Royalty-free music is incredibly valuable because of the way today’s internet works.
You can’t post anything with music on websites like YouTube or Facebook if you don’t have the right to actually use the music.
In response to this, a cottage industry of royalty-free stock music catalogs has cropped up online.
But there’s a major problem with these sites–most stock music is dry and void of any personality.
Most stock music is dry and void of any personality.
There’s a better way to find the right music for your content, and that’s with construction kits and sample packs that allow you to easily piece together the elements you want in your track.
In this article, I’ll explain how royalty-free music works and how you can quickly make your very own custom track using royalty-free samples and curated construction kit packs.
I’ll also list some top tier royalty-free song construction kits for you to look at yourself.
What is royalty-free music?
Royalty-free music is any music you can freely use in your own content without having to make royalty payments to the creators of the track.
Once you own a piece of royalty-free music, you essentially own the rights to that song and can use it in any way you want.
It will never be flagged or taken down on websites that track ContentID like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or any other podcasting or video content site.
So, you’ll still collect all the revenue you earn from advertising and other forms of monetization.
Royalty-free music can either be purchased from a stock music catalog or created with cleared samples and loops.
How to make royalty-free music
Let’s focus on how you can use samples and loops to create your own custom royalty-free music and add personality to the music you use in your content.
1. Pick a genre
To make it easier to find the loops you need, it’s best to decide on what genre your track will sound like.
Since sample libraries are often organized by genre, you’ll have better luck finding the right sounds if you know what you’re looking for.
2. Find a sample pack or construction kit that matches your genre
Once you know the genre of music you’re looking to create, it’s time to find one sample pack that matches that genre.
You’ll see many sample packs tagged as lo-fi, trap, techno or house, for example.
Ideally, you want to work using one sample pack since these packs are intentionally designed to have samples that complement one another.
Remember to watch out for sample packs that come with construction kits, since these sample packs contain loops that fit perfectly into a pre-designed complete loop.
3. Pick the samples you want to use in your track
Now the fun begins, it’s time to piece together your very own royalty free track.
Working with a construction kit means you can pick out the exact samples and sounds you want in your track.
Working with a construction kit means you can pick out the exact samples and sounds you want in your track.
It also makes it super easy to arrange the beat and add breakdowns and build-ups exactly where they need to be.
There’s some specific language used to organize the loops contained in the sample pack’s construction kit.
You’ll see top loops, bass loops, full kit loops, synth loops, and more.
Typically these loops are labeled by which construction kit they belong to, so make sure you pay attention to the labeling of the loops you use.
Your best option is to listen to what each loop contains and then compile them using software like Creator, an incredible new sound compiling tool that easily matches key and BPM between different samples.
Try it on LANDR Samples, it’s really fun to experiment with!
4. Assemble the loops in your DAW
Once you have the loops you need to make your original song, it’s time to get down to business.
To create your track, you need to have access to a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW.
There’s several free DAWs out there and we’ve written about which DAWs are best in other articles.
DAWs can be a little bit complicated to use, but the good news is that assembling and arranging loops is one thing DAWs do very easily.
Because these premade loops are designed to fit together, all you have to do is drag and drop them into the DAW’s track timeline and they should click into place.
It’s basically like doing a collage, except with sound.
It’s basically like doing a collage, except with sound.
If you need help, there’s plenty of free tutorials and help on YouTube.
Here’s a great video tutorial about working with samples in my personal favorite DAW: Ableton.
5. Export your original track and master it
Alright, you have your track worked out and you’re happy with how it sounds.
Now it’s time to export your track. We’ve written about the track export process before, but in general, you’ll want to export a high quality .WAV file.
But hold on, even once you’ve exported your track it’s not ready yet.
To make sure your track sounds the best it can, you need to master it.
Mastering makes your track sound louder and it makes your track sound as good as it can when it’s played on any medium like a car stereo or phone speaker.
Traditional mastering is an expensive and technical process, so your best bet is to use AI software to cheaply and efficiently get a perfect master.
LANDR’s AI mastering tool is by far the best option, other than hiring an expensive professional mastering engineer that could cost you hundreds of dollars per track.
6. Use the track anywhere you want!
Congratulations! You just made an original composition.
Now that you have a pristine master of your track, you can use it anywhere you want.
It’s completely your own, you put your personality into it, it’s not just something picked randomly from a stock music list.
Everyone will notice when your content uses interesting, original songs.
The 10 best royalty-free music sample packs
Sample packs are your go-to when creating royalty-free music since all the samples they contain are created to go with one another.
To put you on the right track, here’s the best sample packs for making royalty-free music right now.
1. The Ten Best Construction Kit Sample Packs
Construction kits are specifically designed to make it easy to piece together a custom track.
They contain hundreds of loops that fit together perfectly, so you can find the exact sound you need.
In this article, you’ll find the 10 best construction kits we’ve found so far.
2. Melody loops
Here’s a great place to start when looking for a melodic loop for your royalty free track.
Our favorite loop from the pack: Popsicle 140 BPM
3. Loops and Things
Loops and Things has tons of full drum loops that can easily be dropped under any melodic sample.
Our favorite loop from the pack: Full Drum 057
4. Iconic Loops
This is your go-to for finding classic sound hip hop drums.
With over 400 loops, you’ll definitely find the perfect groove for a hip-hop beat.
Our favorite loop from the pack: Iconic Marvel Loop Hip Hop Drum Swing
5. Fashion Loops
Fashion Loops has all the smoke and heat needed for a modern hip-hop or R&B track.
This royalty-free sample pack is the perfect jump-off point for something flashy and new.
Our favorite loop from the pack: 032C 160 BPM
6. Essential Piano Loops
Here’s the perfect place to find just about any style of piano loop you can imagine.
Our favorite loop from the pack: Piano 62
7. Nu Disco Elements: Loops
Looking for a fun and sunny royalty-free track? This is the perfect place to start.
Use the pack to match drum loops with synth and bass loops and you’ll have the perfect modern dance track.
Our favorite sample from the pack: NDE Drums 19
8. Indie Game Music Loops
These anthemic, fun and dancey electronic loops come ready to go and they’re useful for a lot more than just video games.
Our favorite sample from the pack: Indie Game Loop Cartoon Synth Techno
9. Ukulele Loops Volume 2
Looking for that uplifting ukulele inspired track? Here’s a go-to sample pack with everything you need to piece together a royalty-free ukulele song.
Our favorite sample from the pack: Ukulele Group C Rhythm 1
10. Browse for multi-instrument loops and more with LANDR Samples
Of course, you can always browse LANDR for complete loops.
Don’t forget to put filters on your search to find what you need faster.
Stock music is boring
An original track you assembled yourself is so much more interesting to your audience and you can be sure they’ll notice the extra effort you put in.
Your fans will notice that you don’t use canned stock music.
People pay very close attention to the music you use, it’s a huge part of any experience.
The good news is you can easily make an original track that’s intended to match whatever piece of content it’s intended for.
Dive into a construction kit and see what you can make!
The post Royalty Free Music: How to Make a Custom Song With Sample Packs appeared first on LANDR Blog.