Top 13 Trusted Sites for Free Music Downloads
Discovering new music can be an exciting journey, and building a collection of high-quality tunes is essential for any music lover. As you explore the world of online music, it’s crucial to find trusted sites for free and legal downloads, especially if you’re thinking about using them commercially.
To help you, we’ve put together a list of 13 trusted websites for free music downloads, ensuring you can enjoy your favorite tunes without any legal concerns. As you browse through these sites, you’ll uncover a treasure trove of free, high-quality tracks to add to your collection.
Internet Archive: Perfect for Locating Rare Tracks
The Internet Archive offers a diverse range of music for you to download for free. It benefits audiophiles and music enthusiasts who enjoy exploring rare, unique, and hard-to-find tracks. You’ll find various music styles in the form of audio files, podcasts, and live recordings.
Using the Internet Archive gives you access to a vast and unique collection, with ease of access to lesser-known music. However, the downside is that you might encounter lower audio quality in some recordings.
Before downloading, check the specific license under each track, as some may have certain restrictions. If you get bored of music, you can use the Internet Archive for playing retro games instead.
Free Music Archive: An Excellent Resource for Creatives
Free Music Archive is an excellent resource for your creative projects. This platform offers a wide variety of music genres, from indie rock to classical. You’ll find the perfect soundtrack to elevate your work, whether it’s a video, podcast, or presentation.
The music on Free Music Archive is available under various licenses, so it’s essential to pay attention to the specific requirements for each track. Most pieces allow for free use in non-commercial projects, but some may necessitate attribution or restrict certain uses.
Jamendo: Great Royalty-Free Music Collection
Jamendo is for those music lovers seeking fresh and independent music. The site features a variety of tracks across multiple genres, all available for free download.
While browsing, you’ll find a diverse selection of high-quality MP3s from new and upcoming artists. Jamendo ensures that all music is legal to download, making it a trustworthy source for expanding your collection. Commercial users can also take advantage of specially curated, royalty-free music.
The focus of Jamendo is on indie music, so if you’re looking for the latest summer chart banger, you’re probably not going to find it here. However, Jamendo remains a top choice for discovering unique, legally downloadable music.
Soundclick: A Diverse Collection for Indies
Soundclick is another indie-friendly platform with a vast library that allows indie artists and musicians to showcase their talent.
However, Soundclick includes a broad selection of unique indie music in an easy-to-navigate user interface. You’ll find a variety of genres and high-quality music available for free—most of the time.
Most songs on Soundclick are free, but make sure to double-check the licensing details. Some tracks require additional payment to download and use or include more restrictive licensing with more limited usage rights.
SoundCloud: Great for Rising Stars
SoundCloud is ideal for music enthusiasts, particularly those who have a soft spot for indie and underground tunes. With a vast collection of music, you’ll likely discover unique tracks that cater to your tastes.
While browsing through the site, you’ll come across a mix of popular and up-and-coming artists, making it the ideal spot to find lesser-known gems. Although most tracks are readily available for free download, some may require a Creative Commons license (restricting commercial use) or explicit permission from the artist.
Reverbnation: Excellent for Discovering Indie Artists
Reverbnation is a fantastic platform for those who love exploring independent artists. The site connects musicians with listeners and offers a vast collection of underground music across various genres.
As a user, you can conveniently discover new songs and support upcoming artists. Reverbnation includes a user-friendly interface and offers users the ability to find promising musicians. If you’re an artist, you’ll have direct access to a wide user base, hungry to find new talent.
Bandcamp: Great for Supporting Artists Directly
Bandcamp offers a diverse collection of tracks from independent artists across various genres. Catering to both music fans and artists, the platform allows users to support their favorite musicians by purchasing tracks or albums, with over $1 billion paid out to artists directly since the site was established.
You’ll find a wide range of music on Bandcamp, from rock to electronic, jazz to folk, and everything in between. The licensing for each track is typically determined by the individual artist, so always ensure to check the terms before downloading.
