative Commons
