Ada Parker One of the biggest music platforms and audio libraries in the world is SoundCloud. Each minute, 12 hours of content are uploaded by over 10 million creators.
You can find almost any type of music you can imagine thanks to the diverse creator community. Finding good royalty-free music can be challenging. Since there are so many licensing regulations, looking for a clear path for your next project can be very discouraging.
If you know how to use Royalty free music from SoundCloud, this library can be a video maker’s paradise.
Be assured that there is royalty-free Soundcloud. We’ll discuss how to locate royalty-free music on the website in this article so that you can use it as background music or for sampling in your YouTube videos or other content.
Table of Contents
What Is Soundcloud?
It was founded in 2008 and has its headquarters in Berlin. The platform aimed to bring musicians together in a community and provide them with a venue for sharing, listening to, reviewing, and working together on productions.
With YouTube having launched a full 3 years prior, the concept for this kind of platform wasn’t particularly novel. While music artists needed a way to share their content without having to include images, YouTube is more geared toward filmmakers and vloggers. The music library on SoundCloud filled that void and has since become crucial to the business.
Related Reading: Does SoundCloud have ads?
What Are Royalties?
It would be beneficial to first comprehend how music licensing functions and its background before delving into Creative Commons. Royalties, which are monetary rewards for using the artists’ work, are one-way music licenses have helped artists. The rate of this compensation, which is typically a percentage of the money made from the work over a specific time period, can be very different. There are several different methods for calculating and distributing royalties, so legal knowledge is necessary.
One of the main benefits of royalty-free work is that you can use it for a one-time flat fee (or sometimes even for free) in perpetuity.
There are a few different ways to distribute content with a royalty-free license, with Creative Commons being one of the simplest.
Is Soundcloud Royalty-free?
Simply put, occasionally. Soundcloud enables users to upload music with a variety of conditions, including those covered by a Creative Commons license, some of which are royalty-free. You must search for this license type on Soundcloud in order to find music that is truly free of royalties, and then double-check the song’s authenticity.
It’s crucial for Soundcloud users to be aware that not every track on the service is considered to be royalty-free music. You should first understand how these concepts operate before attempting to create a song or find background music for your upcoming endeavor. From there, you can find royalty-free music on your own.
If you want to protect your music and your money in the long run, pay attention to the following sections. Sifting through license information can feel a little dry at times.
What Music Can I Use?
The cost of procuring licenses and permissions from major labels to use their music in your videos can add up quickly. Despite the fact that music licensing fees can vary, big corporations typically pay higher rates than unaffiliated content creators.
The vast majority of creators instead choose music that is available without any royalties. Even though it isn’t free, using royalty-free music enables you to use tracks without having to pay the copyright holder for each use. Creators can access a sizable library of royalty-free music by using subscription sites like Synchedin and paying a monthly or yearly fee. Once downloaded, all songs are sync-licensed and can be used in projects indefinitely.
How To Use Royalty-Free Music from SoundCloud?
SoundCloud is easy to use and has a familiar feel to it. You can favorite tracks and create collections to return to later by creating a free account, which you can do here.
Step 1: Start A Search On Soundcloud
1. Look up the genre of music you want to review on the homepage. You can use genre-based terms, such as dance music as well as emotive terms, such as happy dance music.
2. Similar to how you would with a YouTube video, musicians tag their SoundCloud tracks with keywords when they upload them. The term “royalty-free music” is also used!
Step 2: Filter Your Search Results
1. On the left side you’ll find a navigation panel, select Tracks.
2. On the left, under Filter Results select To use commercially to reveal the usage menu.
3. Here there you will need to choose one of 4 options, based on how you intend to use the track:
- If you wish to remix the track, add your own lyrics, or change it in any way, select To modify commercially.
- Most filmmakers will likely use the original track; in this case, select To use commercially.
4. You can also play around with the other filters, such as Any Length, Added any time, and keyword tags.
Step 3: Download The Right Track For Your Project
Your access to all of the results on SoundCloud that have a royalty-free commercial use license has now been restored. To download a track follow these steps:
- To open a new page for the track you selected, select it from the list.
- Click the Like button to ensure the track is saved to your library — this will be useful later.
- When you have chosen the song you like, just click Download. Your computer will save the track so you can use it for editing.
Note: Before you download any song, make sure the Creative Commons tag is visible in the description!
