November 18, 2021 by Jake
5 Places to get Sound Effects and Music
Need music and sound effects for a game?
Here’s my top five favourite sites for audio assets.
5. FreeMusicArchive.org
With thousands of free for commercial use tracks to choose from, FMA is a great place to hunt for music for your next project. All tracks are original and from independent artists, so you don’t need to worry about YouTube claims.
Price: Free or $45
Good For: Music.
Downsides: The selection is a little bit limited, and the genre search isn’t fantastic. However, The paid version Tribe of Noise Pro has a much better search, UI and selection.
Verdict: Not bad!
Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/home
4. SFXR
SFXR is a free tool widely used in GameJams to create quick, workable sound effects. I’ve found its really useful for arcade games where the low-fi sound works well.
Price: Free
Good For: Sound effects and placeholder sound effects.
Downsides: Produces exclusively arcade/8-bit style sounds, which isn’t suitable for every need.
Verdict: A lifesaver!
Link: https://www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html
3. ArtList.io
ArtList is a subscription service which shares musicians and audio engineers content with subscribes. It’s relatively cheap, but has a good selection of useful music and effects.
Price: $120 a year, or $15 a month.
Good for: The sound effects and music typically come in large packs, giving you a consistent set of sounds to use across a project.
Downsides: It’s subscription only, so you cannot pay outright for individual trakcs you like. Compared to other premium sound libraries, it’s selection is small.
Verdict: A good tool if its in your budget.
Link: https://artlist.io
2. FreeSound.org
FreeSound.org has thousands of free to use sound effects, usually with Attribution licenses. I’ve used loads of sound effects from this site for games. It might take a little while to find what you’re looking for, but its a great resource!
Price: Free
Good for: Sound effects! It’s got a dozen variants of every type of sound you’ll need.
Downsides: The sound quality can be inconsistent. Sound effects aren’t released in packs, so building a collection that work together requires a bit of thought.
Verdict: Worth bookmarking!
Link: https://freesound.org/
1. Incompetech.com
Even if you haven’t heard of Kevin MacLeod, you have probably heard his music. MacLeod and the other composers on Incompetech.com are used across the interent, from podcasts to YouTube to indie games.
Price: Free
**Good for: ** Music. If you need music for a project, that’s free to use for commercial purposes then Incompetech probably have a high quality track for you.
Downsides: It takes a little time to find exactly what you’re looking for. The tracks can often be one off pieces, which can be awkward for larger projects which need multiple cohesive tracks.
Verdict: Brilliant.