The Best Music for Video

As a YouTube creator and a freelance video editor I mainly use music from Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and Envato Elements for my Premiere Gal tutorials and client videos as they provide a diverse range of sound at a low cost.  But the truth is that not one site will always fit your music needs for every project.  In fact, I tend to jump around several sites until I find the exact track I'm looking for in a video.

Here is a detailed list of all my favorite video music sources I have use for both royalty free and copyright free music. I divide up my recommendations by (1) free resources (creative commons), (2) subscription music libraries, and (3) pay per track music licensing companies. 

Free with Creative Commons licensing. 

Free Music Archive - Most songs in FMA are free to use by individuals for non-commercial purposes. There are some artists and songs you can use for free for commercial purposes, but you still need to give credit to the artist. This means you need to cite the song name, artist, the license, and where you retrieved the song. For example: "Last Call" by Lee Rosevere, CC BY, Freemusicarchive.org)

AudioNautix -  Features songs in all moods and genres. You can search by genre, mood and pace. All songs on Audionautix are created by Jason Shaw and released under the Creative Commons License 3.0 meaning that you can use the music for any purpose (including commercial) as long as you credit the source by listing the website or credit the song with "music by audionautix.com."

NoCopyrightsSounds  Music categories include Chillstep, Drum&Bass, Drumstep, Dubstep, Electronic, Future Bass, Hardstyle, House, Indie Dance, and Trap. All music is to use by independent creators and their User Generated Content (UGC) on YouTube and Twitch, BUT if you are a commercial organization you need to contact NCS at licensing@nocopyrightssounds.co.uk if you want to use their track. 

Subscription - Requires monthly payment

SoundStripe You can get unlimited royalty free music and sfx for commercial work, and it covers use on web, social media, and podcasts. There is no legal "mumbo-jumbo" you can use the music for any time of video, and you can get 10% off with my code: GAL10. It has a sweet design and easy to navigate search system that I love. You can build your own playlists and favorite tracks too.

Epidemic Sound offers both personal and commercial plans for music that also covers YouTube monetization and use in other social platforms. You can get unlimited downloads per month and access to the unlimited music & SFX library. When you sign up for an annual plan you’ll get a 30-day trial as well.

Artlist.io is similar to Epidemic music in that it offers unlimited music and sfx with their plans. They also offer personal and unlimited commercial plans. When you sign up you can also get +2 extra months free.

Pay Per Track

AudioJungle (varies between $7-$20 per song) AudioJungle is part of Envato Market. It contains more than just songs, but music packs, jingles, sound effects, and sfx packs. They really have everything you need at a low cost! This is my go-to pay-per-track source. 

Foxi Music $18 per track. You will find a wide variety of royalty free music, from motivational, tech, cinematic, action and more. You can also get 15% off using my code below. 

Mirror Mirror Music $25 per track Is a great source of royalty free music including, folk, corporate, electronic, dance, ambient and rock tracks. You can also get 10% using my code below: 

Amazing Music Tracks $39 - $189 per song.  If you are a YouTuber or hosting your video on the web a music license costs $39, but if you are using the music for non-web and it is income generating the enhanced license costs $189. You can also find some free tracks or get a subscription model on Amazing Music Tracks. Get 10% off with my code: GAL10

MusicBed $199 per song. Musicbed is a perfect library for authentic, folk, cinematic, rock, indie and pop music. Coming in August 2018 they will be releasing a subscription licensing model that will cater to YouTubers and single creators.  

PremiumBeat $49 - $199 per song. You just pay once and the song is yours forever! They have a wonderfully curated site with heaps of playlists by mood and genre. They also have sound FX packages!

Audio Network $8 - $599 per song. Depending on what type of entity you are and your intended use of the song, the music track will vary in price. If you are a single use, commercial creator, a track is just $8, but if you are a using the song for a single TV show it will cost $150. One HUGE benefit of using Audio Network is their Premiere Pro CC panel.  Using the Panel in Premiere Pro CC, you can search, license and download your track from within Premiere Pro. No hassle of searching online! Watch my video on Audio Network: 

If you have any questions about music licensing for your video, I'm happy to assist. Leave a comment below!