LibGuides: Images, Music, & Copyright: Finding Music (Internet)

Copyright & Music Sites

As with images and text your use of recorded sounds is most clearly legally viable when you have created the recording yourself.

Music and other recorded sound is covered by US Copyright Law, and the Fair Use provisions of US Copyright Law, in much the same way that text and images are. Copyright law applies to music and lyrics, as well as in a performance (Title 17 USC, Chapter 11).

For example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” in 1787, long enough ago that it is obviously in the public domain. This recording of it was originally made on December 17, 1936 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and their copyright on that recording has apparently lapsed, enabling it to be digitally copied to the Internet Archive. But copyright law gives a digital version its own copyright from the moment it is created (i.e. "fixed in an immutable form"), necessitating the use of a Creative Commons 'Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike' License for legally-uncomplicated distribution of a clearly Public Domain work.

Note: Under Creative Commons licenses synching music to images is 'transforming the music', so you cannot legally use a song with a CC "No Derivative Works" license (a CC BY-ND 4.0 or a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) in a video. You need to use music that is licensed under a CC0, a CC BY 4.0, a CC BY-SA 4.0, or possibly a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, license. Always make sure to properly credit the musician and the track, as well as express the CC license the track is under.

The following sites offer music, often under a Creative Commons License, for your reuse:

ccMixter
ccMixter is a community music remixing site featuring remixes and samples under Creative Commons licenses. Some songs might have certain restrictions, depending on their specific licenses. Each submission is marked clearly with the license that applies to it.
Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive is an interactive library of legal audio downloads curated by radio station WFMU. Every MP3 in the Free Music Archive is pre-cleared for specific uses by the rights-holder.
Freesound
Freesound is a collaborative database with more than 600k Creative Commons Licensed sounds that you may browse, download, and share.
SoundBible
SoundBible.com offers thousands of Creative Commons Licensed or Public Domain free sound effects and royalty-free sounds that can be used in a variety of sound projects.
SoundClick
SoundClick is a music-based social community that offers both paid and Creative Commons licensed content.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a "social sound platform" where anyone can create a free account and share the sounds they create. Much of the music and other sounds on SoundCloud is available under a Creative Commons License. On the search page, under "filter results", select the type of license you would like to use, and then enter your search terms.

The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is an ever-expanding digital library with older versions of websites and other cultural artifacts. Items in these archives are intended to be listened to or viewed; information on other reuse is often available beside the streaming or download link, and additional information is available here. The search options for audio include:

The Live Music Archive is an online public library of live recordings available for royalty-free, no-cost public downloads. Only material by trade-friendly artists - those who like the idea of noncommercial distribution of some or all of their live material - is hosted. You may download from the Live Music Archive with the understanding that the artists still hold their copyrights. All material is strictly noncommercial, both for access here and for any further distribution.
The main Audio Archive content is streamable or downloadable, and some of it is labled for reuse with a Creative Commons License.
The Moving Image Archive contains digital movies, ranging from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Many of these videos are available for free download.