Despite music’s essential role in impacting the emotions of viewers and listeners, finding and sourcing the rights to music and soundtracks can be difficult. As a videographer with over seven years of experience, I’ve tried a number of different platforms. Here are some of my thoughts on the resources I have used the most, including a range of options from beginner to big-name businesses.

1. Artlist

Artlist is our number one pick for music licensing platforms. For a simple annual fee of only $200 you gain access to a broad and growing library of quality music. While $200 dollars may sound a bit steep, if you download just one piece of new music a week, it costs you less than $4 a song. A steal of a deal if you compare it to some of the other options below. The best part? You retain the rights to use any music you download during your subscription, for life.

One of the features that first drew us to Artlist was the way that they sort their music catalog. Users can search by any combination of mood, video theme, genre and instrument and find a soundtrack that is so well-tailored to their project people may even ask if it was specifically composed. Another feature we like about Artlist is the ability to filter songs to remove songs with vocals. This makes it really easy to quickly find backtracks that won’t distract from your scene or podcast.

For an additional two months on your membership (14 months for $199) use our referral link:

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If you need more convincing or would like an in depth review check out this video from Film Riot.

2. Youtube Audio Library

You’ve probably heard most of these tracks in the background of several videos. The Youtube Audio Library is a great resource for budding creatives looking to bring their project to the next level. Provided by Youtube as a library of music that can be used in your projects in their platform it is a great deal at FREE! Youtube also recently expanded the music library and may do so again, providing some new gems to discover.

In addition to free music the Youtube Audio Library also provides a collection of free sound effects. If you are looking for anything from a clown horn to a motorcycle you’ll find it in the Youtube Audio Library.

While this is a great resource for budding Youtube creatives, it is unclear that these resources will be properly licensed for other platforms in the future. You may also run the risk of sounding like everyone else’s videos on Youtube. When you are ready to look a little beyond free take a look at a few of the other options below.

3. BenSound

Unlike many of the other resources on this list you are required to cite BenSound when using their music in your project. This is an important distinction and should be kept in mind if you are creating video content in formats that don't lend themselves to onscreen credits.

You’ve probably heard a few of Ben’s pieces around the internet. I know that I have used several of them in my work. I really like how each song feels complete and strikes just the right balance between emotionally powerful and not quite memorable. Using his music will provide a certain class to your work without detracting from the message you want to deliver.

Pricing for the BenSound Library depends on what you are planning to use the music for. With citation you can use the music in videos on Facebook and YouTube for free. If you can provide a citation or want to use the music in background music, in theatre, or in broadcasting you can purchase various licenses between 34 and 65 Euros.

4. Free Music Archive (FMA)

The Free Music Archive is a great place to find music that may not have reached as large of an audience (yet) and also offers compositions that are in the public domain. If you can take the time to find a track that fits your project and can sort out what the usage and citation rights are FMA can be a great resource for quality free music on a budget.

The biggest challenge facing the use of FMA is it’s search functionality. Searches on FMA are mostly based on usage rights, but don’t always reflect the actual rights of the pieces of music selected. FMA was also recently acquired by Tribe of Noise and some of their interior search pages are still pending a content review as we wrap up 2019 and go into 2020. My hope is that this resource will continue to exist and grow under the new management.

5. Musicbed

As the name implies, Musicbed helps you find music beds for your projects. The music on this site is high caliber and is used by big name brands such as McDonalds and Amazon. This level of quality and clientele also comes with a pretty steep price tag. While you can get a personal license for as little as $9/month, a business license will cost you $89+/month (over $1,068 a year) and this does not include broadcast or theater rights. To use the extended music licenses for broadcast you will need to contact them for a custom quote.

6. PremiumBeat

PremiumBeat has a great blog that regularly provides links to freebies such as 80+ FREE Cinematic Atmospheres: Musical Textures and Sound Files. We highly recommend you subscribe to stay up-to-date on the latest additions. You can also get a free sample of their music library by visiting their library and selecting “Free Tracks.”

Many of PremiumBeat’s tracks come with the ability to download 15, 30, and 60 second stems along with the full track. This allows the editor full control over how to assemble the music to meet their needs. In a recent review of the service Rocket Stock wrote: “you can download a zip folder full of every individual instrument in the song. This is great for soloing a single instrument like the drum track or guitar, or fine-tuning the exact sound you’re looking for.”

When it comes to music licensing however, premium beat can get expensive quickly. They offer two licensing options, a “Standard” for non-commercial web projects and a “Premium” for everything else. The standard license runs at $49/song and the premium is $199/song. Again with Artlist offering a yearlong subscription to their whole catalog for only $199/year, as a budget filmmaker I tend to go that route.

7. Shutterstock

It should be noted here that Shutterstock is the big parent company of both PremiumBeat and RocketStock. In addition to the growing photo and video libraries that have made Shutterstock a staple in any medium to large size agency, they also offer a music library.

Much like PremiumBeat Shutterstock has two tiers of license. A $49/song standard price for web, podcast, and point of sale use and a $419/song enhanced license for other uses. They also recently began offering a subscription model for their standard license at $149/month ($1,788/year).

Bonus Additional Resources

Still looking for the perfect solution?

Filmmaker Freedom reviews a number of additional music services in their “The 6 Best Music Licensing Platforms of 2019” including: Music Vine, Marmoset, Marmoset, Soundstripe, Epidemic Sound, and Soundsnap.

Remember you can get 14 months of Artlist for just $199 using our affiliate link here: https://artlist.io/Andrew-8977

7 Sources for Music and Soundtracks