Royalty-free game audio assets
Game audio assets, including music and sound effects (SFX), play a significant role in enhancing gameplay and attracting audiences. Although beginners may overlook this aspect, finding the right sound is crucial for success. One option is to use royalty-free or “stock game audio assets,” which are available for a one-time payment and can be used under certain conditions.

There are many online libraries offering royalty-free music and SFX, some for free and others for a small subscription fee. However, there are pros and cons to using these assets in your game.

What is that exactly? Well, royalty-free or “stock game audio assets” refers to music and sfx that has been composed to fit a library and it is licensed in a way that allows you to pay for it once and use it under certain conditions.

Depending on the licensing agreement, other people may also use this track for different purposes. These tracks usually come in a single file and aren’t optimised for seamless loops as Game Audio Music requires. So, expect some kind of music editing before adding this track to your game.

There are many royalty free music and sfx libraries that can be found online that offer this type of assets. Some offer for free, others for a small subscription fee.

Here I have outlined the main advantages and disadvantages of using royalty free game audio assets in your game, I hope you learn something from it:

PROS OF USING ROYALTY FREE MUSIC AND SFX IN YOUR GAME

• By comparing prices this may be the cheapest way to find music for your game;
• There are many libraries that offer awesome musical quality for games;
• Listen before you buy it and choose between the few options available (short and long cut);
• Forget about ongoing royalties fees after your game launch;

CONS OF USING ROYALTIES FREE MUSIC AND SFX IN YOUR GAME

• You may download sounds that have already been used in other games. For instance, If the track you want is popular, it’s more than likely that it’s already been used by many other people in their games and other projects – so it won’t be unique to your project;
• Since there is a wide variety of music and sfx to choose from, you may not find what you are looking for;
• It is a real time-consuming process to search through the various royalty-free music sites and listen to all game audio assets;
• Some libraries do not offer high quality game audio assets;
• You should pay close attention to the licensing term, as your track can be banned in some social services like youtube and instagram;
• Some of the music from the library doesn’t always loop well, which is something you should keep in mind when choosing tracks.
• You may have to spend time editing the game audio asset to fit into your game and you may not be able to offer dynamic music since you don’t have the audio stems for your track;
• When you buy tracks from different artists, your audio direction can sound loose since parts of your game sound too different from one another, lacking cohesion;
• It will be difficult to customize assets and recycle themes for different moods and settings within your game, as the music you buy is fixed;

What is the importance of Game Audio? Some people yet don’t know. For that reason I’ve written an article on the importance of Game Audio.

If you want to know more about where can you find game audio assets and who could be helping you on your project, read the article Sourcing Music For Your Games. Where Can You Find Game Audio Assets? (click to read it)

—

Thanks for reading! I’ve written this article to show you that sometimes what is “cheaper” can turn into a real time consuming process. If you still want to find “stock assets” for free online, later on I will suggest some of my personal picks.

As usual, I am always open to talk to you about your project and find solutions to fit the audio assets within your budget. Visit the “Tell us More” section of the website and let’s talk about your game

That’s it for today!!! See you soon!