Bandcamp may have plenty of digital and physical media for sale, including vinyl, CDs, and T-shirts, but the site is also a major source of free music. Artists can make their releases available as a “Free Download” or “Pay What You Want,” including the low price of $0. Listeners can also download songs in different formats, including the traditional MP3 file to higher-quality file types like FLAC, WAV, and AIFF.
The only challenge you may face is discovery. While the platform is packed with free content, the only way to find music for free on Bandcamp is through tags like “free download” or “creative commons.” However, if you take the time to explore the site, you can find an array of options. Simply use the search bar at the top of the site or Bandcamp’s tag browser to find your next favorite release.
2. Free Music Archive
In 2019, Dutch music services firm
Tribe of Noise purchased the
Free Music Archive (FMA). Founded by New Jersey-based community radio station WFMU in 2009, FMA has been a popular free music destination for years. And even though Tribe of Noise has made a few changes, the original archive is intact.
Big changes include a diminished role for curators, and the addition of premium content tailored specifically to producers. Fortunately, the original archives are still a great way to explore a variety of genres for music that’s free to enjoy or use in your own creative projects. Different Creative Commons have different requirements, but some amount to “no questions asked.”
Key features:
- Huge archive of free music
- Wide variety of audio content and genres
- Premium content available with Tribe of Noise Pro
3. The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit founded in 1996 and it’s absolutely brimming with content. The organization maintains the popular Wayback Machine (where you can see defunct websites), and actively “archives the internet itself.” The Internet Archive offers no products or services, and instead focuses on preservation.
When you search for audio on the Internet Archive, you’ll find a massive number of options to browse. These include high-quality audio files and public content in genres ranging from hip-hop to classical music. The Live Music Archive and LibriVox Free Audio collection are great hubs, and you can explore thousands of netlabel releases and even a never-ending vault of Grateful Dead rarities.
Key features:
- Includes niche mediums like audiobooks and poetry
- Wide variety of audio content and genres
- Also features video, text, images, and more
4. Jamendo Music
Based in Luxembourg, Jamendo Music provides free streaming and download services with licensing for artists. That means Jamendo’s audio catalog is more strictly curated than other websites on our list, with A&R services that help artists find partnerships for monetizing their content.
On the user side, Jamendo is divided into a streaming/download section and a content licensing section. From its main interface, you have several ways to find new music. Explore music using tags and playlists, check out genre-based Radio stations, and listen to spotlighted albums and mixes.
5. Beatstars
Beatstars is primarily a platform for producers to buy and sell beats, but the site also provides a ton of free music downloads. While not every track on the platform is freely available, you can download most of them for free. Just look for the “Free” tag to find options to download files.
The cost of free downloads is offset by charging beatmakers to use tracks in their works. Licensing is a major part of Beatstars’ business model, and Lil Nas X actually bought the beat for “Old Town Road” at Beatstars. The site also has a very popular mobile app you can download from Google Play and the App Store.
