{"id":3050,"date":"2026-01-20T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mubert.com\/blog\/?p=3050"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T07:15:30","slug":"how-to-search-for-royalty-free-music-on-soundcloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mubert.com\/blog\/how-to-search-for-royalty-free-music-on-soundcloud","title":{"rendered":"How to Search for Royalty-free Music on Soundcloud?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short answer:<\/strong> Yes, SoundCloud has plenty of free music you can use in videos, but you have to filter for it. Search by mood or style, click “Tracks,” then set the license filter to “To use commercially.” Before using a track, check its Creative Commons terms, credit the artist if required, and make sure download is enabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding good background music for videos without getting copyright strikes is honestly one of the most annoying parts of content creation. You either pay way too much for boring stock music or risk using something copyright-protected and hope nobody notices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SoundCloud has this massive collection of music from independent artists, and here’s what most people don’t realize: a lot of it is completely free to use.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is SoundCloud?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SoundCloud is one of the largest online audio platforms where musicians, producers, podcasters, and DJs can upload and share tracks with a global audience. Unlike Spotify or Apple Music, where music arrives through labels and distributors, SoundCloud lets anyone upload their tracks directly to the platform. We’re talking about more than 400 million tracks from over 40 million artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest difference between SoundCloud and your typical streaming service is who’s uploading the music. On Spotify, you’re mostly getting tracks from established artists and labels. On SoundCloud, you’ll find everything from bedroom producers making beats in their apartments to established artists dropping exclusive content. Independent artists often upload their songs with much more flexible licensing terms than what you’d find on stock <\/strong>music sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform operates on a “freemium” model that’s pretty generous compared to other platforms. The free version lets you stream millions of tracks without paying anything. However, you’ll hear ads, and saving music for offline listening needs a SoundCloud Go or Go+ subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SoundCloud has become the main platform for emerging artists because it’s so easy to get started \u2014 just upload your track and it’s live for the world to hear. For example, Billie Eilish uploaded “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud when she was just 13, and its success online led to her first record deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform also pioneered the whole “SoundCloud rap” movement that gave us artists like Post Malone, Lil Uzi Vert, and XXXTentacion. These artists built massive followings by consistently dropping tracks on SoundCloud before they ever had record deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people making video content, podcasts, or any kind of production <\/strong>work, SoundCloud’s artist-friendly approach creates opportunities you won’t find elsewhere. A lot of artists actually want people to find and use their music, especially if it helps them get more visibility on YouTube <\/strong>or other platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Royalty-free in Music?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lot of confusion around “royalty-free music” comes from the wording. It\u2019s not actually free. Instead, you pay once at the start, and then you\u2019re free to reuse the track as often as you need without ongoing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people see “royalty-free” and think they can just download whatever they want without paying anything. That’s not how it works. The “free” part refers to being free <\/strong>from ongoing royalty <\/strong>payments, not free from cost altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you use a track <\/strong>in your YouTube video or commercial <\/strong>project, traditional licensing often means negotiating with the rights holders and paying fees that depend on how and where the music is used. With royalty-free licensing, you skip all that and just pay once upfront, or nothing if the artist gives the track away under a license like Creative Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SoundCloud has tons of royalty-free content uploaded; you just have to know how to find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start a Search on SoundCloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, open your browser and head to soundcloud.com. You don’t even need to create an account to start browsing. The search bar is right at the top of the page, and this is where most people make their first mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems obvious, but typing “royalty-free” into SoundCloud’s search bar will give you random results. The platform wasn’t really designed with content creators in mind, so artists don’t always tag their music <\/strong>with licensing terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, try searching for the style or mood you actually need, like “ambient track”, “background music”, “electronic instrumental”, etc. This approach finds music that’s actually suitable for video production work. Then you can check the licensing after you find something that fits your project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filter Your Search Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you search, SoundCloud shows you everything by default: tracks, playlists, people, and albums. For finding music you can download, click on “Tracks” in the menu on the left. This filters out all the user profiles and playlists, leaving you with just individual songs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The copyright <\/strong>and licensing filters are buried under a submenu that’s easy to miss. On the left side of your search results, look for “Filter results” and open the license menu, which says “To listen to” by default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on it and you’ll get these options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n