Summary
| Website | epidemicsound.com |
| Music | 35,000 |
| Sound Effects | 90,000 |
| Licensing | Royalty-free |
| Price | $15-49/month |
| Free Trial | Yes (7-Days) |
| Alternatives | Artlist & Soundstripe |
Epidemic Sound now provides a 7-day free trial where you can get access to their full library. That’s 35,000 royalty-free tracks and 90,000 premium sound effects for free! 🙌
What is Epidemic Sound?
Epidemic Sound was launched in 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden by Peer Åström, David Stenmarck, Oscar Höglund, and Jan Zachrisson. The company specializes in hand-picked royalty-free music and sound effects for freelancers.
The stock music website uses a subscription-based model which boasts a massive library of over 100,000 music tracks and sound effects. This allows you to create rich sounding, high-impact videos.
Also, while Epidemic Sound holds the rights to all the music in its library, it gives half of the streaming revenue straight to the composers. We think that’s pretty cool. 👍
Who is Epidemic Sound for?
Anyone working in the creative industry can benefit from using Epidemic Sound. Think of influencers, podcasters, YouTubers, filmmakers, and pretty much anyone who needs copyright-free music.
Sound interesting? Let’s dig deeper into what this website offers and how it works…
How Does It Work?
You can access the Epidemic Sound website via a desktop browser, but you can also search, listen, and download your chosen tracks to a mobile device. To sign up follow these 6 simple steps:
- Click on the link above
- Click on the “Start free trial” button
- Select personal or commercial subscription
- Create an account and connect your channels
- Add payment details (you won’t be charged for the first month)
- That’s it!
Also, if you’re a user of Adobe Premiere Pro, you can access Epidemic Sound’s tracks directly through their built-in library. Pretty handy right?
Epidemic Sound Features
Once you start using Epidemic Sound, you will instantly notice how simple and intuitive its interface is. Here are a few of our favorite features.
Sections
Just by clicking on Music, you will be able to filter the catalog according to Genres, Featured, Moods, and Albums.
| Featured | Genre | Moods | Albums |
|---|---|---|---|
| This section includes a range of albums divided by category. The page also features a fun and handy playlist of Staff Picks, which are updated every week. | Genres are listed on the website in alphabetical order, making it a breeze to find exactly what you are looking for. Choose from a range of popular genres like pop, rock, jazz, and more. | This section offers exactly what you would expect: a wide selection of different emotional states to pick from in order to find the best and most suitable tracks. | This is another great feature. They have put together a huge range of albums that include carefully selected tracks to help creators in finding just the right type of music for their needs. |
Filters
Another interesting feature offered by this platform is the ability to filter the library to find specific tracks. You can search for certain types of sound effects and music using mood, place, tempo, length, energy, and more.
Stem Files
Love a track but want to get rid of a certain instrument or make it more unique?
Epidemic Sound also allows users to download STEM files, which give you the opportunity to unleash your creativity. All of their tracks come in four stems (drums, bass, instrument, and melody). This means you can either download a full track or each stem separately by clicking the download arrow to the right of the track.
Let’s say, for example, that you download a track that only features one element that you want or need to use. The STEM function lets you remove all the other elements so that you end up with exactly the piece of music that you want.
Cleared Royalty-Free Music
All music on Epidemic Sound is cleared and ready to go. This includes use on social media, monetization, and clearance for all client productions.
Connecting your social media channels to the Epidemic Sound app is another great way to use their service. This allows you to stream your content live on platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
Doing this is actually quite simple. First of all, pick one social media platform for each subscription that you own. Then click the Subscription button on your Account page and select the one you want to connect to (Instagram, Facebook, etc). Save your changes and it’s all done!
Audio
Sometimes, people underestimate the importance of good audio. However, a bad track can really affect your edit and ruin the video for your audience.
Luckily for you, Epidemic Sound takes audio pretty seriously, all tracks are available in crystal clear lossless 24-bit 48kHz WAV. 👍
SFX
Looking for amazing sound effects to add to your video? then check out the Sound Effects section.
Epidemic Sound has recently added a sound effects library with over 60,000 effects and counting. Think waves on a beach, rain, taxi horns, birds chirping – they have it all!
So if you want to grab your viewer’s attention and make your videos more engaging then sound effects are the way to go. 😉
Epidemic Sound Pricing
Epidemic Sound keeps pricing nice and simple with only 3 subscription plans. Obviously, the one you choose depends on what type of creator you are and where you’re posting content.
Still not sure? No worries. Here is a table to help compare all of the features.
| Features | Personal ($15/month) | Commercial ($49/month) | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35,000 tracks | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| 90,000 sound effects | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Unlimited Downloads | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| 30-day Free Trial | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Coverage for your own channels | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and podcasts | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Coverage for your client or business | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| All online platforms | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Websites | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Digital ads | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Clearing Invitations | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| TV shows and TV ads | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Commercial streaming and VOD | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Multiple user accounts | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
Is Epidemic Sound Worth it or Not?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔ One of the best libraries out there | ✘ You can’t buy Music and SFX separately |
| ✔ Unlimited music and SFX downloads | |
| ✔ Affordable subscription plans | |
| ✔ Easy to use sections and filters | |
| ✔ Stem files available | |
| ✔ 7-day free trial |
To sum up, stop wasting hours of your precious time desperately looking for the right song or sound effect. Try Epidemic Sound, and don’t even worry about copyrights anymore!
Convenient, easy, and constantly growing, this is definitely one of the best providers of royalty-free music out there. Check out their website and get 7 days free today.
Epidemic Sound FAQ
Yes. You can use both complete tracks and separate stems (bass, instrumental, vocals) as you need for your content. You can also use tracks in sponsored or branded content for your own channel(s), but not for third-party channels or websites.
With a Personal subscription, you can use their music in content on your own YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, and podcast platforms. You can clear one channel per social media platform.
With a Commercial subscription, you can publish music worldwide. You can post on any online platform, in podcasts, on your company website, or on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch.
Yes. If you, for any reason, change your mind and decide to cancel your subscription, you’ll be able to get a refund within 14 days from the date of its purchase or renewal.
All videos published during an active subscription will be cleared forever and will not be claimed after cancellation. Any videos published after the subscription period has ended will be subject to a copyright claim.
Yes, it’s completely safe. All communication, data, and payments are encrypted.
