Top 15 Free Music Download Sites
If you've ever tried to download free music online, then you know just how frustrating the experience can be. It doesn't have to be that way. I combed the web and found 10 music download sites that actually work. These websites made the cut because they: 1) host tons of music and 2) offer well organized and easily searchable databases. Best of all, they are completely free and legal.
Here are 10 music download sites that actually work.
See Also: 10 Best Places to Download Free Instrumentals | Top 5 Royalty-Free Music Sites
MP3.com
MP3.com is a well-organized music sharing site where artists can upload music and fans can download free music to their heart's content. MP3.com has an easy search function off-the-bat and users can seamlessly browse through music by genre or time period.
Incompetech
Need royalty-free music for your YouTube videos? Need a soundtrack for your amateur film or game? Need music for an office presentation? You should definitely bookmark Incompetech. The site is a godsend for anyone who needs music for any project but can’t afford exorbitant licensing fees for commercial music.
Unlike many of the sites on this list, Incompetech is basically a one-man machine. The founder Kevin MacLeod explains the philosophy behind giving away his music for free: “There are a lot of schools with no money, and plenty of film makers who want to have music - but can't afford to clear copyrights from the existing systems that are set up.
I believe that copyright is badly broken, so I chose a license that allows me to give away the rights I wish to surrender.”
If you decide to use any of the songs for commercial purposes, be sure to give ownership credit. As with other sites, read the license agreements carefully before downloading the songs.
MadeLoud
MadeLoud is a top-shelf indie-friendly site that features tons of free music downloads. Many of their songs come directly from artists, giving them an air of exclusivity. If you're an avid music consumer and you want to support independent artists, you should definitely bookmark MadeLoud. Oh, and you can also license music from the site for your projects.
Public Domain 4U
Public Domain 4U is more than just a library of free songs. It's also a window into great historical music recordings. It does a fantastic job of combining legally free, carefully curated music with historical perspective.
Public Domain 4U is one of only a handful of venues on the web where you can enjoy beautiful recordings and learn about old timers like blues legend Big Joe Williams and Cajun artists Joe and Cléoma Falcon.
Bump Foot
Bump Foot has been around since 2005focuses primarily on techno, trance, ambient, IDM, dance and electronic. The site doesn't have a native player, but you can download MP3s or launch individual tracks in your web browser. There are mixes with names like "bump200" and "foot242." These typically contain anywhere from 9 to 20 songs. You can grab the entire batch at once or pick out solo tunes.
The Japan-based site allows you to copy, distribute and adapt the work as you wish.
Basically, share as you like, as long as it's not for commercial purposes. It's a great database with tons of songs if you're passionate about the genres it caters to.
Epitonic
Epitonic's tagline is simply "the center of sound." Underneath the header, the site's offer loud and clear: "thousands of free and legal carefully curated MP3s." The site, which has been around since 1999, features a mix of songs across every genre from math rock to new wave. You'll find songs by the likes of Run the Jewels, Freddie Gibbs, Sonic Youth and Metric, among others.
You don't have to register to download.
Simply navigate to a selection of songs or run a search. With one touch of the button you're ready to enjoy a diverse array of songs, old and new. The site is also adorned with featured playlists, exclusive label releases and music articles.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a great place to find new up and coming artists, as well as established artists in every genre. They usually give the music away for free, ask you to pay what you like, or a set price.
Pure Volume
Pure Volume is an artist-share site where fans can find not only music downloads but the latest on independent festivals and new artists. You can look for music to download by checking out featured artists, top songs, top downloads, and past features.
Last.fm
Soundowl is a free music download site that features songs in just about every genre you can think up: rap, trap, dubstep, house, electro, moombahton. It also offers tons of instrumentals, in case you're looking to bust a freestyle or something.
The interface is clean and minimalist. Just plug in the name of a song or artist you want to experience and it returns a list of tracks. Bam. You can definitely browse by genre, or just hit shuffle to randomize your selection.
