Background Music for Videos: Where to Find Copyright-Safe Music

The best place to find background music for a video is a production music library that owns its rights, so every track is copyright-safe from the start. Our catalogue holds 300,000+ tracks and versions across 158 genres and sub-genres, searchable by mood, genre, tempo and BPM. You can create a free account and test tracks in your edit before you licence.

Where Do I Find Background Music for a Video?

Find it in a production music library, where the music is made for use in video and the rights are controlled in one place.

That’s different from searching the web for a track you like. Music found that way usually belongs to a label, publisher or artist, and using it in a video often needs permission you don’t have. A production music library like ours composes, commissions and records music specifically for licensing, so the permission comes with the licence.

Our catalogue covers everything a video team is likely to need, from light beds under a voiceover to cinematic scores for a hero film, across 158 genres and sub-genres and 80 moods.

What’s the Best Background Music for Videos?

There’s no single best track. The right background music depends on your video’s tone, pacing and audience.

Good background music supports the message rather than competing with it. It sets the mood, keeps energy up or calms it down, and stays out of the way of a voiceover. Here’s how common video types usually map to music styles, using our catalogue as the guide:

Video type	Music that usually works	Why
Corporate, explainer and product videos	Clean, modern electronic beds and light acoustic	Stays neutral under a voiceover and feels polished
Social and online video	Upbeat, energetic tracks in pop, indie, electronic and hip-hop styles	Grabs attention quickly in short formats
Documentary and factual	Cinematic, orchestral and minimal underscore	Supports narration and carries emotional moments
Podcast and spoken-word	Theme music, under-speech beds and transitions	Frames the show without covering the speaker
Advertising and promotional	Bright, driving or powerful tracks matched to the brand	Has to land in seconds and fit tight lengths

How Do I Find Music for a Video Project?

Start from your brief, search by the feeling you want, then test tracks against your edit before you commit.

• Decide what you want the viewer to feel, and the pace of your edit: calm and reflective, bright and optimistic, driving and exciting.
• Search the catalogue by mood, genre, tempo and BPM. Our AI-powered search tools also let you search by keyword, describe a scene, match a reference track or search by lyrics.
• Use alternate versions, short edits and stems to fit the music to your cut. More than half the catalogue is available as stems.
• Download high-resolution, un-watermarked files and test two or three directions in your edit.
• Licence the track that serves the message best.

If you’d rather not search alone, complimentary music research is included as standard: send us a brief and our team returns a curated shortlist at no extra cost.

What Is Copyright-Safe Music for a Video?

Copyright-safe music is music you can use in a video without risking a copyright claim, takedown or legal action, because the rights are clear and a licence covers your use.

Ours is commercially safe because four things are true at once: every track is original, we control the rights, the music is pre-cleared for the uses each licence covers, and every licence is fully indemnified. Our catalogue is also 100% human-created, with no AI-generated compositions or recordings.

Our licences cover digital advertising, social media, YouTube, internal and corporate communications, TV advertising, radio and podcasts, with worldwide coverage available depending on the licence you choose.

Why Not Just Use Free Music From a Web Search?

Because music from a random web search can bring copyright strikes, demonetisation and takedowns, and the quality is inconsistent.

Free music often comes with unclear or restrictive terms, or none at all. If the rights aren’t clear, a video can be muted, blocked or removed by the platform it’s published on, which means time lost re-editing and re-publishing work that was already finished. For a business, using music without a proper licence can also expose it to legal action from the rights holder.

Using a professional music library removes that risk before you start, and it means the quality is consistent from one video to the next.

What Does Royalty-Free Mean, and How Does a Production Music Licence Compare?

“Royalty-free” describes how some music is paid for: you pay once and don’t pay per-use royalties to the library afterwards. It doesn’t tell you how good the music is or whether the rights are clear.

Audio Network isn’t a royalty-free music site. We’re a premium production music library, the professional alternative to royalty-free libraries. Here’s how the two approaches usually differ:

	Audio Network (production music library)	Typical royalty-free library
How the music is made	100% human-created, commissioned and recorded for the library	Often aggregated from many sources, and increasingly AI-generated
Rights	We control the rights, so one licence clears the music	Rights chains and terms vary by provider and tier
Protection	Every licence is fully indemnified	Varies by provider
Coverage	Content type, platform and territory set out in the licence you choose	Often limited by platform, territory or subscription period
Help finding music	Complimentary music research included as standard	Often behind top enterprise tiers

What Do I Owe After I Licence a Track?

