Where do you download free music

Music streaming services are not without their problems. The biggest turnoff being the lack of ownership. If you use Spotify, you don't own any music---you've merely been granted a license to listen to it.

But not to worry. There are still ways you can get hold of free music. They are entirely legal, and the music will be yours to keep forever. Here are the best sites to download free music legally!

1. YouTube Audio Library

The YouTube Audio Library is mainly aimed at people who need royalty-free production music to use in videos. However, anyone with a YouTube account can access the library via YouTube Studio and download as many songs as they wish.

According to the library's terms and conditions, you can use the tracks in any content you create; it's not just limited to videos. You can also use the songs in monetized videos on the YouTube platform.

Each song has a sample available, which you can listen to by hitting the small Play icon. If you like what you hear, click the adjacent Download button.

In addition to free music tracks, the YouTube Audio Library also includes sound effects. Again, they are free to use across your creative works.

2. Free Music Archive

The Free Music Archive has been around for many years, but it remains as popular as ever.

WUFM---an independent freeform radio station in New Jersey---curates the content. Most of the available songs are from lesser-known artists, but occasionally you will see a famous name pop up.

You don't need to worry about legality, as all of the tracks on the site are free for personal use. However, if you're planning to use the songs in a commercial setting, you need to check the license associated with each individual recording.

3. Jamendo

Jamendo is a platform that allows unsigned independent artists to easily distribute their music to their fans. It currently has more than 400,000 tracks from 40,000 artists.

The music is built around "Communities". Navigating to a particular community (for example, #Rock) will introduce you to its leading tracks, albums, and artists. You can sort the music by all-time popularity, what's trending, and latest releases.

If you want to test the waters before you commit to a download, you can tune into one of the site's themed radio stations. By the way, check out the best music download apps for Android and iOS if you want to your music to go.

4. NoiseTrade

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. And if you use NoiseTrade, that's partly true.

The artists who have listed their music on this site want something in return for the free download, typically a postal address or an email address. The idea is for the bands to easily connect with people who like their music---perhaps to advertise an upcoming tour or highlight the launch of a new album.

The flipside is that you're more likely to find artists you recognize. Sure, you're not going to find The Killers' latest release, but most of the bands are already signed to a record label and have albums available.

5. Musopen

What if pop, rock, and the other mainstream genres aren't your thing? Well, if you're more into classical music, you're in luck.

Musopen has recordings from some of the most famous classical musicians of all time. You'll find everything from Bach and Beethoven to Tchaikovsky and Holst. You can search by composer, performer, instrument, period, and form to locate the content you want.

The site extends beyond music downloads. You'll also find lots of free sheet music and even some educational resources.

6. Amazon

Many people don't realize that Amazon has a vast repository of free music downloads. At the time of writing, more than 6,000 songs are available for download.

Unlike some of the other free music download sites, you can frequently find famous bands. Right now, you can find music from the Foo Fighters, Boy George, Lisa Loeb, Boyz II Men, and Carole King, and many more. The artists do change occasionally, so if you find any music you like, grab it while you can.

Anyway from famous names, the collection also does a surprisingly good job of covering niche genres. Sadly, Amazon has removed the feature that allowed you to filter the free music by genre (though it's still there for paid music). As such, you'll need to do the digging yourself.

7. The Internet Archive

Did you know that the Internet Archive is useful for a lot more than only laughing at how bad the web looked in 1999? It's also a fantastic free audio library.

For a music lover, the best part of the site is the Live Music Archive. It was built in partnership with etree.org, and features shows and concerts from a range of leading artists. All the bands in the collection are "trade-friendly", meaning they've granted fans the right to freely trade some of their music for non-commercial means.

The library doesn't just cover music; you'll also find old news and public affairs talks, radio shows, audiobooks, and poetry readings.

What Happened to FreeAllMusic?

Almost all of these sites specialize in helping you download music from unknown and upcoming artists rather than current stars. It's largely inevitable, as bands who have already made it big have no need to give their music away for free.

As a rule, if you see a site offering you a free copy of the latest album by Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift, it'll probably be illegal to download it. In which case you should proceed with extreme caution.

One such illegal example is FreeAllMusic. Like The Pirate Bay, it has been taken offline many times, only to rear its head at a new domain. A rebooted version persists to this day. Our advice is to steer clear.

Learn More About Downloading Music

Although it's nice to be able to grab free music downloads legally, there are plenty of ways to pay for the biggest and newest releases.

Before you get your wallet out, however, it makes sense to check whether you like the music first.

Dan Price (1422 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

More From Dan Price