No one wants to admit it, but it’s time we face the facts head-on. Podcasts can be boring. Not every podcast is excellent and exciting; however, there are some genuinely great and engaging ones. Yet, despite the best intentions of both seasoned podcasters and beginners alike, the podcast format occasionally lends itself to boredom.
It’s just the nature of podcasts, which are fundamentally just a few people talking to each other. Yet, despite its limitations, there is one quick, easy, and effective way to keep your listeners engaged and fight off the forces of boredom.
Adding background music to your podcasts is the fix. Music is used in podcasts more often than you might think. Music is used for intros and outros, for ad reads and commercial breaks, and—as savvy podcasters can tell you—it can often be used just in the background to give your podcasts more energy and life.
To help you with your own podcast journey, let’s go over some of the best background music tracks to consider using in your podcasts. We’ll also explore additional playlists for review and cover some helpful tips and tricks for using this background music for podcasts specifically.
What is background music?
So, to start things off here, if you’ve never heard of the term “background music,” it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Background music is music that’s meant to be in the background of your podcasts, videos, or films.
Background music is often used as a quieter undertone that simply fills the gaps between pauses in talking, dialogue, or other audio action. Background music encompasses a wide range of genres and styles, and can be utilized creatively in various ways. But, at the end of the day, background music is simply music used in the background of your projects.
It’s also very easy to find, use, and edit into your podcasts and projects.
Why you need podcast background music
When examining podcasts specifically, background music can be a game-changing way to add more dynamism to your podcast. If you listen to many popular, well-produced podcasts, chances are you might be listening to background music in them without even noticing—it’s meant to be seamless and unnoticeable.
Background music is conducive to podcasts, which suffer from being boring or quickly turning stale. For podcasts covering more serious or mundane topics, background music can give the podcast a feeling of energy and movement. Something audiences can latch their brains onto while still focusing on the voices and stories being told.
The best royalty free background music for podcasts
To give you an example of what we’re talking about, here’s a list of some of our favorite tracks that would be great for podcast background music. (If you’re curious about the “royalty free” term for these tracks, we’ll explain that below.)
These songs are hand-selected from the Soundstripe royalty free music library and should cover a wide range of styles and energy types. Feel free to check out as many of these as you’d like and see if any might sound good to you.
- Description: A medium-energy, score song that is best described as inspiring and hopeful. Piano and drums are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 120
- Key: C Major
- Listen and license here
2. Sparky Parker by Famous Cats
- Description: A high-energy, rock song that is best described as happy and fun. Bass and bass guitar are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 110
- Key: E Minor
- Listen and license here
- Description: A very low-energy, soundtrack / cinematic song that is best described as hopeful and calm. Woodwinds and piano are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 75
- Key: G Major
- Listen and license here
- Description: A low-energy, jazz song that is best described as chill and reflective. Bass and bass guitar are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 71
- Key: A Minor
- Listen and license here
- Description: A medium-energy, jazz song that is best described as happy and fun. Bass and upright bass are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 118
- Key: Bb/A# Major
- Listen and license here
6. The Weight Of Quiet by Moments
- Description: A low-energy, classical song that is best described as calm and reflective. Strings and a violin are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 100
- Key: G Major
- Listen and license here
7. Silver Canyon by Alsever Lake
- Description: A medium-energy, acoustic song that is best described as inspiring and hopeful. Whistling and guitar are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 115
- Key: Bb/A# Major
- Listen and license here
8. Some Kind Of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t
- Description: A low-energy, electronic song that is best described as chill and hopeful. Synth and ambient tones are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 134
- Key: Db/C# Minor
- Listen and license here
9. Sour Peachez by Tony Sopiano
- Description: A very low-energy, hip hop song that is best described as chill and happy. Bass and bass guitar are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 75
- Key: F Minor
- Listen and license here
- Description: A low-energy, electronic song that is best described as chill and happy. Synth and bass are the primary instruments in this track.
- BPM: 120
- Key: F Major
- Listen and license here
Those are just some of our top picks for great royalty free background music for your podcasts. Feel free to browse our full royalty free music library for even more options, including excellent options for podcast intro music and podcast sound effects.
What is royalty free music?
Now, before we go into more tips and tricks for working with background music in your podcasts and other projects, let’s go over some terms that we’ve thrown around that have to do with copyrights and protections for any music that you license for your podcasts.
Royalty free music is purchased as a single song or as part of a subscription plan. These royalty free music licensing sites cover all licensing agreements with the artists themselves, compensating them for their work and providing protection for using the music in your videos anywhere online.
You can learn more details about how music copyrights work here.
The best royalty free background music playlists
To further assist you, we also have additional royalty free background music playlists available for your consideration. These playlists will offer even more diversity of music types, featuring different genres, styles, and vibes.
Description: Snaps, claps, and upbeat vibes that'll make you a true believer in Company XYZ.
Description: Background instrumental music for a smooth elevator ride.
Description: More understated score to support scenes with dialogue.
Description: Low-energy tracks that support deep concentration and creativity.
Description: Vibey, understated Pop songs
We also encourage you to explore additional YouTube background music selections on our Soundstripe app.
Tips for using background music for podcasts
With all of the excellent background music tracks and playlists being provided above, let’s leave you with some basic tips and tricks to keep in mind when using background music for podcasts. As an audio editor, feel free to experiment with any tracks that seem suitable for your podcasts and their respective subject matters.
- Background music isn’t meant to distract.
- Find the proper levels between background music and audio.
- Consider looping songs to make them longer.
- Background music doesn't have to stay in the background, and you can turn it up when needed.
- Mix up your background music tracks; you don’t have to use just one!
Overall, though, adding background music to your podcasts isn’t rocket science. Your best bet will be to simply license some tracks and pop them into your edits. Your listening skills will be just as valuable and helpful as anyone else’s when you decide the right tracks and mix for your podcasts.
