Where to download songs for free

If you're wondering how to download music, look no further. 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 MP3 download sites for free music. 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. The Free Music Archive has been around for many years, but it remains as popular as ever.

Most of the free song downloads are from lesser-known artists, but occasionally you will see a famous name pop up. Regardless, it is a great way to discover new music. You don't need to worry about legality, as all 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.

Jamendo is a platform that allows unsigned independent artists to easily distribute their music to their fans. It currently has more than , royalty-free tracks from 40, 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 in to one of the site's themed radio stations. 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 flip side 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. Free users are limited to only five downloads a day and standard audio quality. By subscribing to the service , you get unlimited downloads, HD audio quality, and access to an HD radio feature.

Geared towards the indie music scene, ReverbNation allows local artists to upload their music for fans to discover. Music can be found from the website's Discover tab, the community-driven Crowd Picks tab, genre-based playlists, or from ReverbNation channels embedded in the website's music player.

Artists have the option of adding music for sale, online listening only, or direct download. If you're looking for free music tracks, you can download songs directly from the music player. If it's been made available, you can click the Download button for the MP3 file. You can also download music directly from the artist page by clicking the download button next to the track you want. Some artists may ask for your email address as a trade for the free music.

SoundCloud is the premier place on the internet for amateur artists to upload their music and get discovered. The platform mostly focuses on on-site streaming, but SoundCloud does give artists the option to make certain tracks available as free downloads.

In order to download a track, you must first be signed in with a SoundCloud account. Find a song you want to download and click the More options button. If the track is available for download, you can click Download file to save the song to your computer. If you don't want to mess with any of the other options, turn to YouTube instead.

Many songs and music videos have been uploaded to the site, so it's a goldmine for free content. If you can find the right tool to create an MP3 or MP4 file , you can have all the free music you want. Just know that it's not exactly legal to convert and download copyrighted content. Image: Shutterstock These days, most people are streaming music from services like Spotify, but it's not a perfect solution.

Further Reading. More Inside PCMag. Here we've picked the five best providers of free music downloads — all totally legal and above board. The sites below are our top choices for free music, but some of the big online music stores also offer free tracks to download. Take a look at Amazon's free music selection and Google Play's free song of the week if you can't find exactly what you're looking for here.

SoundCloud is a brilliant place to discover and download free music, with a brilliant tagging system that makes it easy to search by genre. Not all tracks are available gratis, but you might be surprised how many are. When you download a track, you will automatically begin following that artist, but you can unfollow them any time if you change your mind.

You can only download tracks individually, not whole playlists. Downloads are provided in MP3 format.