Prologue
Music Makes Good Podcasts Great
As you may know, my background is in the music business. What you may not know is I spent years licensing music to television shows and films, working with companies like Universal Pictures, Viacom, and ESPN to get the best music possible for shows/films.
Music makes a "scene" happen. And it makes a podcast happen.
Imagine being in a hotel elevator, going from your 12th-floor room to the open-air hotel lobby...
The elevator doors open and you hear music.
What kind of music? That would depend on whether the hotel is in Miami, Kingston, Honolulu, New Orleans, or Paris. And it would change the whole vibe of everything else...
The same is true for your podcast. The right music makes a good podcast great.
In this issue, I'm sharing some of my favorite places to get legal music to use in your podcast, much of it free. And also sound effects.
Have any questions or want me to review the music you select? Send me a message via Twitter.
Podcasting Tools
Remove Vocals From Music with One Click!
Ever had a song that would make a great background for your podcast, but had vocals you didn't want to talk over? This will remove those vocals for you.
This is a great tool that's made for DJs and music producers, but works just as well as podcasters. Not only can you remove vocals from any song, you'll get individual bass tracks and other elements to really step up your podcast production.
The best part? It's only $29!
Podcast Production
AudioHero - A Great Option for "Retro" Music
AudioHero has some great "retro" music that will work well for some podcasts and there's a free, 30-day trial for you to test it out and see if it works for you.
Need sound effects? AudioHero has them!
If you're looking for "hipster" music, EDM, or urban stuff, this probably isn't the site for you, but it's nice to have for some non-typical options you can find in most other sound libraries.
RECOMMENDED IF YOU DO: Campy podcasts, retro podcasts, humorous podcasts
Audiio Music and SFX (Best for Video/Documentaries/Fiction)
This site is great if you want "hipster" music like you see all over YouTube. Songs are divided into different categories and you can select "instrumentals only" if you want something you can talk over. There is an "all-you-can-eat" lifetime option available, if you need A LOT of music.
RECOMMENDED IF YOU DO: YouTube videos, video promos, documentary podcasts. B2B podcasts, SFX are great for drama/fiction podcasts
DISCOUNT: Use code "bigpodcast10" to get 10% off.
BBC Sound Effects - Something For Everybody
This is a free sound effects library from the BBC with just about everything. Read the "licensing" page before using. :)
RECOMMENDED IF YOU DO: YouTube videos, video promos, documentary podcasts. fiction podcasts
AudioJungle - Royalty Free Music & Audio
If I had to pick one place to get royalty-free music, it would be AudioJungle. Lots of great music options, a great search engine to find exactly what you need, and reasonable prices.
The music for my book trailer came from AudioJungle. I used two completely different styles, so it gives you a good example of the variety you can find there.
RECOMMENDED IF YOU DO: There is something for everybody here.
YouTube Studio
This is a great free music library with a lot of music options by musicians/composers who want you to use your music in videos and podcasts. There is some amazing stuff here, you will need to dig a bit as the search feature isn't very advanced.
RECOMMENDED IF YOU DO: YouTube videos, video promos, and ANY style of podcast – there is something for everybody here