The libraries

Tracks made in the free browser studio Audiotool; many artists publish under CC BY so you can reuse and remix them.

The non-profit library’s netlabel collection: tens of thousands of Creative Commons releases.

A remix community since 2004: tracks, stems and a cappellas under Creative Commons.

Music files on Wikimedia Commons: public-domain classical, historic recordings and CC-licensed originals. Free licenses only.

Recordings of classical works uploaded by performers to the Petrucci Music Library, next to the free scores.

Over 10,000 digitized wax-cylinder recordings from the 1890s to 1920s: popular song, band music, vaudeville and opera.

Community library of game music: 10,000+ loops, themes and ambiences uploaded by their composers under open licenses.

A promotion hub for 150+ independent composers, with thousands of tracks under Creative Commons licenses.

Japanese BGM library with 2,700+ tracks from 150+ sound creators, sorted into themes like battle, café, horror and kawaii.

The site behind the Audio Library YouTube channel: 2,600+ tracks from indie artists, each with a ready-to-paste credit.

Sascha Ende’s 2,000-track catalog, CC BY 4.0 with credit made optional.

The label behind a decade of free electronic music for gamers, streamers and YouTubers.

Eric Matyas’ 1,400+ game and video tracks, sorted by mood and genre, free with credit.

Kevin MacLeod’s catalog — the most-used free music on YouTube, all CC BY 4.0.

Hand-picked lo-fi, vlog and background tracks by real artists, free for your own monetized videos with a credit.

A UK label putting out electronic, bass and lofi releases that creators can use on YouTube and Twitch for free.

Hundreds of background tracks sorted by mood, each with 15, 30 and 60-second cuts. Free for non-commercial projects.

A Japanese composer’s huge library of game, rock, orchestral and 8-bit music, a staple of RPG Maker and indie games.

Epic, fantasy and medieval scores from Alexander Nakarada, free under CC BY 4.0.

Free music packs from indie game composers on itch.io, limited here to packs released under CC0 or CC BY 4.0.

500+ gentle orchestral, piano, music-box and fantasy pieces from one Japanese composer, free for commercial use.

More than 500 ten-minute ambiences and music loops for tabletop RPGs, ad-free and listener-supported.

Jason Shaw’s ~400 tracks across 30 genres, from bluegrass to trip-hop, all CC BY 4.0.

Japanese-style, fantasy, horror and battle BGM by composer Hirokazu Akiyama. Free on YouTube, monetized included.

Singer-songwriter with 250+ songs, most with instrumental versions, all CC BY 4.0.

Cinematic and orchestral scores from an Australian composer, free under CC BY 4.0.

A Japanese composer’s library of game, cinematic, ambient and jingle BGM, free for commercial use with a credit.

Shane Ivers’ 230+ tracks for video, games and podcasts, free under CC BY 4.0.

Ambient, electronic and piano albums from a composer who put his whole catalog under CC BY 4.0.

Game, synth and orchestral tracks from a Dutch composer; the songs marked CC (Free) are CC BY 4.0.

A French blog that has reviewed free Creative Commons tracks since 2006, each with license proof and a ready credit.

A Spanish game composer’s chiptune, fantasy, arcade, horror and action loops, free with a link back.

Synthwave, darksynth and retro horror by Karl Casey, free for YouTube videos, streams, films and games with a credit.