Useful Websites for Musicians: 28 Picks Worth Bookmarking
The internet is full of tools for musicians, and most of them want your email before they're any use. These are the ones we'd actually bookmark: for practice, learning, recording, releasing and getting heard. 28 picks, no fluff. 🔖
Practice and play along
A band that's always free on a Tuesday night. These make practice feel less like homework.
Acoustic Backs and Tracks
Paidacousticbacksandtracks.com
Acoustic guitar and piano backing tracks of popular songs, from classics to this year's hits. Bought one track at a time, with custom tracks on request.
Best for: Singers who play weddings, events and solo gigs
Karaoke-Version
Paidkaraoke-version.com
Backing tracks where you can mute any single instrument, so you can play the guitar part while the rest of the band keeps going.
Best for: Learning your part inside the full song
Moises
Freemiummoises.ai
Splits any song into vocals, drums, bass and the rest. Slow it down, change the key, loop the tricky bar.
Best for: Working out a part by ear
Chordify
Freemiumchordify.net
Shows the chords of a song in time with the recording, so you can play along as it runs.
Best for: Strumming along to songs you love
Ultimate Guitar
Freemiumultimate-guitar.com
The biggest library of guitar and bass tabs and chord charts, rated by the people who use them.
Best for: Finding how a song is played
Learn and read music
For the days you want to understand why it works, not just that it does.
musictheory.net
Freemusictheory.net
Short, clear theory lessons with exercises for notes, intervals, keys and chords. A classic for a reason.
Best for: Theory in small, daily bites
JustinGuitar
Freejustinguitar.com
A complete guitar course in order, from your first chord onwards. Free lessons, with an app if you want one.
Best for: Teaching yourself guitar with a plan
MuseScore
Freemusescore.org
Free software for writing sheet music, with a large community library of scores to start from.
Best for: Writing out parts and arrangements
IMSLP
Freeimslp.org
A huge library of sheet music that's out of copyright. Bach to Debussy, free to download.
Best for: Classical repertoire
Musicnotes
Paidmusicnotes.com
Licensed sheet music for pop, rock and film songs, bought one song at a time.
Best for: Proper, legal sheet music for modern songs
Record and produce
You don't need a big studio to sound good. You need one of these and a quiet room.
GarageBand
Freeapple.com
Apple's free recording app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Easy to start, and more capable than it looks.
Best for: Your first recordings on Apple gear
BandLab
Freebandlab.com
A free recording studio in your browser and on your phone, with ways to work on a track together.
Best for: Recording on any device, and with others
Audacity
Freeaudacityteam.org
A free audio editor for cutting, cleaning up and exporting recordings. Simple, and it runs anywhere.
Best for: Quick edits and voice recordings
Reaper
Paidreaper.fm
A full professional recording program with a fair price and a long free trial.
Best for: Stepping up from your first studio app
Komplete Start
Freenative-instruments.com
A free bundle from Native Instruments: synths, sampled instruments, effects and hundreds of sounds to play in your recording software.
Best for: Adding sounds you can't record yourself
Freesound
Freefreesound.org
A big shared library of sounds and field recordings. Check each sound's licence before you use it.
Best for: Rain, rooms, birds and textures
Splice
Paidsplice.com
A subscription library of samples and loops, cleared for use in your own releases.
Best for: Producers building tracks from loops
Release and get paid
The unglamorous part that pays the rent. Well, some of the rent.
DistroKid
Paiddistrokid.com
Gets your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and the rest for a yearly fee, with unlimited releases.
Best for: Artists who release often
CD Baby
Paidcdbaby.com
Distribution to the streaming services, paid per release instead of per year.
Best for: Artists who release now and then
Spotify for Artists
Freeartists.spotify.com
Your free dashboard for Spotify: who listens, where, and from which playlists. You can also pitch new songs to Spotify's editors here.
Best for: Every artist on Spotify
Apple Music for Artists
Freeartists.apple.com
The same for Apple Music and Shazam: plays, listeners and where they are.
Best for: Every artist on Apple Music
Songtrust
Paidsongtrust.com
Collects the songwriting royalties that streaming alone doesn't pay you, from collecting societies around the world.
Best for: Songwriters releasing their own songs
Your collecting society
Freecisac.org
Koda in Denmark, PRS in the UK, ASCAP or BMI in the US. They pay you when your songs are played on radio, TV and at gigs. CISAC lists them all.
Best for: Anyone whose songs get played in public
Promote and find people
Good music still needs a little push. And sometimes a drummer.
Canva
Freemiumcanva.com
Easy design for cover art, posters and social posts, with templates sized for every platform.
Best for: Looking good without a designer
Bandsintown for Artists
Freemiumartists.bandsintown.com
Add your gigs once, and fans who follow you get told when you play near them.
Best for: Artists who play live
SubmitHub
Freemiumsubmithub.com
Send your song to blogs, playlists and radio, and get an answer from each one, even if it's a no.
Best for: Pitching a new single
Groover
Paidgroover.co
Pitch to curators, labels and media, mostly in Europe, with a guaranteed reply.
Best for: Reaching European blogs and radio
Kompoz
Freemiumkompoz.com
Find musicians online to finish a song with. Upload a part, and others add theirs.
Best for: Collaborating without a rehearsal room
And the rest is Trenodo
Trenodo covers the rest, free for now: a Link in Bio page for all your links, a Press Kit for every release, a Setlist you can print, and Tutor for teaching. And if your release is good, it might end up in the Spotlight. 🎶
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free recording software for beginners?
GarageBand if you have a Mac, iPhone or iPad. BandLab if you don't: it runs in the browser and on any phone. Both are free, and both are enough for your first real recordings.
How do I get my music on Spotify?
Through a distributor. You can't upload to Spotify directly. DistroKid suits artists who release often, CD Baby suits those who release now and then. Once you're live, claim your Spotify for Artists profile to see your stats and pitch new songs.
Where can I find backing tracks to sing or play over?
Acoustic Backs and Tracks for acoustic guitar and piano versions of popular songs, ready for a gig. Karaoke-Version if you want the full band with one instrument muted. Moises if you want to make your own from a song you already have.
Do I get paid when my songs are played on the radio or at gigs?
You can, but streaming payouts don't cover it. Join your collecting society, like Koda, PRS or ASCAP, and register your songs. A publishing service like Songtrust can collect the rest from abroad.