The internet offers a lot of things and among them is free music. You can find plenty of websites that offer free downloadable music; however, not all of them are legal. So if you are looking for songs that can be availed safely and free of cost, we have handpicked the best music websites for you.
The internet offers a lot of things and among them is free music. You can find plenty of websites that offer free downloadable music; however, not all of them are legal. So if you are looking for songs that can be availed safely and free of cost, we have handpicked the best music websites for you.
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get access to millions of free music downloads that you can stream on any device and save them for offline listening. It goes without saying that you have to pay some money or choose the trial option to get these benefits.
How to download music for free?
There are lots of people who aren’t sure where to download free music from or how to download songs. To help you out, I have created the following list of best free music download sites. Just visit the links given below and look for download symbols. These sites will offer you free music downloads with just a single click.
Before we dive deep into pros and cons of different free-of-cost resources, here’s a quick list of top websites —
| Website | Best Known For |
|---|---|
| SoundCloud | Spotify Alternative |
| ReverbNation | Pop, Alternative, and Hip-hop |
| Jamendo | Well-curated playlists and Radio stations |
| SoundClick | All Genres |
| Audiomack | Hip Hop, Electronic, and Reggae |
| Free Amazon Music Store | Free music downloads for offline listening |
| Internet Archive (Audio Archive) | Audiobooks, podcasts, radio programs and live music |
| Last.fm | Well curated Radio Stations |
| CCTrax | Electronica, Dub, Techno, Ambient |
| YouTube | All Genres |
| Free Music on Google Play Store | All Genres |
Top 11 Music Download Websites | 2020
1. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is one of the popular music sites that lets you stream unlimited music and download songs for free. In fact, it is also viewed as the best Spotify alternative where you can get online music without paying.
In this online music streaming community, the content is uploaded by independent artists and famous musicians. You can search for songs through bands or artists’ tags in the search bar. SoundCloud was also recently featured on our list of India’s best music streaming services. It contains a relatively small but very enjoyable collection of remix Hindi songs that can be downloaded for free.
How to download free songs on Soundcloud?
Not all music at SoundCloud is free, and some of them even require you to Like a Facebook page to obtain the track. But many of them can be downloaded instantly by hitting the Free Download button right below the soundtrack.
2. ReverbNation
This music website is behind the popularity of bands like Alabama Shakes, The Civil Wars, and Imagine Dragons. It is ReverbNation where they started getting recognition by sharing their music for free and gathering a huge loyal fanbase. ReverbNation is one of the best free music download sites that offer a variety of genres, but their collection is well known for pop, alternative, and hip-hop.
At present this site caters to nearly 4 million artists, labels, and users and provides a great user experience to music lovers through its impressive catalog. For those who’d like to discover more can do so through the music website’s Discover section, which brings a good collection of audio songs to download.
How to download free songs on Reverbnation?
To download free songs on Reverbnation, go to the search page. On the left-hand side, check the box next to “Free MP3s Required” and click “Refine Results”. [Make sure that the type is selected as Artist for the Free MP3s Required option to appear].
The free music would be listed on the right side. Click on the name of any album and a new page will open where there would be a small download icon in front of the free downloadable songs. Click on download and you are good to go!
3. Jamendo
The songs uploaded at Jamendo Music are protected by Creative Commons license, which means you can safely download music offered on the website. All the content present on this site is independent music, so if you are searching for mainstream tracks, you will probably have to look somewhere else or pay for it.
Jamendo is best suited for music explorers as they have well-curated playlists and radio stations that are regularly updated. If you want to license music for your video, commercial, or film, free music download website also offers a rich collection at fair prices.
4. SoundClick
SoundClick is the best place to download music directly from different artist’s websites. There are several artists on the platform offering their music for free. You can also buy licensed songs or download free music legally.
One can explore the huge collection of songs available there according to genres. You can stream or download them as per your needs, once you have signed up on the website.
Even though this free music download website is a little cluttered and the UI isn’t that friendly, there are some cool features such as creating custom radio stations, interacting with other listeners on the forum, and reading more about your favorite SoundClick artists.
There is also a feature that lets you mail personalized e-cards to anyone with themes such as birthday, Valentine’s day or party with custom text and any background music of your choice on SoundClick.
5. Audiomack
Audiomack is an emerging music sharing platform that has a user-friendly interface which makes it the best SoundCloud alternative. This free music download website is a hub for artists, labels, and music lovers to discover amazing music.
It has well-categorized sections such as Trending, Top Songs and Top Albums that will help you to discover great songs. The trending music section has the hottest Hip Hop, Electronic, and Reggae listed in real-time which has made it quite popular among the young population.
Not all the songs on Audiomack are free, but many artists offer their tracks and remixed music for free downloading. But you can stream an unlimited number of songs through the website on desktop PC, or on phones through free iOS and Android app.
6. Free Amazon Music Store
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get access to millions of free music downloads that you can stream on any device and save them for offline listening. It goes without saying that you have to pay some money or choose the trial option to get these benefits.
