Creating quality content is no easy task when you’re on a budget, so here’s our top 5 best stock music sites.
Like voice-over, music connects deeply with audiences, influencing how they feel about your message – that’s why it’s important to find the best stock music sites for music that resonates with your audience.
Gone are the days of manually browsing and identifying relevant music for your project, music subscription sites are the new norm – just look at the success of Spotify!
With more and more video maker apps on the market, making video production affordable to the masses, the opportunity for composers is enormous. And clients have more choices than ever.
Although many of the platforms featured here have low-scoring reviews, please take these with a pinch of salt. Many of the reviews are by composers unsatisfied with the changing industry. Please take some time to read the reviews before deciding.
Voquent’s Best Stock Music Sites
✔ Audio Network
4.5 on Trustpilot
Audio Network is one of the best stock music sites that offers a variety of purchase options and subscriptions, with singletrack/single-use from £6.99 per track for personal projects or £588 per year for a business subscription (for one individual).
We recommend the business subscription for larger creative teams, but it’s best to discuss your needs with their research team. It’s also worth mentioning that this subscription offers unlimited downloads and unrestricted use – imagine all that content!
✔ AudioJungle
4.5 on G2
Part of the EnvatoMarket, AudioJungle offer royalty-free music and audio tracks for just $1. However, most tracks are priced between $10 – $20 for a standard license with additional license types to cater to mass-market commercials, television or film projects.
Remember to always carefully read the license to ensure it fits your needs.
✔ Epidemic Sound
3.5 on Trustpilot
Epidemic Sound provides a generous 30-day free trial and simple subscriptions providing access to 35,000+ tracks. You can choose from two subscriptions: personal use for £96/year and commercial use at £239/year.
However, if your project is for TV or commercial streaming, you’ll need to contact them directly for a quote. Individual tracks can also be purchased from £79 for a standard license. Epidemic Sound also are partners with Adobe Stock and Getty Images Music if you’re looking for an alternative way to access their music library.
✔ Musicbed
3.5 on Trustpilot
Musicbed is the go-to for many professional filmmakers because of the high-quality music available, but it’s definitely one of the pricier options for commercial use. Subscriptions start at $249.99/year for personal use or $1,079.88/year for small/medium business use.
However, not all music on Musicbed is included in their subscriptions, you may still have to buy tracks. The music is also not royalty-free, but you can monetise your videos with SyncID, a content clearance system, to navigate this problem if you’re still keen.
✔ Storyblocks
4.5 on Trustpilot
Storyblocks ‘Unlimited Audio’ package is only £149.04/year with no restrictions on the project budget, making it desirable for creatives. They also offer an ‘Unlimited All Access’ subscription which includes HD/4k stock Footage, Photos and After Effects Templates for £348.96/year.
It’s one of the best stock music sites, with one of the highest ratings – and it’s clear to see why!
Other Stock Music Sites
Still not sure about the best music licensing platform for your video or film?
Here’s a list of some more sites you can check out:
Adobe Stock
1.5 on Trustpilot
Adobe Stock’s ‘Most popular’ package is £239.99/year, giving you ten standard assets a month, including music.
They also include Epidemic Sounds and Jamendo music libraries. For Premium assets and music, you need to buy credit packs which start at £29.95 for five credits or £600 for 150 credits.
Artlist.io
4.5 on Trustpilot
Artilist.io offers two subscriptions: $299/year for unlimited music and SFX or $199/year for music only. You can use the music in any broadcast medium, but if you work in a larger team, it’s probably worthwhile reaching out to enquire about the enterprise license.
Audiio
4 on Trustpilot
Audiio offers a few different subscription types, but the main ones are the Pro subscription for $199/year, or the Lifetime Music subscription for $299/year, including some upgrades for TV and OTT. They are well-reviewed and both users and musicians enjoy the service.
Depositphotos
4.3 on Trustpilot
Despite the impression their name might give you, Depositphotos is one of the webs largest online music libraries. Their Unlimited Subscription starts at £199/year, or you can buy music on demand.
Businesses with teams will be glad to know there is an Enterprise plan, but you’ll need to contact them directly for a quote. They are by far the most highly reviewed site on this list.
Filmstro
4.3 on Facebook (50+ reviews)
The difference with Filmstro is that it’s not just a music library – they provide the tools to edit the music to your video too, with a plugin for Premiere Pro.
You have the option of three packages: YouTuber for $8.25/month, Pro for $20.75/month and Pro Plus for $41.50/month. The latter allowing you to use the music in a TV film or advertising, with cancellation at anytime.
Foximusic
4 stars on G2
Foximusic offers three different packs with different license levels. Basic for individual content creators, Standard for unlimited online use, and Extended for Film, TV and Radio use.
The tracks are competitively priced, and buying ten tracks is significantly cheaper than buying one (e.g. 1 track on a Standard license is $39, while 10 tracks is $14.90 each)
HookSounds
4.3 on Trustpilot
For $348/year, content creators get an all-access pass to the music library and unlimited downloads. The business plan is $588/year and includes a license to use the music for 3rd parties and even get a custom track once per month.
Marmoset
No reviews were found.
Marmoset is a full-service music agency that help with sound design and licensing.
