The music industry continues to evolve to meet changes in technology and consumer demand. Gone are the days when we'd simply pop into a record store and rifle through packed racks. In fact, 2017 saw only 17 percent of music purchased in physical form (for example, CDs and vinyl). A whopping 80 percent was downloaded or streamed. It's no surprise, then, that music sites continue to proliferate, and sorting through them all can be time-consuming. Here are six of the best music sites for downloading songs.
Downloading music for free from disreputable sites (i.e., pirating) is not only illegal; it's unethical. As of 2018, musicians generally receive only 12 percent of revenue from online sales. Support the musicians who make the music you love by purchasing their art legally.
iTunes
What We Like
Available on platforms outside of Apple devices.
User-friendly, browser-like interface.
iCloud interface makes music available on all your devices.
What We Don't Like
No free music.
No access via the web.
Many music fans regard Apple's iTunes store as the internet's premier music provider. Apple fans use iTunes' own software to access Apple's store, which naturally offers built-in support for syncing music to your iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices. You don't have to have one to use this service, however.
Apple's online store is more than just an online music service; other sub-stores offer music videos, audiobooks, movies, free podcasts, apps, and more. A social network (Connect) lets you follow your favorite artists and connect with others who appreciate them, too.
Amazon Music
What We Like
Purchases are automatically stored in your own cloud-based music locker.
Cloud Player makes streaming your music easy.
Wide selection available for Unlimited subscribers.
Integrates well with Amazon Echo devices.
What We Don't Like
No weather, lifestyles, or sports content.
Smaller catalog of songs than iTunes.
Two music plans—Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited—with different catalogs can be confusing.
Amazon Music has grown to be one of the largest stores for purchasing and downloading digital music. With many songs and albums retailing at a very competitive level in the digital music market, Amazon Music is certainly worth a look as an iTunes Store alternative.
Spotify
What We Like
Fun and easy to create playlists.
Can build and share playlists with others through social network.
Can import your iTunes and Windows Music libraries.
What We Don't Like
Advanced features require Spotify subscription.
Can't sync playlists to more than three devices.
Even though Spotify is essentially a streaming music service, its special Offline Mode qualifies it as a music download service, too. In this mode, you can download and listen to thousands of songs without needing to be connected to the internet.
Napster
What We Like
Browser-based listening on Windows PC and Mac.
Search results can be used to generate downloadable playlists.
What We Don't Like
No free membership level.
Nothing to truly set it apart from other music services.
Smaller music library than top competitors.
Gone are Napster's days as a file-sharing service (which was shut down due to copyright violations). Today's Napster is both a subscription-based service and an a la carte music store. Selecting the subscription route gives you the opportunity to use Napster for music discovery: You can listen to as many songs as you like, providing you keep your subscription going. You also get MP3 credits by subscribing, which you can redeem for MP3 downloads.
eMusic
What We Like
Free tier offers unlimited cloud storage and access to music collections, photos, audiobooks, and videos.
Can use service on up to 10 devices at once.
Web accessible.
What We Don't Like
You won't find current major-label hits.
Can download any single song only once.
eMusic is a subscription-based service that provides a library of more than 32 million music titles, all from independent artists. The big plus about this subscription service is that all songs are DRM-free; you get a set amount (depending on your subscription level, the costs of which range from free to $29.99) to download and keep every month.
7digital
What We Like
Download up to 320 kbps high-quality MP3s.
Digital locker comes free with account.
What We Don't Like
Not all tracks are DRM-free.
Smaller selection than that of other players.
7digital is a media service that provides not only music tracks, but also videos, audiobooks, soundtracks, and a selection of free MP3 downloads. The digital locker helps you to store all your purchased tracks safely in the event that you need to download them again.
Looking for free music downloads? Turns out there are lots of legal places to get them. Here are the top 10.
Updated for 2019! Please let us know any other suggestions in the comments below.
You’d be amazed how much free (and legal) free music downloads are available online. You just need to know where to look.
Here are just a few of our free music download favorites for June and July. Keep in mind that this list is constantly being updated, and also includes a bunch of specialty music downloader apps. So keep checking back for more favorites!
- Jamendo Music
- SoundCloud
- Amazon Music
- SoundClick
- ReverbNation
- MP3Juices
- Mp3 Music Download Hunter
- Wynk Music: MP3 & Hindi Songs
- Spinrilla
- My Mixtapez Music
Below is a complete summary and review of all of these free music download sites. Enjoy!
Also: got a free music download site you like? Let us know in the comments and we’ll test it out.
1. Jamendo Music
Jamendo Music has been offering free music downloads for years. All of these downloads are completely free (so no letters from your ISP) and protected by Creative Commons licenses. That basically means that the creators of these songs don’t mind if you download their music for personal enjoyment.
