This article will tell you about the top 10 best public-domain music sites. Music is an essential element we add to videos and social media posts and listen to for leisure or educational purposes. But, using music with copyright often puts you in legal problems or gets your Videos and posts deleted by search engines or social media sites.
A solution to this problem is the use of royalty-free public-domain music. This public domain music published before 1923 is available on some public domain sites. Unlike free music streaming sites, these Public Domain songs will be yours not just for listening but even for using and downloading all kinds of music. The uses can include remixing music, adding videos and online posts, creating your music collection, etc. Consequently, you won’t have to fuss over copyright or other legal issues.
Best Free Public Domain Music Archive Sites
Several sites provide you with copyright-free music. But there are some sites that people love the most. Below mentioned is a list of the same:
- Musopen
- Open Music Archive
- Freesound
- FreePD.com
- International Music Score Library Project
- ChoralWiki
- Digital History
- Mubert Render
- Wikimedia Commons: Audio Files
- CCMixter
What makes these sites’ music worth it? Are these easy to access and legal? Let’s check out their features!
1] Musopen
The first entry on our list is Musopen which offers classical music downloads. They are working on setting music free by giving recordings, sheet music, and textbooks for free to everyone. The music will be free from all kinds of copyright restrictions for use. You can listen to them online or go for free downloads. If not, they can be saved for future use too.
A common problem with music download sites is that you often don’t get a chance to hear the song before downloading, which takes a lot of time. However, Musopen allows you to get a preview of the song before you move forward for download.
But, with free account access, you will only get the opportunity to have five downloads a day. For more downloads, you would need to get a paid subscription account. Also, for HD recordings, you need a paid account. This platform has many free songs by composers and instrument sounds for educational use by teachers and students.
Check the public domain music site here
2] Open Music Archive
The next name of this list is Open Music Archive which offers legal music for all kinds of music without ads. You can easily stream the music on SoundCloud. Another concern for users while downloading music is creating an account on public-domain music sites. But, on open Music Archive, you can easily download songs without creating an account.
However, the site does not have an advanced search tool, making it difficult to search for music on a website with an old design. Still, you can use this site to download an MP3 sound. Check out the website here.
Related: Royalty-free Copyright free Music which you can use in your videos
3] Freesound
Whether you want to download free sound individually or in theme packs, Freesound can be your ideal destination. Rather than a sheet or downloadable music, you will get to download countless sounds. For instance, the sound of birds, people talking, laughing, thunderstorms, doorbells, etc., for inclusion in video or audio editing. You can also get sounds from its database for scientific research.
It is an active forum site where you can network with fellow sound artists. The site offers a random and excellent ‘sound of the day’ where you can explore something new daily. Additionally, you can download songs in multiple file formats without fussing about limited download choices.
Freesound won’t let you fall short of choices, with new additions added now and then. You need to search them with relevant tags or keywords and access the popular ones. According to your downloads, the site will list the sounds, and you will also get the most preferred choice. Check out the site here.
4] FreePD.com
FreePD offers 100% free music from interesting categories of songs like electronic, comedy, romantic, sentimental, world, horror, upbeat, positive, etc. You can use this music for commercial use, free of royalties and attribution. The site is easy to use, and you won’t get stuck downloading complexities.
Moreover, you won’t have to waste your time creating an account on the site to download; you can directly download songs without it. If you are impressed by the music, you can even tip the sound artists for it. But, there is no search function on the site to find your preferred songs easily.
The site offers a chance to preview songs before downloading them to save your efforts and download them in MP3 format. However, you will have to pay to download music in bulk. Check the website here.
5] International Music Score Library Project
If you are looking for a site that offers millions of music scores and recordings, then IMSLP should be your choice. Academic institutions highly regard this site for its outstanding collection of public-domain music.
For extensive use, the site offers free public music sheets as pdf downloads for multipurpose use. You can easily search your required sound through its composers, time, or genre. Otherwise, there is a random tool to search for public-domain songs.