There’s another way to grab free music from Amazon’s website that most of you must be unaware of. If you visit the company’s free music page in the Digital Music section, you’ll see the songs available for download. Please note that you’ll need a regular Amazon account to download these songs. You can also save the songs to shopping cart like a regular item and check out just once to get all the desired songs in one go.
7. Internet Archive (Audio Archive)
Internet Archive’s audio section not only offers you free music but also brings audiobooks, podcasts, radio programs and live music. The audio library contains over 2 million free digital audio files.
Even though the songs aren’t well categorized, music lovers can sort the audio tracks available according to the year of publish, creator, language, and other filters such as most viewed, media type, topics & subjects. These categories can be a little confusing, yet upon searching hard enough one can still find some amazing songs.
I was able to find free music downloads from all kinds of artists and even the global, mainstream songs ones from Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Coldplay, and Kendrick Lamar. The best part is you can download music safely and free in multiple file formats such as MP3 and OGG.
8. Last.fm
When Last.fm was created in 2002, it initially functioned as an internet radio station. But in 2005, Audioscrobbler adopted the site.
It implemented a music recommendation system that collects data from different media players and music streaming websites to create customized individual profiles based on users’ musical taste and listening habits.
What’s unknown to many users is that Last.fm is one of the best music websites to download songs for free. You can check out the list of downloadable songs from through the “Free Music Downloads” link present at the bottom of the page or by clicking here.
9. CCTrax
Songs on CCTrax are available as Creative Common music so it’s free and safe to download music from this platform. The website has a nice layout where you can search for music according to license, genre, label, and artist.
However, the website offers online songs in a handful of categories such as Electronica, Dub, Techno, Ambient, etc. But you can listen to or download the tunes without creating an account and there is also an option of getting the entire album at once.
10. YouTube
YouTube is one of the largest sites on the internet offering unlimited video streaming and many of us also use it as a music streaming service because it has almost all kinds of music in it.
But the reason I have placed it at the end is that obtaining songs from YouTube is tricky. Not all songs on YouTube are downloadable but you can search for songs by setting a Creative Commons license filter and the genre you want.
Music tracks with CC license are free and safe to download but depending on the license terms, you might need to credit the artist before using in your video or any other platform.
11. Free Music on Google Play Store
Just like Amazon’s website, the Google Play Store can also become your free and legal music download source. Many artists make their music free on different platforms to get exposure, and Google’s no-cost offering is also a part of the same. Please note that you should be having a Google account with an active payment mode connected to it to grab the freebies. Please note that the extent of free content might vary according to your geographic location.
You just need to go to the Music section of the Play Store and type ‘free music’ in the search box; this will list the music in different sections: Songs, Artists, and Albums. You can click the ‘See More’ button to get more free music options.
Listen to free music
Premium music streaming services like Apple Music, Prime Music, Spotify, etc., also provide free trials for listening and downloading songs; you can try them out as well.
Coming back to completely free solutions, the above list contains the best sources where you can find an unlimited number of songs without any cost. However, I would like to clarify that not all musical tracks on these platforms are for free as some of them are paid and available only for free music streaming.
Download free music and start grooving!
One might argue why download free music when you can just stream it. Well, streaming online music is cool but what do you do when your mobile network connection or Wi-Fi is down? That’s where you need offline music, and the best part is you can carry your favorite tracks wherever you go without spending a single penny.
This is why I have listed down the aforementioned websites on the basis of ease of use and popularity. However, in my personal opinion, the audio section of the Internet Archive makes it the best free music download website because I can find almost every artist there. You are free to choose the one which suits you the best, so go ahead and explore these sites.
In case you didn’t like anything on these websites, here’s a list of best free radio apps where you can explore new music.
List of best websites to download Hindi songs for free and legally
The sites mentioned on this list mostly provide English MP3 songs and tracks with the exception of SoundCloud, which offers a small but decent collection of Hindi songs. Recently I found that a lot of readers search for free and legal sites to download Hindi songs as well. I was thinking of covering that too in another article. Meanwhile, you can check out this list of best Hindi music streaming services in India
Free Music Download FAQs
How to download free music?
To download mp3 files without breaking any law, you need to ensure that the site you’re visiting on your phone or computer is legal. Websites like Jamendo, SoundCloud, Last.fm, etc., act as an excellent resource for new and upcoming talent. If you don’t have a very fast internet connection, I’ll further recommend you to use a download manager software.
How to convert a video to an mp3 song file?
To help you convert your music video to a downloadable audio file, there are numerous online tools available. These tools are simple to use software that convert online as well as offline video files into the desired audio format.
Should I use VPN to download free songs?
If the website you’re visiting is 100% legal, you don’t need to use a VPN or other tools to hide your identity. However, you can use these services anyway to keep yourself safe online.
How to get Spotify Premium for free?
Even without a Premium account, you can play unlimited songs on your ad-supported free account. If you want an ad-free experience, Spotify is also providing 1-3 months free premium subscription; users can also avail free Spotify Premium with your AT&T plan and Chase credit card.
How to get Apple Music for free?
Apple always keeps running 3-6 months free trial that all the new users can avail any time and enjoy millions of song downloads for free.
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