While they currently don’t offer any subscription packages, licenses for library tracks start at $49 for one track for single-use podcasts, and small business commercial licenses for up to 250 employees are $999.
Music for Video
For a simple, one-time payment you can get access to thousands of tracks – ready for entertainment, commercial, or educational use. There is no need for recurring payments; Music for Video offer consistent music tracks, for worldwide broadcast, in perpetuity. No strings attached!
Music Vine
4.9 on Trustpilot
Music Vine offer two subscription prices: Pro-Lite (£179.88/year) for small-scale productions and Pro Standard (£323.88/year) for advertising and entertainment projects.
However, the licenses are granted with a budget cap which means you will need to be careful about the usage. (e.g. YouTube creators earning more than £60k revenue will need an extension option, for which you’ll need to contact Music Vine directly). They also offer pay-per-use licenses, which vary in cost by type and duration.
Pond5
4.7 on Trustpilot
Pond5 music is £5 to £80 per track for an individual license, with licenses for Business and Premium also varying from £200 – £400 typically.
You can also buy credit packs which provide around 10-15% bonus credits to spend or an Annual membership for £815 which includes ten downloads per month and access to other stock media from the Membership Collection.
Get 20% off your first order by using this link >
PremiumBeat
2.4 on Trustpilot
A PremiumBeat subscription is $779.40/year for up to 60 tracks with standard licenses, Standard and Premium licenses are available for $49 and $199 per track.
Shutterstock owns PremiumBeat, so many music tracks are also available there.
Shutterstock
1.2 on Trustpilot
Individual tracks on Shutterstock are £45 for a Standard license or £349 with an enhanced license.
You can also subscribe for $204/year with unlimited downloads, but you’ll still need to purchase an enhanced license to use tracks for broadcast projects.
Soundstripe
2.5 on Trustpilot
Soundstripe is a popular choice for YouTubers, with prices starting at $149/year for their unlimited music subscription.
They’ve also got a helpful Adobe Premiere Pro extension and entire stems for the audio files on all songs, all of which should make editing a breeze. For Premium music, you’ll need to get in touch for a quote for the enterprise plan.
Splice
4.1 on Trustpilot
Splice is more geared towards music producers and songwriters than filmmakers, providing royalty-free samples, sound packs and plugins.
We’ve included it here as it still may be relevant to many content creators. Subscription packages start at $12.99/month for 100 downloads or $19,99/month for 200 downloads, or $39.99/month for 500 downloads.
You can also rent-to-own plugins, and there are integrations for FL Studio and Ableton.
TakeTones
5.0 on Facebook
With five different licenses to choose from, there is something at TakeTones for everyone. It’s free to use 10 tracks per month purely for personal use or non-monetised YouTube channels.
Most professional users will want the Standard license at $39/month, which grants online ads, public spaces, apps/games, and audiobooks. An extended and unlimited license is also available for movies and TV projects.
TuneReel
5.0 on Facebook
TuneReel promises content creation without limitations. Offering a basic plan of $69/year which includes unlimited licenses for up to 10k subscribers for personal use. However, we recommend their Pro plan for business, which lets you use the music for client work and even video games and apps – but you’ll need to contact them directly for a price.
Uppbeat
4.6 on Trustpilot
For only $6.99/month, you can download 10 tracks per month. Uppbeat also offer a Lifetime Plan for $199.99, providing unlimited access to all music tracks, or a 3-year plan for $99.99.
The service is heavily geared to YouTube creators and streamers, but you can use the music anywhere.
Best Stock Music Sites for Personal Use
If you want music for personal projects and don’t want to spend a lot on music licensing for video, these cheap or free, royalty-free sites are worth a look. Most allow you to use their music as long as you credit the artist.
AudioLibrary.com.co
Audio Library is a YouTube channel dedicated to making music freely available to content creators, boasting an audience of over 4 million subscribers on their channel. It’s 100% free to use the tracks, but you must attribute the artist.
Filmmusic.io
All the tracks on Filmmusic.io are royalty-free for most users, and it is only €20 if you wish to buy an extended license for commercial use.
Free-Stock-Music.com
Free Stock Music is a 100% free music library with a vast selection of music. You can license the music in anything with a simple attribution in the credits.
Machinima Sound
While Machinima Sound don’t have a vast selection, most tracks are $8 each, and there is no subscription.
Mixkit
Powered by EnvatoElements, Mixkit provides a curated selection of stock music for free. The license covers podcasts, social media and online ads but doesn’t cover CD/DVDs, TV/Radio broadcasts or video games. It is entirely legit and is a popular choice for user-generated content.
TeknoAxe
Altogether free, royalty-free music tracks. Not an extensive selection, but it’s all free, so take your pick. Just make sure to credit the author.
YouTube Audio Library
YouTube’s audio library is accessible to anyone with a YouTube account and includes royalty-free music and sound effects. It has a few thousand tracks to choose from and has helped many YouTubers to get their channels started.
Conclusion
Finding the best stock music for your project has never been easier with an array of sites to choose from. Whether you’re looking for high-quality tracks on a paid subscription service or free music to suit your budget, there’s a site out there for everyone.
From well-established platforms to industry newbies, these stock music sites offer extensive libraries and diverse genres to make your content the best it can be.
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