Articles
How To Find Royalty Free Music
By: Barry Walker
Do you need music for your video production, party, podcast, radio broadcast? Don't want to pay royalty fees for their use? Well read on as I show you how to find them.
Royalty free music is definitely out there and is becoming much easier to find than ever before, but the problem is finding decent sources. This article is here to help you to find the best sources for your needs and what to look out for and your responsibilities.
Stock Music
There are plenty of websites such as stockmusic.com and royaltyfreemusic.com that sell stock music that you don't have to pay royalties for once you have bought them. And this here is the catch, you usually have to pay for them first before you can use the music in your projects.
Stock music sites also have rules on what you can and cannot do with the music, so it is always best to check out any FAQ (frequently asked questions) pages the stock music website has.
Netlabels
Netlabels are also gaining in popularity in music sources as not only are some of them available to use in your own projects, but they are also FREE to download as well. But, you have to check the license for the track that you wish to use. If the license includes the term "NC" in the license you cannot use them for commercial projects and you cannot use any tracks that use the term "ND" as this means "No Derivatives", however some netlabels allow you to use "ND" licensed material in podcasts and DJ mixes, so check the netlabels faq for details or contact them.
To find creative commons licensed music you can either go to google and type "creative commons dance music" and change "dance music" to the genre of your choice or you can go to soundshiva.com which is a directory of creative commons licensed music and netlabels.
Even this website has a section listing mp3 singles for videos, remixes and covers.
Also, consider making a donation to the netlabels or artists that have let you use their material if you see any benefit from using them. It was nice of them to give them away for free after-all.
Attribution
As with everything free, there will always be a catch. With the case of using music in your own projects you music "attribute" the original works in the manner specified by the artists or licensor. This usually includes the name of the track, name of artist and where is was downloaded from. If your projects are posted onto the web then it most likely (in the case of netlabels) includes a link back to the original page of the music you have used.
Below this article I will list all the decent sources of royalty free music I have came across, so enjoy finding the music for your projects.
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Royalty Free Music Providers & Directories
SoundShiva
RoyaltyFreeMusic.com
StockMusic.com
Jamendo