Music for short videos: every legal source
Every source below lets you use its music in a YouTube Short legally, and some name Instagram and TikTok too. They differ in what happens when a platform's matching system flags the track anyway. Pick what matters to you, and the table narrows to the sources that fit.
What do you need most?
| Credit | Platforms named | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artlist Safest list | Subscription | Paid subscription | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| Audionautix (Jason Shaw) | Free library | Free | Required in the description | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Bensound | Free library | Free with a credit, or from $9.99 a month billed yearly | A code for each video | Claims happen | Paste the code in the description | |
| ccMixter | Free library | Free with credit, or a paid royalty-free licence on some tracks | Required in the description | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Chosic | Free library | Free | Depends on the track | Claims happen | Dispute in YouTube Studio | |
| Envato | Subscription | Paid subscription | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| Epidemic Sound Safest list | Subscription | From $8.99 a month | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| Free Music Archive | Free library | Free | Required in the description | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Free Stock Music | Free library | Free with credit, or a paid licence from the artist | Required in the description | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Incompetech (Kevin MacLeod) | Free library | Free | Required in the description | Claims happen | Dispute in YouTube Studio | |
| Mixkit | Free library | Free | Not needed | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Musicbed | Subscription | Paid subscription | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| Musopen | Free library | Free, or a $55 a year membership | Depends on the track | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| NoCopyrightSounds (NCS) | Free library | Free for independent creators | Required in the description | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Pixabay Music | Free library | Free | Not needed | Claims happen | Dispute with the licence certificate | |
| Shorts sound picker Safest list | YouTube tool | Free | Not needed | No claims | Nothing to clear | |
| Soundstripe | Subscription | From $19.99 a month or $119 a year | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| Storyblocks | Subscription | Paid subscription | Not needed | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| StreamBeats | Free library | Free | Not needed | Claims happen | Contact the artist or provider | |
| Uppbeat Safest list | Subscription | Free with a credit, or from $6.99 a month billed yearly | A code for each video | Claims happen | Connect your channel once | |
| YouTube Audio Library Safest list | YouTube tool | Free | Depends on the track | No claims | Nothing to clear | |
| YouTube Creator Music | YouTube tool | Free to license | Not needed | No claims | Nothing to clear |
No source matches all of those.
How this table was put together
Each row comes from the provider's own licence, help pages and pricing page, linked from that provider's page here. The table starts in alphabetical order, not ranked, and no provider paid to be listed. "Fewest claims first" sorts by what each provider says about claims, nothing else. The oldest check on this page is from .
The claims column describes YouTube, where Content ID claims are best documented. "Claims happen" means the provider itself says a video using its music can get a Content ID claim, and documents how to clear it. It does not mean the music is unsafe to use. "Platforms named" lists only the platforms the provider's own pages name.
Subscriptions that clear claims for you
You pay monthly, connect your channel, and the provider releases claims on it. The plans differ in how many channels they cover and in what happens to your videos when you stop paying.
| Source | Cost | Channels covered | After you cancel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artlist Safest list | Paid subscription | 1 per platform on Social, 3 on Pro | Cleared channels and videos stay cleared. No new ones. |
| Envato | Paid subscription | Up to 3 | Finished videos keep their licence. No new projects. |
| Epidemic Sound Safest list | From $8.99 a month | 1 per platform on Creator, 3 on Pro | Published videos stay cleared. New uploads get claimed. |
| Musicbed | Paid subscription | Not stated | Songs licensed while subscribed stay licensed for those projects. No new projects. |
| Soundstripe | From $19.99 a month or $119 a year | None on Personal, 1 on Pro | Not stated |
| Storyblocks | Paid subscription | Not stated | Not stated |
| Uppbeat Safest list | Free with a credit, or from $6.99 a month billed yearly | 1 on Essentials, 3 on Creator, 10 on Pro | Videos published while safelisted stay clear. |
Music questions, answered
- Free music you can't use on YouTube
Music that is free inside one app is usually licensed for that app only. TikTok and Meta say so in their terms, SoundCloud forbids reuse unless the uploader allows it, and YouTube disowns "royalty-free" channels.
