Skip to Main Content

Finding Open Image Collections: Image & Music Use Guide

This guide is to assist you in better understanding the various license agreements available when accessing images on the internet. Here you will find information on licencing, how to cite images for your papers and presentations, as well as an ever-growi

Legal Music for Videos , Presentations & Podcasts

Many musicians release their songs under Creative Commons licenses, which give the legal right to use their music in our videos.

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a system, built upon current copyright law, that allows you to legally use “some rights reserved” music, movies, images, and other content — all for free. CC offers free copyright licenses that anyone can use (without a lawyer) to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry.

Where can I find CC-licensed music?

Several sites offer music published under Creative Commons’ flexible copyright licenses. Here are some:

Can I use any song with a CC license on it?

Almost — you need to make sure that what you want to do with the music is OK under the terms of the license. CC-licensed music isn’t free for all uses, — so check the terms. Most importantly, use music that is not licensed under a No Derivative Works license. This means that the musician doesn’t want you to change, transform, or make a derivative work using their music. Under CC licenses, syncing the music to images amounts to transforming the music, so you can’t legally use a song under a CC No Derivative Works license in your video.

Also, make sure to properly credit the musician and the track, as well as express the CC license the track is under.