Downloading music is a long-lost art these days as everyone prefers to listen to them on the best music streaming services. But still, there are many out there who prefer to enjoy listening to music in the best way possible without any interruptions. And that can be achieved by downloading the music. Thus, we have added free and legal websites that host music, ranging from popular songs to royalty-free music. That said, let’s go ahead and find the websites to download free music legally.
Note: We have also published a list of websites that let you download and stream movies for free. Click on the link to check it out.
In this list, we have included the 12 best free music download sites that you should know about to download music legally in 2023. From websites that host popular tracks and artists to royalty-free music, we have covered everything here.
1. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a popular music streaming platform for indie bands, aspiring musicians, and established singers. Not to mention, it’s also one of the best free music download sites that still allows you to download your favorite tracks as well as indie songs legally. Having said that, not all songs can be downloaded from SoundCloud. If an artist has enabled the download flag from the backend, then only you can download the song.
In my experience, some artists offer you to download the MP3 track, but some redirect you to stream the music from one of the many music streaming apps. Just go ahead and search for your favorite songs, and a “Download” or “Free Download” button will appear next to the song. All in all, to legally download free music, you can surely give a shot at SoundCloud.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Hosts mainstream library of music | Popular songs don’t allow download |
| Offers free download on selected tracks | |
| Excellent playlists and mixes |
2. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is another popular audio distribution platform where you will find thousands of songs for free. It hosts a variety of music genres, ranging from popular to niche artists. It even curates a separate page for free music tracks. Having said that, downloading music for free on Bandcamp is a bit tricky, though. You need to click on “Buy Digital Track” and enter “0” under the price field, only then the free download link will appear.
Now, simply click on “download to your computer” and enter a valid email address. Finally, click on “OK” and the song will then be downloaded to your computer for free. The tricky steps aside, this is awesome, right? So go ahead and download free music from cool new indie artists on Bandcamp legally. Apart from SoundCloud, you will find many mainstream bands and artists over here.
Pros Cons Free music download for popular bands and artists Need to pay for album download No need to sign up Download high-quality MP3
3. Jamendo
Jamendo surely ranks among the best free sites to download songs legally in 2023. It’s a hub for new and independent artists, where you can stream songs and download MP3 tracks entirely for free. There is one catch, though. You need to create a free Jamendo account to download the music which is a fair ask, I would say. Apart from that, it also provides royalty-free music for commercial use, again for free. You can download royalty-free music and background tracks for your Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, and other short videos.
The best part about Jamendo is that it has curated playlists for almost all the genres out there, including Indie, Metal, Electro Waves, Rock, and more. To sum up, if you are looking for a free music platform to download music legally, Jamendo is the one you should get behind.
Pros Cons Best site to download new and trending music Need to create an account Lots of curated playlists Covers a number of music genres
4. YouTube Audio Library
If you are a content creator and looking for a free music download site in 2023, your search stops at YouTube Audio Library. YouTube has a dedicated channel where it hosts royalty-free and no-copyright music for content creators. These tracks are available under a Creative Commons license, and they can be downloaded without violating YouTube’s ToS.
The best part is that you don’t need to download the YouTube track via third-party software. It adds the download link right below the audio, so you can click on it and download songs to your computer. Not to mention, you can use these free soundtracks in monetized videos on YouTube. All you need to do is add the attribution mentioned under the audio track. In tandem, YouTube Audio Library is a great place to discover and legally download copyright-free music for content creators.
Pros Cons Best audio library for content creators No mainstream music Royalty-free and copyright-free music Tracks available under Creative Commons license
5. Amazon Digital Music
You might not be unaware, but Amazon also offers digital music for free. Currently, it hosts around 4000 freely available soundtracks, which you can download for offline use as well. Note that you should be signed into your Amazon account to download the music. Among the free songs, it hosts music by Foo Fighters, Ashaneen (Nature Sounds Collection), Rich Barry, The Rizers, and more.
Sure, the collection is not quite mainstream, but if you go through the library, you will find many worthy soundtracks for free. Keep in mind that the free music tracks are available in MP3 format, and you can’t download them in FLAC, WAV, or other lossless codecs.
Pros Cons Decent collection of music No filter tool available Some mainstream songs are available Download songs in MP3, FLAC
6. Live Music Archive
You might be using the Internet Archive to download obscure books, but it also happens to host millions of songs from concerts, movies, audio collections, and more. What I like the most about Live Music Archive is that it categorizes the library really smartly and cohesively. You can filter music by genre, language, year, media type, etc. Ranging from 24-bit tracks to rock music, you are well covered on this portal.
