Free cleared samples
Free samples for commercial music — royalty-free and cleared
Looking for free cleared samples you can actually release? Every sample on Selekt is free of royalties and clearance — CC0, public domain, and CC-BY — so you owe nothing per use and need no licensing budget, and you can browse and stream all 100,000+ free with no signup. We are honest about what “free” covers: free to listen, free of royalties and clearance, free tools, and free CC0 packs, with a $5/mo plan that only unlocks downloading — never the licensing, which is always yours. And because every file is sourced from a verified license, screened, and signed, you carry the proof of clearance with each one. Built for producers and composers releasing music commercially.
Free cleared samples means two things at once: free to browse, stream, and use without royalties or per-use fees, and cleared — sourced from a verified open license and screened against a 150M+ recording database, with a signed certificate behind every file. Exactly what “cleared” covers is defined in full below.
What “free” means here — spelled out
“Free” gets stretched a lot, so here is exactly what it means on Selekt, with no fine print waiting to surprise you:
Free to browse and listen. Stream the entire catalog — over 100,000 loops, one-shots, and stems — with no account and no paywall on previews.
Free of royalties and clearance. The licensing itself is free: CC0 and public-domain audio carries no royalties, no per-use fees, and no clearance budget. Use it in commercial work and you owe nothing for the music.
Free of attribution, mostly. CC0 and public-domain samples need no credit at all. CC-BY samples simply ask for a credit (still no royalty), and the certificate tells you exactly how.
Free tools and packs. The producer tools — free online mastering (no upload, no signup, runs right in your browser), key & BPM detection, stem separator, and copyright check — are free with no signup, and the Drum Kit and Sound Lab ship real CC0 / public-domain packs at no charge.
Free to start downloading. A free trial lets you download and try it for real. Early Access ($5/mo) then includes 50 downloads a month. We are upfront about that line: the $5 is for access to the catalog and the AI tools — the samples are always royalty-free.
How far we go to clear every sample — origin-verified, fingerprint-screened, certified
We start at the source. Every sample comes from a verified open license — CC0, public domain, and CC-BY audio pulled from named archives like the Library of Congress / Citizen DJ, the Internet Archive, Freesound, and Musopen — where the license is confirmed at the origin archive itself, not asserted by an anonymous uploader. That is the first signal, and it is where most sample libraries stop.
We go further. Each file is then screened against 150M+ commercial recordings by audio fingerprinting — the core technology behind Shazam — and anything that matches a known commercial release is rejected before it ever reaches the catalog. That gives every cleared sample two independent signals working together: free at the source, and no match to a known commercial release. Each download also ships with a signed certificate logging the source, the license, and the screening result, independently verifiable — concrete evidence you can hand to a distributor, sync library, or label.
This is the most precaution you will find on a free sample, and we are confident saying so. Most libraries confirm a license and stop there; they do not fingerprint-screen, and many hand the same loop to thousands of producers — so the same files carry more exposure elsewhere, not less. We do both signals and sign the result on purpose, because going further is the responsible thing to do. It is honest, responsible confidence rather than a legal guarantee — no honest process can promise the impossible, so we built the most thorough one there is. That, backed by a certificate you can verify yourself, is the strongest footing available and your best bet for releasing with confidence. See how every sample is checked, or watch a certificate verify.
Free samples by genre and instrument
Start with a sound. Every page below is free to browse and stream: jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, lo-fi, gospel, and more — or by part: drum stems & breaks, vocals & acapellas, bass, piano, guitar. Prefer the umbrella terms? Cleared samples and royalty-free samples both lead here. New to how this works? Read public domain music explained or the guide to sample clearance.
Frequently asked questions
Are Selekt samples really free?
In the ways that matter, yes. The samples are royalty-free — licensed CC0 or public domain — so you owe no royalties and pay no per-use or clearance fees, ever. You can browse and stream the entire 100,000+ catalog free with no signup, and the producer tools are free too. Downloading is free during your trial; after that, Early Access at $5/mo includes 50 downloads a month. The $5 covers access to the catalog and the AI tools — never the samples licensing, which is always royalty-free.
Can I use free samples in commercial music?
Yes. CC0 and public-domain samples are free for commercial use — beats and songs you sell, films, games, ads, podcasts, sync — with no royalties and no per-use licensing. Each download also includes a certificate documenting the source, license, and screening result, so you have evidence of clearance to show a distributor, sync library, or label. CC-BY samples ask for a credit (no royalty); the certificate tells you exactly how.
Do I have to credit anyone for free samples?
For CC0 and public-domain samples, no — no attribution required. CC-BY samples ask for a credit (still no royalty), and the certificate shows precisely what to write. The instrument packs in the Drum Kit and Sound Lab tools are CC0 / public-domain, so they need no credit either.
Is it free to download samples on Selekt?
Browsing and streaming the whole catalog is free with no account. Downloading is free during your trial, and Early Access ($5/mo) includes 50 downloads a month after that. We are upfront about it because the honest version is the good version: the samples are always free of royalties and clearance — the small subscription is for access to the catalog and the AI tools, not for the music licensing.
How do you know the free samples are actually cleared?
Because we take the most precaution of anyone, and we hand you the proof. We do not stop at the license — we prove it two ways. Every sample is sourced from a verified open license (CC0, public domain, or CC-BY) confirmed at the origin archive — the Library of Congress / Citizen DJ, the Internet Archive, Freesound, Musopen — not just asserted by an anonymous uploader. Each file is then screened at ingest against 150M+ commercial recordings by audio fingerprinting, the core technology behind Shazam, and any match is rejected before it reaches the catalog. That is two independent signals on every cleared sample — free at the source, and no match to a known commercial release — and every download carries a signed, independently verifiable certificate logging the source, license, and screening result. That is more diligence than most libraries do, and the evidence travels with the file. It is strong, verifiable proof rather than a legal guarantee — no honest process can promise the impossible — but it is the most thorough footing you can source from, and you can verify every claim yourself.
Free cleared samples you can prove are clean
Browse and stream 100,000+ free, royalty-free loops, one-shots, and stems — every one screened and documented with a verifiable certificate. Free tools and packs, no signup.