You pay one clear licence fee, with no hidden or recurring charges from Audio Network.

What you’re cleared for depends on the licence you choose. Some licences can be granted in perpetuity, which means a track stays cleared for the life of the content, with no renewal or recurring fee. Others, including some advertising licences, are agreed for a limited term at a lower price, so you only pay for the rights you need.

Check that the licence covers your content type, platforms and territory before you publish, and keep a record of it for each video.

How Big Is Audio Network’s Catalogue, and Which Genres Does It Cover?

Our catalogue holds 300,000+ tracks and versions across 158 genres and sub-genres and 80 moods, so there’s depth for almost any video.

It’s deepest in the styles video teams use most: cinematic and orchestral (over 99,000 tracks), electronic, rock, indie, hip-hop and pop, and in the upbeat, energetic moods that suit marketing and social content, including more than 29,000 “bright / optimistic” and more than 24,000 “driving / exciting” tracks and versions.

How Do Download Accounts Work?

Create a free account, with no credit card, and you can search the whole catalogue and download high-resolution, un-watermarked files to test in your edit.

When you’ve chosen a track, you licence it: a single track can be licensed online for one video, a per-project licence covers several videos, and an unlimited annual subscription covers a full year of content. We place no seat restrictions on accounts, so you can add your whole team at no extra cost.

Who Uses Audio Network?

We’ve been creating and licensing music for branded content since 2001, and we’re trusted by leading global brands and agencies, including Spotify, Dentsu, Nike, Google, the V&A, Amnesty International, Saatchi & Saatchi and Disney.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where do I find background music for a video?

A: In a production music library that owns its rights. Audio Network’s catalogue of 300,000+ tracks and versions can be searched by mood, genre, tempo and BPM, and a free account lets you test tracks before you licence.

Q: What’s the best background music for videos?

A: There’s no single best track: it depends on your video’s tone, pacing and audience. Choose music that supports your message without competing with a voiceover, and search by mood to match the feeling you want.

Q: How do I find music for a video project?

A: Start from your brief, search by mood, genre and tempo, test two or three tracks in your edit using un-watermarked downloads, then licence the best one. Audio Network’s team will also return a curated shortlist from your brief at no extra cost.

Q: Where can I get copyright-safe music for a video?

A: From a library whose music is original, rights-controlled, pre-cleared and indemnified. Audio Network’s catalogue is commercially safe and 100% human-created.

Q: Can I use free music from the internet in my video?

A: It’s risky. Free music often has unclear terms and can lead to copyright strikes, demonetisation or takedowns, and using music without a proper licence can expose a business to legal action. A licensed library removes that risk.

Q: What does royalty-free mean?

A: It describes a payment structure: you pay once and don’t pay per-use royalties afterwards. It doesn’t guarantee quality or clear rights. Audio Network is not a royalty-free site; we’re a premium production music library.

Q: What do I owe after I licence a track from Audio Network?

A: One clear licence fee, with no hidden or recurring charges from Audio Network. Some licences can be granted in perpetuity, and some are agreed for a limited term at a lower price.

Q: Does one licence cover every platform?

A: Our licences cover digital advertising, social, YouTube, internal communications, TV, radio and podcasts, with worldwide coverage available depending on the licence you choose.

Q: Is Audio Network’s music AI-generated?

A: No. Audio Network’s catalogue is 100% human-created, with no AI-generated compositions or recordings. AI is only used to support search and discovery.

Q: Can I try a track before I licence it?

A: Yes. Create a free account, with no credit card required, and download high-resolution, un-watermarked files to test in your edit.

Q: Can my whole team use one account?

A: Yes. We place no seat restrictions on accounts, so you can add your whole team at no extra cost.

Q: Does Audio Network help me choose music?

A: Yes. Complimentary music research is included as standard: send us a brief and our team of music licensing experts returns a curated shortlist.

Ready to Find Music for Your Video?

Discover our catalogue to search by mood and tempo, create a free account to test tracks in your edit, or contact our team to talk through the right licence.

• Discover our Catalogue
• Create Account
• Contact our Team