This is all independent music. So if you’re looking for DJ Khaled or Drake, you’ll probably have to go elsewhere (try YouTube Music, Spotify, or Apple Music).
Basically, Jamendo is geared towards the music explorer. Plus, they also have free radio stations and playlists that constantly update. Once you’ve got a good collection of free music downloads, you can easily access them offline on your iOS, Android, or other device. You’ll need a music downloader app to help organize it all (here’s a list of them).
And looking to license music for your video, commercial, or film? That’s where Jamendo’s paid tier enters the picture. The prices are reasonable, and the catalog is rich. You can’t go wrong.
Go to Jamendo Music here.
2. SoundCloud
Just like Amazon offers a free music download collection, so does SoundCloud. But you have to know how to find them.
So here’s how it works: SoundCloud is essentially a free streaming service. But a lot of artists also allow free downloads as well. You have to search around, but you’ll see a free music download option if the artist has enabled it.
Then, it’s yours!
Keep in mind that many larger artists only stream. In fact, most major label artists are prohibited from offering free downloads, based on their contracts. That has spawned a group of SoundCloud downloaders to work around that limitation, though SoundCloud doesn’t (technically) authorize those apps.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated free music download section. And, there’s little chance that will happen in the future, so happy exploring!
Primaria oras voluntari ilfov. Check out SoundCloud here.
3. Amazon Music
Realism. Yes, Amazon Music offers a ton of free music downloads! They even have a free music download section that is constantly being updated.
(Actually, they also do this for books as well.)
But back to the music. Amazon’s selection is actually pretty amazing, and features newer releases from a lot of big-name artists. That includes names like Foo Fighters, Blondie, Chance the Rapper, Carole King, and the Philharmonic Orchestra Bratislava — depending on when you check in. That last one’s for you classical lovers, but there’s also a ton of meditation, workout, and focus-oriented music.
Why are they doing this? The answer is simple: they want you to try out their more involved music streaming service. Or, pick up an Amazon Prime account (which comes bundled with music). Anything to get you into the Amazon circle of products.
And yeah, Amazon Music is a pretty good streaming service if you’re looking to upgrade.
Once you’ve grabbed a few free mp3s from Amazon’s free music download section, you can take them anywhere. That includes any smartphone, starting with iPhone (iOS) and Android devices. But you’ll need a good music downloader to neatly organize it all.
Check out Amazon Music’s free music download section here.
4. SoundClick
SoundClick offers free downloads from thousands of artist websites. That includes signed, unsigned, independent, and everything in-between. Basically, if the artist wants to offer a free music download, then SoundClick will try to deliver it.
Searching for music is pretty simple. You can search by artist, genre, or by chart. You can sample as much as you want, and download whatever you want. There’s also a radio option that lets you sample music while multi-tasking on something else.
One warning: SoundClick does offer a mix of paid and free content. The reason is that some artists prefer to charge for their downloads, while others want to give it away for free. Their choice, but you can sample whatever you choose.
Also, there aren’t full catalogs for artists like DJ Khaled or Drake. For that, you’ll probably need to head over to Spotify or iTunes, and whip out your wallet.
Just make sure to download your collection in an easy folder. Then, it’s time to manage your collection with a music downloader app.
Check out SoundClick here.
5. ReverbNation
ReverbNation has millions of emerging artists, across hundreds of different genres. You can discover what you like, and lots of artists will allow you to freely download their music.
The approach is somewhat like SoundCloud. You can stream whatever you want, but you have to check to see if a free download option is enabled. That’s not the easily setup, but if you’re in discovery mode, it’s only somewhat inconvenient.
Once you find something you like, it’s yours.
Like SoundCloud, many of the larger ReverbNation artists only stream. Right now, ReverbNation doesn’t have a dedicated download section.
Check out ReverbNation’s ‘Discover’ area here.
6. MP3juices.cc
MP3juices actually got shut down by the London Police in 2014. Now, the site has re-emerged at MP3juices.cc as a streaming-to-download site, including YouTube conversion. Basically, you can search for whatever tracks you want, and MP3juices.cc will convert the track into a free music download for you.
They even offer an ‘Mp3 Cutter’ to help trim unwanted intros or ‘white noise’ on downloads.
Just a word of caution: YouTube-to-MP3 sites get a little tricky legally, so just be careful. Basically, the industry is clamping down hardcore on a lot of these sites, as translating a video into a free music download violates copyright. That means you could end up getting a nasty letter from your ISP, or even a label, none of which isn’t fun.
So, try to avoid Drake and Rihanna downloads and you’re fine. Instead, go for copyright-free songs that can be used for any purpose, and you’ll be legally clear. Here’s a good place to start.