The time between selecting the music tracks and publishing your movie will vary from filmmaker to filmmaker and, in some cases, can even span several months. It’s crucial to save the track to your SoundCloud library so you can access it later, check the licensing, and, if necessary, request documentation of it.
How To Use Free Music Under A Creative Commons License?
It can be difficult to locate free music or background music for your videos or other creative projects. Here are a few quick suggestions for using music legally and compliantly under a Creative Commons license.
How Can I Avoid Using Soundcloud’s Copyright?
The navigation panel is your most valuable tool for circumventing copyright on Soundcloud. You should sort all of the songs by the Creative Commons license before reading the specific conditions imposed by the music’s owner. Only public domain licenses grant unrestricted use of the music for both commercial and noncommercial projects.
To make sure you’re giving credit where credit is due, it’s a good idea to contact the creators. Fortunately, setting up a free account only takes a few minutes, and doing so will make it simpler to save some of your preferred background music contenders for upcoming videos.
Can You Play Music From Soundcloud On Youtube?
To use in your YouTube videos, you should only download tracks that are in the public domain. To use music that isn’t royalty-free in your video productions is copyright infringement, even if you’re just using the right track as background music or downloading sound effects to improve your work.
When in doubt, it’s best to get in touch with the musicians themselves. You might be able to sign an agreement to obtain permission for background music in your videos if you get in touch with the creator or owner of a specific track. Finding music that is permitted for use in the public domain can also be done by using the usage menu filters.
Are Soundcloud Songs Copyrighted?
Some Soundcloud tracks are protected by copyright, while others are not. In order to ensure that you are using truly copyright-free tracks, it’s crucial to tailor your search results appropriately and carefully review each song. Music on Soundcloud can fall under a variety of licenses.
Can Music From Soundcloud Be Used For Business Purposes?
Public domain music may be used commercially. To avoid copyright infringement, you’ll want to make sure your chosen music complies with this license. For instance, there are many songs that fall under a CC license but are only permitted for non-commercial uses. Only materials in the public domain, such as the YouTube audio archive, may be used in commercials, motion pictures, or any other endeavor with a chance of making money.
Can You Use 30 Seconds Of A Soundcloud Song That Has A Copyright?
Sadly, this is among the most widespread falsehoods about the use of licensed music in both commercial and noncommercial projects. If a song is copyrighted, there’s no exact length that makes usage “okay”. No matter how little time you take from a song that isn’t covered by a Creative Commons license—5 seconds or 30—it’s still considered copyright infringement. Use only royalty-free tracks unless you have specific permission from the beat’s owner.
How To Upload Songs On Soundcloud Without Copyright?
Let’s say you want to make your music available without paying any royalties when you upload it. You’ll need to understand your Creative Commons licenses in that case and adhere to some fundamental SEO (search engine optimization) rules.
Include “Royalty-free” Keywords
Since Creative Commons has no explicitly “royalty-free” license, it’s up to you to let users know that your content is indeed free of any royalty obligations. Make sure to include “royalty-free” tags in your upload. Having “Royalty-Free” in your title will help immensely.
Your music won’t necessarily disappear from the scene if you don’t follow these simple steps. However, you will increase your chances of being discovered by those looking for royalty-free music if you use those keywords (along with the appropriate license).
Choose The Right CC License
There are a few fields to fill out and options to choose from after you upload your track, including the publishing license.
Tips For Marketing Your Royalty Free Tracks On SoundCloud
The quality of your mixing and mastering will have a significant impact on how well your track performs, but audio quality can vary. Testing various mixes and masters of your song is one of the best ways to find out what your listeners like.
eMastered is a choice for automatic mastering; it uses AI to master your track automatically, with the option to set custom parameter values.
By tracking the success of each mix (downloads, sales, plays, likes, etc.), you can test out various iterations of your song.) over a given period. Since SoundCloud is such an easy-to-use platform for listening to and downloading royalty-free music, there should be a lot of traffic and engagement to gauge your success.
The world of music licensing can be complicated, but hopefully, the information in this piece will help you find music for background music, sampling, or any other purpose. Ultimately, make sure to only download songs that are released under a CC license, and remember to adhere to the licensing requirements by giving appropriate credit to musicians and other creators.
Your search engine is your best friend, but make sure to read the description of any potential tracks to make sure the authors or musicians don’t require any further action. Have fun locating fresh music for your upcoming endeavor!
