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Free-to-Use Media: Multimedia

A guide to places to find and create free-to-use media

Music

Pixabay

Use content for non-commercial purposes without having to attribute the author (although giving credit is always appreciated.) Find more licensing information here.

Simply describe the type of music you are looking for in the search bar. Include designations such as the type of instrument or vocal, tempo, mood, genre, etc. 

Audionautix

Use royalty-free including for commercial purposes, but you must provide a link back to the Audionautix website or credit with “music by audionautix.com.” More information is provided here.

Choose from several categories of genre, mood, and tempo, or use a traditional search. Fewer categories selected produce a larger number of results.

FreePD.com

Free for commercial use with no royalties or attribution required under a Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal license, but attribution and donations are appreciated.

A few category choices are provided with an easily management selection of songs listed for each. 

Udio 

An AI music generator. “Udio.com allows users to create music from simple text prompts by specifying topics, genres, and other descriptors which are then transformed into professional quality tracks.” 

Some controversy exists about Udio’s use of copyrighted material in the training of its AI and the similarity of that material in some of its output.

Commercial usage is allowed as long as the song does not contain copyrighted material, though that can be difficult to determine.

Suno

Another AI music generator that will create a track based on information in your prompt. 

Some controversy exists about Suno’s use of copyrighted material in the training of its AI and the similarity of that material in some of its output. 

Commercial usage is not allowed for materials created within the free tier.

Sound Effects

Pixabay

Use content for non-commercial purposes without having to attribute the author (although giving credit is always appreciated.) Find more licensing information here.

Describe the desired sound effect and browse the results from their extensive catalog. Similar search terms will also be provided based on your search. 

PacDV

Use the sound effects and audio clips on this website free of charge in your video, film, audio, and multimedia productions, but do not re-sell or re-license the sounds to anyone else, post on a website for download, or link directly to individual sound files.

No search bar is available, but there are several sound categories to choose from with individual sounds arranged alphabetically. 

Video Stock Footage

Pixabay

Use content for non-commercial, non-political purposes without having to attribute the author (although giving credit is always appreciated.) Find more licensing information here.

The first row of pictures on each results page is usually made up of sponsored videos from iStock which are not free.

Simply describe the type of footage you are looking for in the search bar.

Pexels

Content can be used for most purposes, excluding political content. Find more licensing information here. Author attribution is not required but is appreciated. 

Simply describe the type of footage you are looking for in the search bar.

Canva

Login into Canva and choose the design style that best suits your needs. In the left column, choose “Videos” and search for the kind of content you are interested in. Videos without the crown icon in the lower right corner are free-to-use. 

Adobe Express

The easiest way to use videos from Adobe Express is when you are already using it to build the rest of your content. Choose a content type to start with, then choose “Media” from the toolbar on the left side. Choose “Videos” from the selections that will appear at the top of the resulting menu. Content without the crown icon in the lower right corner are free-to-use.