- How to start posting Instagram Reels
You need to be 13 or older. Reels can run to 20 minutes, but Instagram won't recommend one over 3 minutes to new audiences. A free creator account adds insights and shows what you can monetise.
- Safest music for Shorts, Reels and TikTok
On YouTube, use the Audio Library or the in-app sound picker. On Instagram and TikTok, use each app's own library inside the app. For one source across all three, subscribe to Epidemic Sound.
- How to appeal an Instagram music removal
Dispute from the notification Instagram sends you. Meta may restore the Reel itself, pass you to the rights owner or have its staff review it. A country-only block cannot be appealed.
- Instagram music copyright: what gets muted
Meta lets rights owners mute, block or remove a Reel that uses their music without permission. Long, music-heavy clips are the most likely to be limited. Meta's Sound Collection is licensed for its own apps.
- Can you repost TikToks to Shorts and Reels?
Only if the music is yours to take with you. Music added inside TikTok or YouTube is licensed for that platform alone, and a visible watermark from another app makes a video ineligible for TikTok's For You feed.
- Can you use Suno music on YouTube?
Not on the free plan if you want to earn from the video. Suno says free-plan songs are for personal, non-commercial use and cannot be monetised, and subscribing later does not cover them by default.
- Copyright claim vs strike on YouTube Shorts
A claim is an automatic Content ID match that affects one video and never counts against your channel. A strike follows a valid legal removal request, and three strikes in 90 days can end a channel.
- Copyright claims on YouTube vs TikTok
YouTube's Content ID puts a claim on the video, which usually stays up while the revenue moves. TikTok mutes or removes the video instead. Both let you appeal, and both can end an account for repeat infringement.
- Creative Commons music in YouTube videos
CC BY music works in any video if you credit it. SA puts the same licence on your video. NC is out once a video earns money. ND music cannot go in a video at all, because syncing to video counts as adapting it.
- How to appeal a muted TikTok video
Open the notification in your TikTok inbox, select Appeal and explain why you have the rights. If the appeal is approved the audio comes back. Replacing the sound from the Unlimited Sound Library is the faster fix.
- How to dispute a YouTube Content ID claim
In YouTube Studio, open the claim details on the video and choose Take action, then Dispute. Attach your licence details. The claimant has 30 days to respond, and disputing within 5 days protects your revenue.
- How to start on TikTok as a creator
Start with a Personal account, which keeps the full sound library and is the only type eligible for the Creator Rewards Program. That programme needs 10,000 followers, 100,000 views in 30 days and videos over a minute.
- Music licences for Instagram and TikTok
Epidemic Sound, Artlist, Envato and Bensound name Instagram and TikTok in their own pages. NCS and StreamBeats are built around YouTube and Twitch. None of them can stop a platform from muting a video.
- Royalty free vs copyright free music
Royalty free means you pay no fee each time the music plays. It still has an owner and can still be registered with Content ID. Truly copyright-free music is rare, and "no copyright" in a name is usually a licence.
- TikTok Commercial Music Library explained
The Commercial Music Library is the only TikTok music cleared for promoting a brand, product or service. Business Accounts see nothing else, and videos made with it may only be posted on TikTok.
- TikTok music copyright: what gets muted
TikTok does not issue claims. Its audio recognition system mutes the flagged part of a video or removes it. TikTok's own libraries are the safe choice, and outside music can be muted even when you hold a licence.
- What happens when you cancel a music licence
With Epidemic Sound, Artlist and Envato, videos you published while subscribed stay licensed after you cancel. What you lose is the right to publish anything new with the music, even tracks you already downloaded.
- Where to get free music for YouTube Shorts
Start with YouTube's own Audio Library and the Shorts sound picker, which YouTube says won't be claimed. After that, StreamBeats needs no credit, and Incompetech, NCS and Bensound are free if you credit them correctly.