If you are wondering about how to source the music for your podcasts, we got you covered. The best route for podcasts is to choose royalty-free music sites which provide unique and engaging music tracks and sound effects to amend to your podcast! If things sound complicated to you right now, keep reading this post, and we will discuss everything that you need to know about royalty-free music and the top 20 royalty-free music podcast sites! Let’s get started.
The Difference Between Free and Paid Services
There is a very slight difference when it comes to free and paid services for music in podcasts.
Free Services
These are the websites that offer you relevant music tracks of sound effects without the requirement of any extra expenses. You just need to give the due recognition via credits, and you are good to go.
Paid Services
Here, you either have to pay per track you use for your podcasts or pay a subscription fee to access unlimited music from the particular website. The plans are variable and depend on different music providers.
Creative Commons vs. Royalty-Free vs. Public Domain Music
This is one of the most prevalent confusion that almost every podcaster has in their mind. Today, let’s dig deep into the real difference between Creative Common vs. Royalty-Free vs. Public Domain Music.
Creative Commons
You might have seen people using intro or outro music in their podcasts and adding credits to the original composer in the description. This is a typical example of using Creative Commons in podcasts.
With Creative Commons music, you can use a piece of the original music in your podcast or track while adding the due credit to the original artist. No other expenses are spent whatsoever for using that piece as long as you give the due recognition.
However, not all the licenses are the same. Different rules and guidelines in additional CC licenses allow for commercial usage.
Royalty-Free Music
Here you need not pay the original artist every time you use their music in your podcast. But you have to purchase the license of the music to use them in your podcasts every time.
You either need to pay a one-time fee for every track or have their subscription, and you are free to add their music as many times as you want without any restrictions.
Typically, royalty-free music includes a lifetime license. However, there are many licenses wherein you only have access as long as you are enrolled in their subscription.
Public Domain Music
You might have seen multiple tracks stated as Copyright music with several restrictions to use for commercial reasons. However, almost every copyright has an expiry date. The typical benchmark is 70 years after death which is variable for different tracks. After the copyright expires, the track becomes a public domain wherein you can use it as per your requirements without any restrictions.
Why Use Royalty-Free Music for Your Podcast?
There are limitless benefits to choosing royalty-free music for your podcasts. However, a few of them are:
- You do not need to pay any kind of royalties for using the music tracks in your podcast.
- You can easily purchase the right to use the music without any restrictions.
- With a few paid plans, you just have to pay once, and you can access them forever, which makes it feasible for podcasters!
And many more…
Top 20 Royalty-free Music Sites for Podcasts
Now that we know why Royalty-Free music is the best route for podcasters, let’s check out our list of the top 20 websites to get Royalty Free podcast music!
1. Pixabay Music
Pixabay is popular due to its renowned stock photography site. Fortunately, Pixabay Music is a hidden gem that not most podcasters know well. They have a broad category of free music that you can add to your podcasts and make them even more engaging. You can filter out your favorite music from different genres, moods, and movements.
Pros
- Easy to filter and search for relevant tracks
- Massive directory of diverse royalty-free music
- Sleek user interface
- Easy to navigate
Cons
- None
Type of Music
- Electronic
- Upbeat
- Ambient
Price
- Free
2. SoundStripe
Even though Soundstripe is new to the world of royalty-free music, the paid plans are inexpensive, which is excellent if you have a limited budget for your podcasts. Even though the music directory isn’t as huge as Pixabay Music, it still works well for podcasters. The subscription is one-time, and you get lifetime access to the entire library.
Also, their search feature is quick and handy to find suitable soundtracks every time within minutes!
Pros
- Easier to navigate and find relevant music tracks
- Inexpensive subscription fee
Cons
- Limited music in the directory
Type of Music
- Acoustic
- Electronic
- Funk
- Hip Hop
Price
- $19/month
3. Epidemic Sound
With a library of over 30,000 tracks and 60,000 sound effects, you can never have enough music options to choose from for your podcasts with Epidemic Sound! Also, they add new music to their directory every week, which is a pretty incredible move!
The search functionality is well-designed and makes it easy to find suitable tracks. You can also download a particular portion of the track and adjust it as per your requirements into your podcast.
Apart from the one-time subscription fee, which never expires, you also get a free trial for 30 days! If you are not satisfied with the free trial, you can quickly unsubscribe before the end of your trial, and you will not be charged for it!
