I get asked all the time about music to use on Podcasts. There are many places you can find royalty free music for podcasts ranging from music that is free of charge to low cost, once-off payments.

It's essential to make clear that you cannot use commercial music on a Podcast, no matter what the length. People often say, "But I heard a BBC podcast that used commercial music". The big broadcasters have separate agreements with labels and publishers. An independent podcast is entirely different. Podcast platforms can remove any content for using material that you don't have permission to use.

If you want to use royalty free music on a podcast, I suggest spending a small amount of money. Here are your best options for finding something that works. I am staying away from monthly subscription models in this list. A once-off payment is the easiest solution for the vast majority of podcasters.

Audio Jungle (Envato Market) - once-off fees starting at $5 per track

Audiojungle is what I recommend to most of my podcast partners.

You can purchase royalty free music licences from AudioJungle for as little as $5. I would suggest setting the filter between $5 - $20. You will find lots of great stuff within this price range. The library is so extensive that the chances of someone else in your space using the same piece of music is low. You can see how many time other people have purchased each track.

You don't usually get any stems, short sting versions or loops. If you use an editor, they will easily be able to create these for you. Don't try and edit these yourself unless you have experience with music editing. Music editing requires impeccable precision and an understanding of music tempo.

I would recommend Audiojungle if you use an editor or plan to use an editor.

Premiumbeat - once-off fees approx $60 per track

The price is a little higher, but there is a bit more quality control in what they have to offer. Everything on here is of a high standard, so you won't have to dig as deep. You also get a lot more options and variations of the music. For example, with every track downloaded, you get stems (separated instruments), loops and short stings that you can use to make your podcast more bespoke sounding. 

I recommend Premiumbeat if you edit your own podcast.

Youtube audio library - completely free

If you have no budget, this is an option for completely free music. Youtube has a library of free to use music for videos or podcasts. I find this library very limited in terms of genre. It's primarily contemporary electronic music, and everything sounds very similar. The other obvious downside to this is that these pieces of music are widely used across the internet and won't do much for your podcast’s identity. Of course, you could start with something from here and change later.

Choosing music that fits with your Podcast

Try to find something that fits with the tone of your podcast and your personality. Also, think about who your podcast is aimed at. What type of music would endear your ideal listener?

Here are the main things you need to consider when performing a search:

BPM - This is how fast or slow the music is. Is your podcast fast-paced and in your face? then go for something 120 - 140 BPM. Is your podcast easy-going and informative? Look for mid-range something 90 - 110 BPM. Is your podcast about mindfulness or meditation? go for 60 - 80 BPM.

Genre - If you have a tech podcast you will want something that sounds contemporary and maybe have an electronic feel. If your podcast is about the latest celebrity gossip then you probably want something with a pop or dance feel. If the podcast is on ways to smash your goals and reach new heights with your business you might go for something with a rock feel.

Mood - Motivational, corporate, ambient, cinematic, abstract, simple. These are all words that describe the type of mood a piece of music gives off. Similar to the above, try and find something that matches the mood of your personality and the aim of the podcast.

For Audiojungle and Premium beat, you can simply type a combination of these words into the search and see what you get back. For example just type: “Motivational rock fast” or “ambient relaxed classical slow”

Take a listen and you’ll soon have a more refined idea about what works and what doesn’t. Keep searching and listening and your instinct will tell you when you have landed on the right music track.

How and where to use music in podcasts

Music helps to build the brand and identity of a podcast. It would be best to use music on intros, outros, inserts, commercials, or any other elements that are not part of an episode's main body. Use music to texture the episode as it moves from scene to scene. Here are some rules that I would recommend sticking to:

Use music to establish an episode - not essential but it can work to let the music breathe for 6 or 7 seconds to bookend the start and end of an intro. This acts as a sonic ID or Logo for the podcast. This can often depend on the music. Listen and see if it has a natural point at which to do this. Sample below:

Use as a bed under an intro, outro or short segment but only if it's short (1-minute max)

Use the same piece of music for an intro and outro - Don’t use 1 track on the intro and a different track on the outro, keep it consistent.

Use music under sponsor reads or commercials - You can consider using a second piece of music here as it’s a complete shift in scene and tone. In the example below, the sponsor read is not done by the host so it’s a clear separation from the main body of the podcast, so I used different music to the show theme.

Use music under features - One of my podcast partners has a short feature where entrepreneurs promote their new business. This is a shift in scene and tone of the main episode so I use a different piece of music to the show theme.

Try not to use music under a voice for longer than 1 minute - music beds get distracting after about 45 seconds - 1 minute.

Use music stings to segue between segments: For example, if you have an intro that’s longer than 1 minute, you should leave the intro cold (with no music) but use a music sting at the end, to signify the podcast is moving to another scene. Don't overuse stings and use stings only to separate scenes, not topics. For example:

A podcast is going from an intro (speaking to the listener) to an interview (speaking to the guest). That's an evident change of scene, and a music sting is perfect to use between these two scenes.

If you are going from talking about soccer news to talking to the same person about tennis news, this is a change of topic, not scene and the use of a music sting here will just interrupt the flow.

Don't run music through an entire episode - I have heard this done on a few occasions, it never works.