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Imagine launching a short film or other creative project and finding a music track that fits your mood perfectly. It’s professionally produced, high quality, and by none other than the musician, Moby. And it’s free – actually free. There are no royalty fees, hidden traps, or stock-music feel with mobygratis. Sounds pretty incredible to me, so let’s look into it!
Mobygratis is a royalty-free sound library launched in 2005 by electronic artist Moby and his Little Walnut Productions, whose aim is to “champion creativity and sustainability”. His goal was to support independent filmmakers, film students, and other non-profit creators by offering access to unreleased music he’s made for the site. Since then, the library has been used in over 50,000 creative projects.
After a period of quiet, mobygratis has now been relaunched with 500 new instrumentals (so you can add your own touch if you want to), with more tracks coming in the near future. Not only that, but he’s also added multitracks.
Searching the mobygratis library is simple and pretty intuitive. You can filter by genre, mood, or BPM to help you zero in on tracks that fit your project. It’s quick, and you don’t have to wade through everything to find what works. The music is available as an MP3, WAV, and even multitrack format, which Moby says almost always has the BPM attached to it.
The rules are few and straightforward: you cannot use the music to promote right-wing politics or animal products. Other than that, the freedom is surprising. Plus, using the multitrack format, you can remix and add vocals or instruments, as you like. Any questions? No worries. There is a very thorough FAQ section where I was hard put not to find all the answers.
There are some restrictions, but they’re clearly labeled and rarely get in the way. A few tracks can’t be modified, but you’ll only see those when specifically requested. If your project stays under 10,000 audio streams or 50,000 views on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, you don’t need a commercial license. If you go beyond that, you’re asked to apply, but the licensing terms are transparent, and the process seems straightforward.
One more thing: you can’t credit Moby by name. If you want to give credit, you must use mobygratis, as in: “Music [Track Name] by mobygratis.”
In a landscape where music licensing can be murky, expensive, or both, mobygratis stands out as an artist-led alternative, and one that doesn’t exist to pull you into a payment funnel or serve ads, but simply to share work with other creators. That makes it not just useful, but surprisingly radical. Bravo.
It’s free, you can listen to the tracks without registering if you select Anonymous, and it’s a simple procedure to sign up if you want to download tracks. If you wish to contribute something, Moby also has a list of charities he supports. Have a look (and a listen) at mobygratis here.
Have you tried mobygratis for one of your projects? Do you know any other artists who share their talent with other creatives for free? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
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A camera was put in my hands at 16, and I’ve been taking photographs ever since. Before moving to Vienna, I worked as a photographer on film sets, telling stories as they unfolded behind the scenes. Since then, I’ve focused on immersive theater, both as a photographer and an actor. I am the photographer for the award-winning Nesterval ensemble, documenting the energy and atmosphere of their performances. I’m a teller of stories. Stories hold my interest. I’ll take on any project with a story to tell.