YouTube Audio Library: how to find and use free music for your videos

It's YouTube's own library of royalty-free production music and sound effects, and it lives only in YouTube Studio. YouTube describes its music and sound effects as copyright-safe, and new releases are added twice a month.

• Copyright-safe tracks downloaded from the Audio Library won't be claimed by a rights holder through Content ID.
• If you're in the YouTube Partner Program, you can monetise videos that use Audio Library music and sound effects.
• If a video uses Audio Library music, a Music in this Video section shows on its watch page.
• YouTube's licence page describes the library's music and sound effects as free of charge.

Sources: YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: License types on YouTube, checked 15 October 2026

On a computer:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. From the left menu, select Audio Library. You can also go straight to youtube.com/audiolibrary.
3. In the Music tab, search by track title, artist or keyword, or filter by genre, mood, artist name, attribution and duration in seconds.
4. Click Play to sample a track. It keeps playing while you browse.
5. Hover over the date and click Download to save an MP3 file.

• Sort results by track title, artist name, duration or date by clicking the column names.
• Click the star next to a track to save it, then find it later in the Starred tab.
• Click the filter next to a track's artist, genre or mood to find more like it.

Source: YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library, checked 15 October 2026

Sound effects sit in their own tab:

1. Open the Audio Library in YouTube Studio.
2. Select the Sound effects tab.
3. Search by track title or keyword, or filter by category and duration in seconds.
4. Play the effect, then hover over the date and click Download.

Source: YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library, checked 15 October 2026

Tracks with a Creative Commons licence must be credited in your video's description. Tracks under the standard YouTube Audio Library licence don't need attribution. To copy the credit text:

1. In the Audio Library, find the track you want to use.
2. In the License type column, click the Creative Commons icon.
3. In the pop-up, click Copy.
4. Paste the text into your video's description.

• To see only tracks that need a credit, use the filter bar and choose Attribution required. Choose Attribution not required for the rest.
• The Music in this Video section on the watch page doesn't replace the credit. Creative Commons attribution is still required in the description.

Source: YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library, checked 15 October 2026

Match what you see to the cause:

• YouTube can't give legal advice about music, including problems that happen off YouTube. For questions about your use of a track, it suggests a qualified lawyer.

Source: YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library, checked 15 October 2026

Audio Library tracks are a safe default for the music under your business videos. Zolyp, which publishes this guide, publishes to YouTube as one of 9 platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads). It creates video uploads and Shorts with titles and descriptions written for search, can set a custom thumbnail on a standard video, and schedules them with the posts on your other networks. You approve the week before anything goes live.