SoundOwl promotes itself as an artist-friendly site. To keep the site legal, they've partnered with Copyseeker to catch and remove copyright violaters.
Amazon
Last.fm is more than just a place to grab free tunes. It's a combo radio-social networking site where you can discover new music, track your listening habits and, of course, download free MP3s from the likes of Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Sufjan Stevens and more.
Soundcloud
If you read this site regularly then you've probably noticed the occasional Amazon link pointing to music downloads. Believe it or not, Amazon also offers a vast supply of freebies. You can search free songs by genre or visit the Top Free Songs widget on the right sidebar. Just follow the link up top to access the free music section directly.
Free Music Archive
Soundcloud is a godsend to music enthusiasts. Not all songs on Soundcloud are downloads, but a huge amount of them are available with the click of a button. The site boasts a clean streaming interface, a great community, and more free stuff than you can consume in a lifetime. Pro Tip: Both Android and iOS apps are available, if prefer your freebie on the go.
Noise Trade
The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal music downloads. All the tracks have been pre-cleared by the rights holders and are free for listening and educational use. You can search by curator or by genres, from hip-hop to pop. And, just like Noise Trade, you have the option to "tip" the artist if you really love the work.
Jamendo
Noise Trade is a sleek music-sharing site where artists can create widgets to share music, both within the site and on their personal social media accounts. I love their tagline: "Free albums from thousands of artists who would love to meet you."
You can download songs for no charge and tip if you like what you hear. The hip-hop section is vast, and users can browse through top downloads or check out the most recent shares.
Jamendo is one of the largest sites in the world to service both fans looking for music to download and artists who want credit for their work. The entire site functions under a Creative Commons agreement. Users can search from thousands of free music downloads, uploaded by the artists themselves. Artists get a chance to gain popularity and possibly sell a commercial license for the use of their songs, as well.
Best of all, though, is that music-lovers can also download music free of guilt.
See Also: 25 Best Free Online Music Streaming Sites | Top 5 Royalty-Free Music Sites
If you've ever tried to download free music online, then you know just how frustrating the experience can be. It doesn't have to be that way. I combed the web and found 10 music download sites that actually work. These websites made the cut because they: 1) host tons of music and 2) offer well organized and easily searchable databases. Best of all, they are completely free and legal.
Here are 10 music download sites that actually work.
See Also: 10 Best Places to Download Free Instrumentals | Top 5 Royalty-Free Music Sites
MP3.com
MP3.com is a well-organized music sharing site where artists can upload music and fans can download free music to their heart's content. MP3.com has an easy search function off-the-bat and users can seamlessly browse through music by genre or time period.
Incompetech
Need royalty-free music for your YouTube videos? Need a soundtrack for your amateur film or game? Need music for an office presentation? You should definitely bookmark Incompetech. The site is a godsend for anyone who needs music for any project but can’t afford exorbitant licensing fees for commercial music.
Unlike many of the sites on this list, Incompetech is basically a one-man machine. The founder Kevin MacLeod explains the philosophy behind giving away his music for free: “There are a lot of schools with no money, and plenty of film makers who want to have music - but can't afford to clear copyrights from the existing systems that are set up.
I believe that copyright is badly broken, so I chose a license that allows me to give away the rights I wish to surrender.”
If you decide to use any of the songs for commercial purposes, be sure to give ownership credit. As with other sites, read the license agreements carefully before downloading the songs.
MadeLoud
MadeLoud is a top-shelf indie-friendly site that features tons of free music downloads. Many of their songs come directly from artists, giving them an air of exclusivity. If you're an avid music consumer and you want to support independent artists, you should definitely bookmark MadeLoud. Oh, and you can also license music from the site for your projects.
Public Domain 4U
Public Domain 4U is more than just a library of free songs. It's also a window into great historical music recordings. It does a fantastic job of combining legally free, carefully curated music with historical perspective.
