Are you an indie developer and having trouble finding royalty free music you can use for your games?
Not everyone can afford to hire a composer or a sound designer, especially when prototyping!
To help you I made this list of free websites of best music to amp up your game project!
Without too much explaining, here’s the list:
- ccmixter.org
- Flash Kit sound effects
- Freesound.org
- Musopen classical music
- Open Music Archive
- Incompetech
- Nosoapradio
- Soundimage.org
- Purple Planet Music
- digccMixter
- PlayOnLoop
- Bensound
- FreeSFX
- Twin Musicom
- ZapSplat
- Bandcamp
- NetLabels
- OurMusicBox
- Purple Planet
- Steven O’Brien
- Beardmont
- PartnersInRhyme
- IndieGameMusic
- FreeSoundtrackMusic
- Jamendo
- Creative Commons Labs
Also SoundCloud Is great place to find free music. These songs are using the CC BY-ND license.
This means you can use them for FREE, even for commercial purposes. Click here to download.
Can I use them for free?
You should keep in mind, that even if the music is free to use, they vary in the licenses they are published with.
Before releasing your game to the public, you should check which CC License they are using and act accordingly.
Does it sound confusing? Don’t worry, let me explain.
You can go to full depth by visiting Creative Commons website.
Creative Commons Licenses
Attribution
CC BY
You can use the work of others in any way.
You cannot share it with others in adapted form, and all the credit must be provided to you.
Can be used for commercial purposes.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
Attribution-ShareAlike
CC BY-SA
You can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium. Attribution must be given to the original creator.
Can be used for commercial purposes.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
- (SA) Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
Attribution-NoDerivs
CC BY-ND
You can copy and distribute the material in any medium in unadapted form only. You have to give attribution is given to the creator.
Can be used for commercial purposes.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
- (ND) No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
You can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
- (NC) Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
You can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium for noncommercial purposes only. Must give attribution to the original creator.
If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
- (NC) Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
- (SA) Adaptations must be shared under the same terms
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
You can copy and distribute the material in any medium in unadapted form only. For noncommercial purposes only, and must give attribution to the creator.
- (BY) Credit must be given to the creator
- (NC) Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted
- (ND) No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted
Public Domain Dedication
CC0
Can be used in any way.
If you want total freedom to the music or audio you are looking for, this is the license to go for.
CC0 allows you to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.
- Totally free to use in any way
Conclusion
Now you know where to find free music, and how give credits accordingly.
To choose the right license try to think about why and how you want to share your work, and how you hope others will use that work.
It’s an easy way to get free music, just remember to mention the right people when you release the game.