There are quite a few composers and musicians willing to let you use their music for free. If you are a composer and would like to be added to (or removed from) this list or would like to change any information provided, please let me know.

1. Download and Go

If you are a hurry and need something immediately, the following composers allow you to use their existing work. For a few of these sites, however, they have a combination of totally free music and royalty-free music (for the latter, you may need to pay a small amount of money to use the song). For many of the composers, the songs are free for non-commercial use. However, you should note that if you are making monetized videos, these would NOT fall under non-commercial use.

Composer Style and Influences Listen, Contact & notes
Dan O Over 50 free songs in different kinds of pop, soft rock and ambient styles. www.danosongs.com/
Use for free if you provide a link/credit. Pay $10 for non-credited use
Audionautix Includes acoustic piece, film scores, rock and electronic Audionautix Homepage
Use for free if you provide an attribution or link
Teknoaxe Over 80 free songs in different genres—electronica, dubstep, rock, orchestral, etc www.youtube.com/user/teknoaxe/
Links to free mp3 download given in the video descriptions
Incompetech Hundreds of sing in different genres, lengths and styes Incompetech Music Index
Just provide an attribution that includes the licensing terms. You can see an example here incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/faq.html
tacoMusic Cinematic, romantic, jazz Several free songs, plus a range of additional premium songs are available at the website (www.free-background-music.com/). For the free songs, you need to provide a link to the website.
StarSpaceDrive Electronica and trance Over a dozen songs can be downloaded directly from their website (starspacedrive.com) and can be used for non-commercial purposes. More songs can be viewed (and requested) at the YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/user/StarSpaceDrive).
krayze & hot Urban styles: rap instumentals & beats with some techno. www.youtube.com/user/krayzehot
Use for free if you subscribe to the channel, favorite the video and provide a link back to the channel
Alexander Blu Several CDs worth of songs, mainly in piano and synth-based ambient styles www.alexanderblu.com/index.htm
May be used for non-commercial purposes; just provide a credit. The songs are lovely, but they are starting to show up in Content ID matches on YouTube, so you will have to use with caution.
MusicByPedro YouTube Channel with songs added weekly, mainly soft & melodic styles www.youtube.com/user/musicbypedro
Songs can be used on YouTube for commercial or non-commercial purposes; just mention the channel name, provide a link to the channel in the video description and include the song title
Jewel Beat (various) Around 100 free repeating loops (10 sec. to 30 sec. in different styles. www.jewelbeat.com/free/free-background-music.htm
(the free music is located at the bottom of the page)
Most of this companies’ music requires a fee, but the website also offers free downloads
FunkCX 16 tracks, mainly very upbeat electronica www.youtube.com/user/FunKCX/
Add a credit, notify the composer (e.g., send a link)
Accelerated Ideas Around 30 short electonica intros/outros (10 sec. to 30 sec.) www.accelerated-ideas.com/FreeMusicTracks/
Add a credit (e.g., a link to the website)
SophonicMedia InstrumentalsFree Mainly rock, but includes some other styles This is a new site, so the selection isn’t very large at the moment. Some tracks are free (as long as you provide a credit) and some are royalty-free (which means a small payment is required). Website: www.sophonic.com)
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/SophonicMedia. The produced has set up a new channel. On this the tracks are all free as long as appropriate credit is given:http://instrumentalsfree.com/
longzijun my own stuff—25 free songs and a few short intros mainly electronica Preview page
May be used for non-commercial purposes (add a credit: music by longzijun)

2. Other Sites to Get Background Music

Archive Org: http://archive.org/index.php
Video, music and text in the public domain or issued under Creative Commons Licences.

Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/
Music recordings issued with Creative Commons Licences

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/
An audio uploader that features many Creative Commons licensed music tracks. Try searching for a style of music (e.g. dub step) and then select one on the Creative Commons attribution qualities on the right. Not all music uploaded here is under Creative Commons.

CMixter: http://ccmixter.org/
A site of Creative Commons licensed music tracks

3. Request Permission or get Custom-mades Scores

There are several composers who may be willing to provide free background music and/or compose and produce custom scores for your non-profit creative film or animation projects. You can also negotiate fees with them if you are working on profit-making films. I should warn you, however; some of the composers may not be very prompt or attentive when it comes to responding to your requests.Most of the composer/musicians on following list posted messages on the following forum: http://www.studentfilmmakers.com/bb/forumdisplay.php?f=31.

Composer Style and Influences Listen & Contact Notes
Charlotte Partt Can work in any genre, buy specializes in emotive music & underscore (piano, synth, strings) Her website
charlotte@charlottepartt.com		 Looking to build up a portfolio by scoring films. Will consider doing free custom scores for student filmmakers
Simon Electronic (deadMaus, Massive Attack) Soundcloud page
SimonSK@me.com		 Looking to build up a portfolio by scoring indie films and student films
Adam Hachey Electronic, Pop MySpace page
arhachey@gmail.com		 Interested in gaining experience in film
George Streicher Classic orchestal film scores, particularly in the fantasy genre YouTube channel
can be contacted at his YouTube Channel		 Can use some his existing work for free or can hire him create a score
Jarod DCamp Classical contemporary, avant garde, microtonal, atonal Soundclick page
jarod.dcamp@gmail.com		 Interested in working on horror, suspense or art films
Karl Antonin Orchestral MySpace page
kr.antonin@gmail.com		 Is interested in doing film scores
Lisa Cole Different genres from dramatic scores to children’s music and corporate ID clips Lisa Cole
Audio Jungle portfolioleesecole@me.com		 Is interested in building up her portfolio and doing film scores
Rogier Wildeboer & Hugo Aben Orchestral scores YouTube ShowreelHugo’s YouTube channel
Double Score
contactdoublescore@gmail.com		 Interested in doing film scores
Daniel Heath Orchestral scores Free Film Score(br>info@freefilmscore.com Filmmakers submit their film; selected films are scored for free
Terry Owen Electronica T-Toe
terry@t-toe.co.uk		 Looking to branch out into scoring for film/animation projects
Steven O’Brien Orchestral scores, Classical Steven O’Brien Net
steven@steven-obrien.net		 Is mainly looking for paid work, but will consider working for free on low budget projects that interest him
Richard P John Solo piano music: New age (blend of pop, folk and classical) MySpace Page
welshpianist@yahoo.co.uk		 Can use his existing compositions for non-profit projects
Alex Ford Orchestral and electronic Alex Ford
info@alexander-ford.com		 Is mainly looking for paid work, but will consider working for free on low budget projects that interest him
Josh Mongan Electronic and orchestral josh.mongan@hotmail.co.uk Music student interested in building up a portfolio

My own work (mainly electronic) is available for use on non-profit projects. It can be previewed here: free-background-music and can be downloaded from the orange boxnet widget on the right). Simply give credit to Steve Richards (longziun.wordpress.com) and let me know how the work is used.Why are these composers letting people use their work for free? Well, some of the composers listed above are looking to create careers as soundtrack composers and are now in the process of gaining experience and building up their portfolio. Some are already experienced composers/producers in other fields who are looking to expand their skills to include film work. Some, like myself, have music lying around that we have created for other purposes, so why not let others make use of it?