Ready to go viral? YouTube boasts more than a billion users, and people watch countless hours of video on the site every day. YouTube is a fantastic platform for sharing your videos with the world. However, because there is so much content, it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Exciting background music can add a special touch to your creations that will help them stand out. But how can you find legal music for your YouTube videos? Here are some places you can turn to for quality bgm music that will bring your videos to life.

Public Domain Music

Public domain music is a sensible and cost-friendly option. 70 years after an artist’s death, the copyright protection on their material expires, so you can use it without legal ramifications. Keep in mind, however, that you can’t simply swipe a recording that someone else made of public domain music. For example, if you want to use a piece by Bach for some romantic background music, you can’t use a recording of a Bach piece that a modern orchestra performed. You would do better to record the music yourself in that case.

Royalty Free Music

Check out a royalty free music library for high-quality audio tracks that you can use for your own purposes. There are different types of licenses for stock music, so make sure you read the fine print. In most cases, you will have lifetime permission to use a track as long as you do not alter it beyond recognition, but always double-check.

One of the biggest advantages with library music is that it often comes with an appealing price tag, so you won’t end up going over budget.

Creative Commons Music

Music with a creative commons license is music on which the artist has granted others a blanket permission to use. There are a few types of creative commons licenses, and you should look for ones that have a simple “attribution” license that lets you use the material as long as you give the artist due credit.

There is a creative commons page where you can look for music on a variety of hosting platforms, but you can also turn to places like JewlBeat and Jamendo.

Pay-Per-Use Music

Pay-per-use may be your best option if you have your heart set on a particular song. With pay-per-use, you pay to use a specific song in a certain project. While this type of library music is royalty free, it does tend to be more expensive than other sources for legal YouTube music.

Fair Use Music

YouTube says, “Fair use is a legal doctrine that says you can reuse copyright-protected material under certain circumstances without getting permission from the copyright owner.” Several things, including how you plan to use the music and how much of a piece of music you plan to use, go into determining whether you can use something under the fair use doctrine. Fair use can get complicated, so it is better to play it safe and turn to library music for your videos.

Whether you want savvy business background music, alluring love bgm music, or just something simple to spice up your YouTube videos, you have plenty of cost-friendly options that won’t put you in danger of breaking copyright laws.