Where to find free music you're allowed to remix
Where to find music you can legally slow down, speed up and post: Creative Commons licenses explained, which ones allow remixes, royalty-free libraries, and how to credit artists correctly.
Updated October 28, 2026 · Hamza Hardouli
This is general information, not legal advice. Always read the license of the specific track you use.
If you make slowed + reverb, nightcore or visualizer videos, the music is the part you don’t own — and the part that gets videos muted, claimed or removed. The good news is that there’s a huge amount of music whose creators have given everyone permission to remix it. This guide explains how those permissions work and where to find the music.
Why “free to listen” isn’t “free to use”
A song being free on YouTube or Spotify only means you can listen to it. Copyright still belongs to the songwriter and the owner of the recording, and a slowed or sped-up version is a derivative work — something only the rights holder can authorize. Changing the speed, pitch or effects doesn’t change that, and neither does writing “no copyright infringement intended” in the description.
To remix legally, you need a license that explicitly allows modification, or permission from the rights holders.
Creative Commons, explained
Creative Commons (CC) licenses are standardized permissions that artists attach to their work. They’re built from four conditions:
| Element | Means |
|---|---|
| BY (Attribution) | You must credit the creator |
| SA (ShareAlike) | Your remix must use the same license |
| NC (NonCommercial) | No commercial use |
| ND (NoDerivatives) | No modified versions — no remixes |
Combined, they give these licenses:
| License | Remix allowed? | Commercial use? | What you must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC0 / Public domain | Yes | Yes | Nothing (credit is still kind) |
| CC BY | Yes | Yes | Credit the artist |
| CC BY-SA | Yes | Yes | Credit, and share your remix under CC BY-SA |
| CC BY-NC | Yes | No | Credit; no monetization |
| CC BY-NC-SA | Yes | No | Credit, same license, no monetization |
| CC BY-ND / BY-NC-ND | No | — | Can’t be slowed, sped up or edited |
The important line for remixers is ND. A slowed or sped-up version is a derivative, so anything marked NoDerivatives is off-limits for edits, even if you credit the artist.
The NonCommercial question matters if your channel is monetized. Platforms consider ad-revenue videos commercial use, so if you earn from your videos, stick to CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA.
Where to find remixable music
Openverse
Openverse, run by the WordPress project, searches hundreds of thousands of openly licensed tracks from Jamendo, Freesound, Wikimedia Commons and other sources. You can filter by license type, including “modification allowed” and “commercial use allowed”. Slowed Room’s built-in free music library searches Openverse directly and only shows tracks that allow remixing.
Jamendo
Independent artists publish full albums on Jamendo under Creative Commons licenses. Many tracks are CC BY-SA or CC BY-NC-SA, so check the license on each track page.
Free Music Archive
The Free Music Archive hosts curated, legal downloads across genres, with the license shown on every track.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons hosts public-domain and CC-licensed recordings, including historical and classical recordings whose copyright has expired. Remember that a composition can be public domain while a specific modern recording of it is not.
YouTube Audio Library
YouTube Studio includes an audio library of free music for creators. Some tracks require attribution, which is shown alongside the track. The terms are designed for use in YouTube videos, so read them before using a track elsewhere.
Your own music and your friends’ music
The simplest licence is the one you already have. If you make music, slowed and sped-up versions of your own tracks are a proven way to reach more listeners. Many independent artists are happy for fans to make edits — ask, and keep their reply.
How to credit correctly
A good credit follows the TASL pattern: Title, Author, Source, License. Also say that you changed it.
Music: “Night Drive” by Example Artist (link to the source) — licensed under CC BY 4.0 — slowed and reverb added.
Put the credit in your video description or caption, and in the video itself if the platform doesn’t show descriptions prominently. When you use a track from Slowed Room’s library, the export dialog writes this caption for you, including the license link.
Common mistakes
- Using ND tracks. NoDerivatives forbids remixes, full stop.
- Monetizing NC tracks. If your video earns ad revenue, NonCommercial music isn’t allowed.
- Forgetting ShareAlike. A remix of a BY-SA track must itself be BY-SA.
- Crediting only the platform. “Music from Jamendo” isn’t a credit; the artist’s name and the license are.
- Assuming old means free. A 1920s composition may be public domain while the recording you found is from 2015 and fully protected.
A quick checklist before you post
- The license allows modification (no ND).
- If your video is monetized, the license allows commercial use (no NC).
- Your caption includes title, artist, source and license, and says you modified it.
- If the license is ShareAlike, you’re releasing your edit under the same license.
With remixable music, you can post edits without worrying about claims — and you’re supporting the artists who chose to share their work.