Last.fm: Excellent for Personalized Recommendations
Last.fm is aimed at music enthusiasts interested in discovering new songs based on their listening habits. Owned by Paramount Global, this vast website tracks the music you listen to and recommends similar tunes accordingly.
You’ll find a wide variety of music genres available on Last.fm, ensuring there’s something for everyone. While the site itself isn’t primarily a free music download hub, it does offer a list of free music downloads for users to explore and enjoy.
The primary advantage of using Last.fm is its personalized recommendations, but unlike other sites on this list, not every track is available for you to download for free. Overall, Last.fm is a reliable platform for discovering music tailored to your specific taste.
YouTube Music: A Huge Library of Free Music
YouTube Music is a fantastic platform for you to discover and enjoy a wide variety of music genres. This streaming service offers an almost unparalleled library of music catering to diverse tastes, while making it easy for you to find your favorite tunes.
YouTube includes a vast selection of songs and artists that you can listen to for free and, with a YouTube Music subscription, you can download and listen to them, ad-free.
One downside (if you aren’t subscribing) is ads, which will often load at the start of a playing video. Depending on the artist, the audio quality you’ll see on YouTube Music might vary, too. However, YouTube Music is well supported on most platforms, including Linux.
ccMixter: The Best Site for Royalty-Free Music
ccMixter is a website aimed squarely at filmmakers, podcasters, and other creatives who need access to royalty-free music, covering a wide range of genres from rock to hip hop. The music on ccMixter is licensed under a Creative Commons license, which means that you can use it for free, as long as you credit the artist.
ccMixter includes a large and active community of artists who contribute their music, so you can guarantee there’s always new and unique music you can download that you won’t find anywhere else.
The biggest downside to ccMixter is that the quality of the music on ccMixter isn’t always professional-grade. Put that to one side, however, as the spirit and diversity of the community efforts can’t be ignored.
Audiomack: Perfect for Finding Emerging Artists
Audiomack is an excellent resource for discovering new music. It caters primarily to emerging artists, giving you access to a diverse collection of songs from various genres.
This isn’t for established artists—Audiomack is a good option for finding the latest rising stars and offers an easy-to-use interface. You can also use Audiomack on a mobile device, with apps for Android and iPhone.
If you’re looking for music you can use commercially on Audiomack, make sure to check the song descriptions first.
Musopen: Ideal for Classical Music Lovers
Musopen is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, legal access to sheet music, recordings, and educational resources. With its primary focus on classical music, it is the perfect destination for students, teachers, or just passionate listeners.
Musopen’s extensive library offers a vast selection of works by renowned composers. However, licensing for some pieces is limited to personal or educational uses. Before using any content, be sure to review the usage guidelines and restrictions.
Musopen’s rich offerings cater specifically to fans of classical music, so those seeking more contemporary genres are looking in the wrong place. That said, it serves as an invaluable resource for those looking to explore and enjoy the classics for free.
Beatstars: A Great Platform for Aspiring Producers
Beatstars is aimed at aspiring music producers, offering a wide range of services to help jumpstart your career. The site provides you with quality instrumentals in various genres such as hip-hop, R&B, and pop that you can use in your own music creation process.
One of the main advantages of Beatstars is its easy licensing process, allowing producers to sell their beats under various licenses, from non-exclusive to exclusive rights. This ensures both parties are protected and have a clear understanding of the agreement.
As a growing platform, Beatstars might not have the most extensive music catalog compared to other well-established sites, but it’s a valuable resource for up-and-coming producers looking to showcase their work and gain exposure.
Enjoying Music for Free
You don’t need to open up your wallet, as the free music download sites listed above offer a good (and diverse) resource for users to download music for free.
If you’re thinking about commercial use, however, always make sure you check the licensing restrictions (if there are any) first. With these resources at your fingertips, you can create your ideal playlist without worrying about copyright infringement.
Listening on mobile? Don’t forget to download a music player for your Android device next.