Actually, if you end up using any of this music in a production, just be sure to credit the creator. That will help them get their name out, and maybe land a juicy paid slot.
7. MP3 Music Download Hunter (App)
MP3 Music Download Hunter is a relative newcomer in the Android app space. But it’s proving to be a solid option for free music downloads. Basically, Download Hunter scours millions of copyright-free songs for download. Technically, these are Creative Commons licensed songs, which means the creators have authorized free downloading (and uploading, for that matter).
If you’re planning on using any of these songs for commercial use, check with the copyright owner. Otherwise, if it’s just for private, just spread the word to help these artists get bigger!
Mp3 Music Download Hunter is currently available through the Google Play Store. Its rating is a modest 3.3, but a lot of people are giving the app a ‘1’ expecting major label content. Basically, they were looking for artists like Trey Songz or Katy Perry, which MP3 Hunter doesn’t offer.
After locating a collection of free music downloads, Hunter helps you organize them. That includes organization and storage for offline listening on mobile devices. Of course, that’s great for anyone worried about cellular bandwidth charges.
MP3 Music Downloader Hunter is available here.
8. Wynk Music: MP3 & Hindi Songs (App)
If you’re looking for Indian music, Airtel is offering a great way to find and organize free music downloads. Basically, Wynk not only offers free mp3s, but it manages and organizes them as well. A stepped-up premium plan includes streaming and a larger selection, though Airtel users can qualify for extended premium trials or bundled premium options. Just check your plan!
Sub-genres span Bollywood, Bhangra, Tamil, and Punjabi, with lots of music in a variety of regional dialects. Just to give you a sample, the dialect selection includes the following: Malayalam, Rajasthani, Marathi, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Bhojpuri, and Gujarati, among others.
Beyond Indian regional music, there are also a lot of global, mainstream songs. Think Coldplay, Jason Derulo, Shakira, and the Chainsmokers, and you get the idea. That said, that’s not the main focus of this app. But it’s a nice addition for those that want some global variety.
In total, Wynk offers 2.6 million tracks of mostly Indian music. There are also a huge number of playlists and a full-blown radio service. Again, most are focused on Indian music.
There are a few other cool options and features. That includes ringtones, ringback tones, an English-language option, and even Chromecast support.
Here’s a video that describes the offering a bit more:
You can find Wynk Music here.
9. Spinrilla (Site+App)
Please note: Last we heard, Spinrilla was getting sued by the major recording labels for illegally offering free music downloads and mixtapes. In response, Spinrilla’s attorneys have argued that the labels themselves sent them music for their mixtapes, making this a super-confusing situation. As of this writing, the app itself is on the Google Play Store, though a bad legal turn could get it ripped down. We’ll keep you updated on this situation.
If you like hip-hop mixtapes, you might want to check out Spinrilla. Basically, Spinrilla taps into a treasure trove of mixtapes from established sites like DatPiff, then reassembles them into a single interface.
Spinrilla is a site and an app. According to its Google Play Store listing, Sprinrilla has more than 5 million downloads.
The ratings on this app are pretty strong. And hip-hop heads regard this as a top app. On Google Play, Spinrilla has a rating of 4.3 stars (out of 5). But, here’s another sticky spot: Spinrilla has no affiliation with LiveMixtapes, DatPiff, or MyMixtapez (keep reading), though it pulls heavily from those mixtape hubs. So we’re not sure if that’s ruffling any feathers.
Oh, and they know they’re big! The app calls itself the ‘800-lb gorilla of free hip-hop mixtapes’. The app even allows streaming. But pro tip: download on Wifi to avoid cellular bandwidth charges.
You can find Spinrilla here.
10. My Mixtapez Music (App)
Just like Spinrilla, My Mixtapez Music is all about hip-hop mixtapes. But there are a few differences that hip-hop aficionados will want to weigh.
For starters, both offer lots of different mixtapes from endless rappers and DJs. And both offer the option to enjoy free music downloads for offline listening. But dive into My Mixtapez, and you’ll see a number of differences in selection, organization, and selected artists. You might even decide to roll with both!
Currently, Mixtapez isn’t getting sued (that we’ve heard). But this is an unstable situation, so we’ll keep you updated. Right now, the site hasn’t been deemed illegal, but be prepared for a rude shutdown (cause that’s how it goes sometimes).
Actually, My Mixtapez also puts a nice spotlight on indie artists and emerging rappers. That includes a lot of rappers that could be massive in a few years, with mixtapes still providing a huge promotional role.
Check out the Mixtapez free music downloader app here.
In conclusion, it’s probably worth trying out a few options out before making a final choice. Throughout, we just ask that you respect copyrighted material and pay for stuff that isn’t royalty-free. Lastly, if you see a free music download app you love that didn’t make this list, let us know and we’ll check it out! Thanks for reading our list.