Pros
- Vast directory of royalty-free music
- Easy to navigate across the platform
- 30-day free trial
- License to forever access
- Newer music is updated every week
- Download a certain part of the music and use it for your podcasts
Cons
- None
Type of Music
- Beats
- Pop
- Acoustic
- Electronic
Price
- $15/month
4. Storyblocks
The music directory of Storyblocks consists of about 100,000 tracks, loops, sound effects, and whatnot! There are plenty of options in music tracks to choose from. You can filter your favorite music by moods, instruments, genres, vocals, tempo, duration, and similar other criteria. You can even download the music file in two different formats: MP3 and WAV.
Pros
- Massive music directory
- Music is available in two different formats
Cons
- Slightly tough to navigate
Type of Music
- Ambient
- Chill
- Cinematic
- Hip hop
Price
- $15
5. Jamendo
There are over 200,000 tracks from 40,000 independent artists and bands in Jamendo. Hence, you can find an endless count of royalty-free podcast music at Jamendo! Here you can either pay for every track you use or get a subscription for unlimited access. They also offer music composition services wherein you can request them to compose a custom theme as per your interests. The best part is you can also choose a musician of your choice for the composition.
Pros
- Compose custom music for every podcast
- Massive music directory
- Flexible plans
Cons
- None
Type of Music
- Pop
- Rock
- Jazz
- Indie
Price
- $49 per track. For an unlimited subscription, you will get a custom quote when you contact their service team.
6. Premiumbeat
You might have already heard about Shutterstock for its popular directory of photographs. Premiumbeat is run by Shutterstock and again has an incredible stock of music from different genres. Currently, there are over 17,000 songs with new updates every week! You can find your favorite music across 26 main genres, which again branch into subgenres. Hence, you can easily filter out and narrow it down to your preferred music.
Pros
- Easy to filter your favorite songs
- Decent music directory
Cons
- Complex to navigate across multiple options
Type of Music
- Ambient
- Blues
- Classical
Price
- $12.99 per track
7. Pond5
Founded in 2006, Pond5 has an incredible collection of 900,000 tracks and 1.2 million sound effects! Pond5 has one of the most comprehensive libraries out of all the others on the list. You can either pay per track or have an unlimited subscription as per your requirements.
Pros
- Massive music library
- Flexible plans
Cons
- Slightly expensive
Type of Music
- Ambient
- Action
- Festive
- Folk
Price
- $25 per track. The monthly membership subscription starts from $199/month.
8. AudioJungle
AudioJungle has some of the cheapest pricing plans among all the others on this list. Some of the tracks start as low as $1! Even though the music directory is limited, you can find many unique tracks from renowned artists, which are a treat to the ears!
Pros
- Cheap pricing plan
- A unique collection of music tracks
Cons
- Limited collection
- Slightly tough to navigate through the website
Type of Music
- Corporate
- Western
- Electronic
- Acoustic
Price
- Starts from $1
9. Incompetech
Incompetech is an evergreen choice when it comes to royalty-free music for podcasts. All of the music tracks are from a single artist – Kevin MacLeod. He even runs a very popular podcast and youtube channel!
Even though the music directory is decent, the search functionality is not the best. It gets challenging to find your preferred music track from the website. You can either choose to pay a subscription fee or use the music tracks for free if you give the due credits.
Pros
- Old and popular royalty-free music provider
- You can also use the music for free with due credits
Cons
- Very tough to navigate across the website and find relevant music tracks
Type of Music
- Relaxing
- Adventure
- Modern cinematic
Price
- 20 euros
10. Free Music Archive
At Free Music Archive, you get numerous tracks from multiple artists and curators across the world. The user interface of Free Music Archive is easy to navigate, and you can filter down to your favorite tracks based on the selected genre, artist, energy, duration, etc. Additionally, you can also find the latest tracks from their chart listings!
Pros
- Great music library
- Multiple artists and curators are involved, resulting in diversified music tracks
- Easy to navigate and find the suitable tracks
Cons
- None
Type of Music
- Pop
- Jazz
- Soul
- Urban
- Rock
Price
- Free
11. Freebeats.io
Freebeats.io is another great royalty-free podcast music choice wherein you can easily download and use the track by just following them on social media and giving them credits.