And did I mention the flexibility you have for downloading the music files? Well, you can download music in FLAC format, MP3, and M3U. As for legality, The Internet Archive has been held legal in many copyright law proceedings, so you are safe on this front. I would say, if you particularly like live music, you will find a new home at Live Music Archive.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Best library of live music | Sound quality is sub-par |
| Download songs in FLAC format | |
| Excellent filtering option |
7. Free Music Archive
FMA (or the Free Music Archive) is one of the most popular online repositories to access royalty-free music. It was established in 2009, and since then, the website has amassed millions of copyright-free music tracks. For content creators, the FMA acts as the best resource for soundtracks, be it Ambient, New Age, Electro, or Instrumental.
All the music tracks are available under the free Creative Commons license, so you can download the song and use them in videos, podcasts, and other media projects. Free Music Archive also curates a featured mix with popular soundtracks, enabling you to discover new music from emerging artists and download them with just a click. All in all, if you are a content creator, then the Free Music Archive is an indispensable audio library at your disposal.
Pros Cons Free library of music for content creators Doesn’t host mainstream music Features curated playlists of trending music Licensed under Creative Commons
8. SoundClick
SoundClick does not have a huge library of songs, but it’s one of the few new sites where you can download music for free and legally. It’s a community of aspiring musicians, independent bands, and music lovers. The website offers well-curated charts and playlists ranging from HipHop to Instrumental.
You can download the music in MP3 format, and they are available under the free Creative Commons license. The good thing about SoundClick is that it also offers a social network, where you can make friends, share music stations, create blogs, and do a lot more. So if you want something more than downloading music, SoundClick is the best music community you can join.
Pros Cons Great community of aspiring musicians Popular songs are not available Offers a social network for musicians Download MP3 tracks
9. NoiseTrade
Now owned by Paste Magazine, NoiseTrade is one of the free music download sites where you can download ZIP files of the whole album without paying a dollar. It has a huge collection of music from artists like Natalie Bergman, Phoebe Bridgers, Alabama Shakes, and more.
To download the tracks, you need to sign up with a valid email address, and the ZIP file will be downloaded to your computer. In case you want to donate to the artist, you can do so using the “Tip” button at the bottom. If you are looking to download free music legally from celebrated artists, NoiseTrade is a very good option.
Pros Cons Download music from celebrated artists Needs to create an account Download the full album in ZIP files Music from Alabama Shakes, et al
10. ccMixter
If you are looking for a free music site for remixes or background audio for videos, apps, or games, check out ccMixter for its massive library of open music. It has more than 45,000 musicians on its portal, and the audio library is available under the free Creative Commons license for non-commercial use. And if you want to use the music for commercial purposes, you can definitely use it, but with attribution.
What I liked about this site is that there are no sign-up requirements to download the soundtracks. Simply open the music page and click on “Download” to get the track. Besides that, the website has editors who curate music and playlists with new and trending picks in line with the latest trends. Overall, ccMixter is another free and legal music site where you can directly download MP3 tracks without any fuss.
Pros Cons Huge library of remixes, background music Music discovery is poor Licensed under Creative Commons No-frills download
11. Musopen
Well not everyone is a fan of modern music, right? Then if you’re a lover of classical music, Musopen is the best site for you. Musopen has the best classical music of history’s finest musicians such as Mozart, Beethoven, etc. Once you created and registered an account, you can play the music for free as well as download them as you like. The site also includes free sheet music and educational resources if you’re deep into the music world. It has tons of musicians and a great filter to sort them out and find the right one for your taste.
Pros Cons Best site to download classical music Need to create an account Lots of renowned classical playlists Has most of the classical music genres
12. ReverbNation
If you’re tired of mainstream music and are on a treasure hunt to discover indie gems, ReverbNation has got your back! This website acts as a pillar for all the upcoming artists to share their music and we can enjoy them free of cost. There are all genres of music from thousands of budding artists and it’s so easy to download them too. You should create a profile first, click Become a fan of the artist you like, and boom you can start downloading their songs, it’s just that easy.
Pros Cons Best site to download Indie Music Need to create an account Many curated and featured collections are available Many curated and featured collections available
So these are our 12 picks for the best free sites that let you download music legally in 2023. With streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music becoming so popular, there are very few websites that host mainstream and popular artists and let you download their music offline for free. However, you can discover new music and genres, along with indie artists, to broaden your horizon on different genres using these free music download sites. Moreover, if you are looking for websites to download royalty-free photos, head over to our linked article for an exhaustive list. And if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Downloading free music from a website that offers free legal music is simple. All you need to do is head over to the song you wish to listen to offline and then look for the download button. After that, hit the download button. Beware of sneaky or odd-looking download buttons on some music download websites, especially illegal ones, as they could lead you to other platforms and often malicious websites as well.
There are several online sites that let you convert any video to mp3. Simply upload the video -> hit the convert button, and then choose the resolution (or quality). Besides, there are also many desktop tools and mobile apps that allow users to convert videos to mp3.
As mentioned in this roundup, there are several trusted sites like SoundCloud and Jamendo that let you download music for free.
When you sign up for Apple Music, you usually get a three-month free trial. You can make the most of the free trial to enjoy streaming the latest songs on Apple’s popular music streaming service.
