As a broadcaster how many songs have you received from artists to play on your station? I bet the answer is very few to none, which is why it’s up to you to discover the latest tracks and uncover some old classics you might not have heard about. Let’s take a look at where to find music for your radio station , starting with 5 free to use music places.
5 Free to Use Music
What we mean by “free to use” is it falls under “Creative Commons”, which is a license for non-profit organisations with permission to use the creator’s work freely - It’s a way to share and make music more accessible for everyone.
Here are the best free to use music websites you can use to find music for your radio station.
5. Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive, or FMA for short, is a public domain archive and Creative Commons licensed songs. FMA is an ideal place to find originally curated music from new electronic to old country tracks. Find high quality tracks to play the freshest music on your radio station.
You can download any track you want as there’s plenty to choose from; search through the list of curators, genres, and the most popular songs of the week or all time. You can even give back by donating to support FMA here.
4. Jamendo Music
Jamendo is a world of music discovery boasting some of the newest and best tracks. It’s about connecting musicians and music lovers together as a community.
There are more than 500,000 tracks shared by 40,000 artists from over 150 countries worldwide. You can stream all the music for free, simply download it and support the artist. Jamendo has a community of listeners happy to share and comment on the best tracks, which is ideal for stations looking to curate recommended playlists.
3. NoiseTrade
NoiseTrade is a music platform built on generosity by thousands of artists and labels wanting to connect with fans through the exchange of free music.
NoiseTrade gives you the tool to discover and share new music. Download entire albums from several thousand artists from around the world. Genres like hip-hop, dance, and pop are available for free, you can even get instrumental music which is perfect for your radio station jingles or promotions.
2. ccMixter
ccMixter is a large community of over 45,000 musicians collaborating and sharing music to anyone for free.
Built as an open source tool for anyone to contribute to as all of it’s music falls under Creative Commons licensing - Download and share royalty free tracks from ccMixter.
1. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is the world’s leading social sound platform with over 75 million music curators uploading around 12 hours of audio each minute.
There are literally millions upon millions of tracks and mixes from popular artists to undiscovered talent that’s worth sharing with your listeners. It’s the best place to discover new and upcoming artists.
BONUS: Opsound
Opsound is a free online music library largely consisting of instrumental music from various different genres, so it’s suited for stations looking for background tracks for shows, jingles, or promotions.
5 Paid Music
Most well known bands and artists like Queen and Elvis Presley aren’t going to be on any of the places above as they’ll be paid for music.
Broadcasting bought music requires some form of licensing or coverage for royalties. You should know what you can do to protect yourself and the licenses available to you by reading this article.
Please note that we recommend always consulting with qualified professionals or the relevant authorities for you country regarding copyright and licensing.
5. iTunes
iTunes is a completely digital music store for users that has over 43 million songs, so you can purchase and download from a wide selection of tracks directly to your computer.
575 million active users makes a great place to sort through tracks and curate popular playlists based on your radio station.
4. Beatport
Beatport is home to a large collection of electronic music, ideal for DJs looking for full sets and mixes from independent artists.
It’s home to exclusive albums and artists only available on Beatport with 1 million tracks and over 120,000 artists, DJs, remixers, and musicians. Behind Beatport is massive community of cutting edge artists and fans that are constantly uploading and recommending new music, plus there’s encouragement for new users to get involved and share their favourite tracks.
3. Google Play Music
Google have thrown their hat into the ring with Google Play Music, a service aimed at music fans that want the latest songs, but are on a budget.
There are over currently over 35 million songs to download and stream, plus there’s a bunch of free music available with the occasional discount on selected albums from time to time. Much like SoundCloud, just about anyone can get on Google Play Music like DJs, basement bands, and other unknown artist, so it makes it great place to find cutting edge songs.
2. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a self-promotional platform aimed at new and upcoming musicians that want to get heard (whilst making a bit of money on the side).
There’s plenty of genres of music for everyone like metal, jazz, folk, and experimental, which you can listen to individually or entire albums so as to get a taste for the artist or band. Discover amazing new music by following artists and fans who in turn share their favourite picks and new releases, this way you can easily keep your finger on the pulse of the within the music scene.
1. Amazon
Amazon offers pretty much every artist and music track you can think of, either in digital or physical format. It’s the go to place to buy an album, alternatively it can be put to good use for search purposes as customer reviews give you a rough idea of how well received a track or album is.
As there are millions of artists on Amazon you’re really spoilt for choice, you can even preview tracks before you buy. Most can be bought in digital format, alternatively you can get audio CDs and grab the tracks from there.
BONUS: MP3va
MP3va offers a massive collection of well known artists and has over 6 million tracks and 5 million albums.
It’s a cheap alternative as you can buy individual tracks from 10 cents / 8p or entire albums and download them directly to you browser as everything is available digitally. Browse from a wide selection of popular artists like Pink Floyd and preview any of the tracks before you purchase.
Find Music for Your Radio Station
Now it’s over to you! Hopefully this list of music services gives you a good starting point to finding the right music for your radio station. If we’ve missed any or you have a suggestion that you think will help other broadcasters then let us know in the comments below.
Got the music, but do you have the station to play them on? Get started today with Radio.co and begin your journey to building your own radio station with your 7 day free trial by clicking the button below.
Curated by: Rock Radio 365
RockRadio365
Ear Candy 24.7 | 365