Public Domain 4U is one of only a handful of venues on the web where you can enjoy beautiful recordings and learn about old timers like blues legend Big Joe Williams and Cajun artists Joe and Cléoma Falcon.
Bump Foot
Bump Foot has been around since 2005focuses primarily on techno, trance, ambient, IDM, dance and electronic. The site doesn't have a native player, but you can download MP3s or launch individual tracks in your web browser. There are mixes with names like "bump200" and "foot242." These typically contain anywhere from 9 to 20 songs. You can grab the entire batch at once or pick out solo tunes.
The Japan-based site allows you to copy, distribute and adapt the work as you wish.
Basically, share as you like, as long as it's not for commercial purposes. It's a great database with tons of songs if you're passionate about the genres it caters to.
Epitonic
Epitonic's tagline is simply "the center of sound." Underneath the header, the site's offer loud and clear: "thousands of free and legal carefully curated MP3s." The site, which has been around since 1999, features a mix of songs across every genre from math rock to new wave. You'll find songs by the likes of Run the Jewels, Freddie Gibbs, Sonic Youth and Metric, among others.
You don't have to register to download.
Simply navigate to a selection of songs or run a search. With one touch of the button you're ready to enjoy a diverse array of songs, old and new. The site is also adorned with featured playlists, exclusive label releases and music articles.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a great place to find new up and coming artists, as well as established artists in every genre. They usually give the music away for free, ask you to pay what you like, or a set price.
Pure Volume
Pure Volume is an artist-share site where fans can find not only music downloads but the latest on independent festivals and new artists. You can look for music to download by checking out featured artists, top songs, top downloads, and past features.
Last.fm
Soundowl is a free music download site that features songs in just about every genre you can think up: rap, trap, dubstep, house, electro, moombahton. It also offers tons of instrumentals, in case you're looking to bust a freestyle or something.
The interface is clean and minimalist. Just plug in the name of a song or artist you want to experience and it returns a list of tracks. Bam. You can definitely browse by genre, or just hit shuffle to randomize your selection.
SoundOwl promotes itself as an artist-friendly site. To keep the site legal, they've partnered with Copyseeker to catch and remove copyright violaters.
Amazon
Last.fm is more than just a place to grab free tunes. It's a combo radio-social networking site where you can discover new music, track your listening habits and, of course, download free MP3s from the likes of Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Sufjan Stevens and more.
Soundcloud
If you read this site regularly then you've probably noticed the occasional Amazon link pointing to music downloads. Believe it or not, Amazon also offers a vast supply of freebies. You can search free songs by genre or visit the Top Free Songs widget on the right sidebar. Just follow the link up top to access the free music section directly.
Free Music Archive
Soundcloud is a godsend to music enthusiasts. Not all songs on Soundcloud are downloads, but a huge amount of them are available with the click of a button. The site boasts a clean streaming interface, a great community, and more free stuff than you can consume in a lifetime. Pro Tip: Both Android and iOS apps are available, if prefer your freebie on the go.
Noise Trade
The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal music downloads. All the tracks have been pre-cleared by the rights holders and are free for listening and educational use. You can search by curator or by genres, from hip-hop to pop. And, just like Noise Trade, you have the option to "tip" the artist if you really love the work.
Jamendo
Noise Trade is a sleek music-sharing site where artists can create widgets to share music, both within the site and on their personal social media accounts. I love their tagline: "Free albums from thousands of artists who would love to meet you."
You can download songs for no charge and tip if you like what you hear. The hip-hop section is vast, and users can browse through top downloads or check out the most recent shares.
Jamendo is one of the largest sites in the world to service both fans looking for music to download and artists who want credit for their work. The entire site functions under a Creative Commons agreement. Users can search from thousands of free music downloads, uploaded by the artists themselves. Artists get a chance to gain popularity and possibly sell a commercial license for the use of their songs, as well.
Best of all, though, is that music-lovers can also download music free of guilt.
See Also: 25 Best Free Online Music Streaming Sites | Top 5 Royalty-Free Music Sites
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