Even though the library isn’t the most diverse, you can easily find some great picks from their list!
Pros
- Easy to search music tracks across the website
- The music tracks are easy to download
Cons
- You have to follow the artists on social media and give them credit to use their music
- Limited options for music
Type of Music
- Hip hop
- EDM
- Modern rap
Price
- Free
12. Silverman Sound Studios
Even though the user interface of Silverman Sound Studios is not the best, the music library is worth checking out! You get a long list of royalty-free podcast music and can quickly filter it out. You can use every music track for free as long as you give them the due credits.
Pros
- Robust filtering options
- Limited but unique music tracks
Cons
- Limited choices from the music directory
- Outdated user interface
Type of Music
- Calm
- Intense
- Suspense
Price
- Free
13. Purple Planet
The space-inspired design is great eye candy when you visit the Purple Planet website. The music library is limited but has a decent collection of tracks that are of a similar type. Hence you might not find many variations or diversifications. You either add credit to the tracks you use or pay a certain subscription fee for the license.
Pros
- Intuitive homepage
Cons
- Limited collection of music
- Lesser diversification in music
Type of Music
- Ambient
- Atmospheric
Price
- Free
14. Audionautix
Jason Shaw produces all music on the Audionautix website. There are many amazing music tracks to choose from. However, diversification is limited. Also, the search functionality and filtering options are not impressive enough. Hence, you will have a tough time finding the right music tracks. All the tracks are completely free to use as long as you give Jason the due credits!
Pros
- Decent music library
Cons
- Lesser diversification in music
- Tough to search for the preferred audio track
Type of Music
- Uplifting
- Relaxing
- Bright
Price
- Free
15. Musicbed
Musicbed has been one of the leading royalty-free music providers since 2011. You get a great variety of music from different artists and musicians. The user interface is beginner-friendly and easy to use.
Pros
- Amazing collection of music
- Easy to navigate
Cons
- Slightly expensive pricing plan
Type of Music
- Pop rock
- Ambient
- Indie pop
Price
- $249 per year
16. Zapsplat
Zapslat comes with thousands of amazing sound effects that will be perfect for your podcast intro or outro. The tracks are grouped in an arranged manner, making it easier to find your preferred choices from the directory. You can either use the music for free and give the artist the due credits or purchase a small annual fee.
Pros
- A massive list of sound effects
- Tracks are easily arranged
Cons
- Slightly outdated user interface
Type of Music
- Ambient
- Electronic
- Classical
Price
- Free
17. Soundbible
Soundbible is a decent royalty-free music provider with limited music tracks but worth a try. Even though the options are limited, the tracks are a real gem! You can easily find some unique sound effects for your podcast here. All of the tracks are free to use until you give the due credits.
Pros
- Unique music collection
- Impressive user interface
Cons
- Limited music collection
Type of Music
- Rock
- Pop
- Ambient
Price
- Free
18. Soundsnap
Soundsnap is another really popular royalty-free music provider worldwide. There are countless big names associated with Soundsnap, such as Microsoft, HBO, BBC, etc. Hence, you can get great quality sound effects and music from Soundsnap.
Pros
- An impressive collection of music
Cons
- Slightly tough to navigate through the website
Type of Music
- Ambiance
- Vintage
Price
- $249 per year
19. FyrFly
You can find countless types of music in the FyrFly music directory across multiple niches. They have over 800 creators constantly contributing to the website. Hence, you can find new music tracks regularly updated on their website!
Pros
- A unique collection of music tracks and sound effects
- Diversified music library
Cons
- None
Type of Music
- Indie
- Cinematic
Price
- $299 per year
20. 909 Music
Soundcloud is a popular music playback platform. However, 909 Music has a decent range of music tracks that can be used for different commercial purposes. All the tracks are self-hosted by Soundcloud. You can use the tracks completely free by just giving the due credits to the artist.
Pros
- Easy to download
- Unique music content
Cons
- Limited content in the music library
Type of Music
- Rock
- Vintage
- Hip hop
Price
- Free
Conclusion
There are numerous royalty-free music sites available for your podcast. With a slight bit of research(which we already did), you can easily find the most suitable option from this list. Thus, choose your favorite royalty-free music site today and let the music do the talking in your podcasts!
