ROYALTY-FREE & BACKGROUND MUSIC FOR VIDEOGAMES
Where to get music and sound effects to place in your videogames?
When it comes to design and build a video game, at some point we will need to add sound effects and / or background music.
When it comes to design and build a video game, at some point we will need to add sound effects and / or background music.The problem is that, of course, we cannot use any song downloaded from iTunes, Amazon or Google Play, but we need a special license so as not to infringe the copyrights and avoid problems in the future.
What kind of music or sound effects can I use in my video game?
You need to use Royalty-Free music or music under creative commons licenses, like the ones you can download from Audiojungle.
Using this kind of songs we make sure follow the legislation -something essential today in a globally connected world- because most chances are that your game is going to be played by people of many different countries.
The last thing you want to see when launching your game is that is involved in legal issues for little details like this, so it is best to follow our advice.
How do I know what kind of music is Royalty-Free and what is not?
Easy. Virtually all the music you hear in your everyday life is protected by copyright and royalty-free music is specifically on the pages that we detail below.
Sound effects and music for games: the best marketplaces to get it
To make it easier, we will detail here the major payment gateways from which to download our music. In them, you buy the song or sound effect properly licensed and forget about any other problems.
The price of the licenses vary in every marketplace, but the sound effects are usually much cheaper than the songs, as their duration and the time it takes to record it is also lower.
IMPORTANT! What is essential to take into account when purchasing a license for a song is the estimated audience for your game. That is, if your game is to be distributed globally and will reach millions of people, the price of the music will be greater than if distributed locally to a few thousand gamers.
For sound effects, though, you don’t have to worry about this aspect because they are all the same and the price does not vary by the audience.
| Type | Price for License | Buy |
| Songs | Between $15 and $29 | |
| Sound Effects | Between $1 and $4 |
These are the main marketplaces from where to get royalty-free music and sound effects for your video games:
- AudioJungle: Definitely the best of them. It has a huge library with nearly half a million sounds and a search engine from which is really easy to find what we seek. Being a large website with so many registered authors, we can find all kinds of audio from the sound of a breaking glass to famous songs with lyrics. Sound licenses typically cost only $1 and the price for songs starts at $29 for the ‘Standard’ license.
- Envato Elements: Offers unlimited music downloads for an amazing €16.50 monthly subscription, plus a ton of sound effects.
- Epidemic Sound: A royalty-free music library that currently has over 300,000 songs to choose from.
- Artlist: Another great website for unlimited music downloads. Here the subscription is paid annually instead of monthly.
- Jamendo: Another great marketplace, well known in Europe. It’s a mix of a music community and downloadable Royalty-Free songs, very similar to the first one.
- Premiumbeat: Licenses are usually more expensive than Audiojungle, around $3 for sound effects and $49 for a standard song license, but we will have the highest quality in return.
- Pond5: While this website is a tad more difficult to navigate than the others, it’s also possible to find true musical jewels. Prices of sound effects start at 2€ and songs vary in price according to their duration.
- AudioNetwork: Prices range from 9€ for non-profit online games to 140€ or more. Music is classified by genre, instruments, mood and styles.
- Soundrangers: They have two special licenses for gaming: web-based games and downloadable games that cover up to 500 downloads. For a bigger one, you’ll have to ask. Prices range from $39 to $79.
- Lucky Lion Studios: Only one type of license that allows you to use the song however you want. Prices vary depending on the length of the song.
- Shockwave Sound: For using their music on games, we can choose the standard license (if it’s a non-profit game) or the extended license if it’s a commercial one. Prices are high compared to other marketplaces.
If you have a really tight budget, if you’re an indie author for example or you’re not being able to spend any money on music, the good news is that there are free sites that offer the same service.
The trouble is that:
- You will not find the same high quality than in the ones mentioned.
- You will have to read about the type of Creative Commons license each song has, as some do not allow to use them for commercial purposes.
- Most of the time, you will have to attribute its creator, that is, put his name in the credits of the game, for example.
But it’s also good to take a look at them:
Free Royalty-Free Music & Sounds (Download for free)
What if I want to use a famous song in my video game?
Well, in this case, everything changes. It is possible to use them, but it is a much more complicated and costly task, both in terms of time and money.
Many famous artists or record companies refuse to give up their rights to use their songs in video games because they don’t want to associate their name with a particular brand or product, others give up their songs for free and others claim large amounts of money.
If your game has enough budget and it is essential that contains this kind of songs, we explained the necessary steps and how to do it in our article: royalty free music for commercials.
It is essential when making any artistic creation, such as a videogame, to make sure that you are complying with current legislation on audiovisual rights.Not only will we be avoiding future legal problems, but we will also be supporting other artists through our purchase.
Need help finding the right service?
Send us an explanation of your project or Youtube channel and we will recommend the music service that best suits your needs. Let us do the work!
License / Subscription Prices
- Envato Elements €14.50/month
- Epidemic Sound: €13/month
- Artlist: €199/year
- Audiojungle: €19/song
- Jamendo: €9.99/song
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!