This site is beneficial if you need to find the first editions of famous historical songs or songs in many different languages. But, some Scores uploaded by users are not available in the public domain, which can be a letdown. Even membership is a must for accessing and downloading commercial recordings. Check it out here.
Read: Royalty-free Copyright free Music which you can use in your videos.
6] ChoralWiki
If you are looking for a site that offers numerous recent additions, then ChoralWiki can be your choice. It has hundreds of free Choral and vocal scores. Notably, this public domain music site allows translation into several other languages.
You can browse its multiple archives and find ideal festive and seasonal music. The site has easy search options with a keyword search bar. But, the website has an old-looking interface with restrictions for some Scores. Still, apart from these drawbacks, ChoralWiki is a renowned site that even provides sacred music. Check it here.
Related: Download Intro Sound Effects for free from these websites
7] Digital History
Another public-domain music site on the list is Digital History which offers royalty-free music with an instant download facility. You can easily browse through their diverse categories and find your match. This site is specifically hosted by the University of Houston for history teachers and students. So, you will even get copyright-free music from the 1920s and civil war-related music.
This site’s database for recorded music is used for educational purposes, and its copyright has expired. Or else, they are in the public domain, so they are copyright-free music. You can get music in categories like civil war reunion, Gilded age, jazz, French and Indian War, Negra Spiritual, scared, ragtime, etc.
The song link will directly take you to the downloads, and you won’t have to waste your time going through other options. However, you will get a preview of the song in the browser to save your efforts for download.
However, the site doesn’t have any filter option for the search bar and details apart from the title and artists of the song, which can be one of its Cons. Even the site design is boring and a little old-fashioned. Check the website here at digitalhistory.uh.edu
8] Mubert Render
In some situations, you will need the music of a specific length to add videos or audio or use for a soundtrack project. Another unique fa tor of the site is that it offers music created by Artificial intelligence that feels like something from futuristic technologies.
You must choose the song’s mood, genre, and duration. Consequently, the website will create an original track without copyright instantly. Moreover, a built-in player can listen to and download the sound for any purpose.
All the tracks from the site are entirely free to use and download. But, you will need to make your free account on the site to download the sound you create on this website. Furthermore, you can make a new similar variation for all the tracks you make here. Check the website here.
9] Wikimedia Commons: Audio Files
Just as the name suggests, Wikimedia is a multimedia collection under Wikipedia. All the audio and sounds on Wikimedia are distributed using the common creative license. So this means they are legal for all your video, audio, or multimedia projects.
It has music under the common creative license that has specific rules under the license that you need to follow for using their music for free. So, you will not have to take down your video owing to copyright issues. However, this site does not have a good search option and has the regular Wikipedia website design. Check it out here,
10] ccMixter
ccMixter is a site that provides you with the highest-rated public domain tracks in its categories. Also, editor picks are for getting references for your audio, editing, or soundtrack project purposes.
You can easily search for the chosen song or artist in the search button on top of the homepage. Moreover, it is an ideal site if you want to network with creators and music enthusiasts from around the globe.
But you must know that the site requires attribution. So, this needs to be taken care of while using the sounds on the site. You quickly find free tracks for commercial use from this filter to sort your options for music. Also, there is music with and without lyrics for relevant use. Check out the site here.
Conclusion
We hope that you might have found the best Public domain music sites in the list mentioned above to use for free. You can use old tracks for educational purposes, browse music from several genres for listening or download them to use in audio or other creative work. They offered the tracks before 1923 and the music released by creators and artists for the public domain to use without permission.
However, some sites have a few rules for use on some tracks, and copyright rules differ from country to country; you need to check and take care of them before use.
How can I download MP3 songs for free?
First of all, you should not. All Royalty music needs to be paid for, or one should listen to a music service. However, if you find music that is royalty-free but uploaded to a website where there is no way to download it, look for tools that can do it for you.
Where can I find free public domain songs?
Similar to images, many services these days offer royalty-free audio or public domain songs, which you can also use in your paid services and apps. Websites such as Pixbay, Mixkit, Bensound, and Chosic offer these types of music or audio file that can download. However, check the terms listed on the website before downloading and using it anywhere.
