Here are six popular free BGM sites for videos and streams, picked for how easy they make it to find cafe-style jazz and piano tracks.
All of them let you use their music at no cost, and their terms or help pages mention using it in YouTube videos.
Free BGM is music that the rights holder (usually the composer) lets you use for free, within conditions they set.
It doesn’t mean the music has no copyright, so whether you need to give credit and what kinds of videos you can use it in varies from site to site.
How we picked these sites and what to watch for in their terms come after the list.
6 popular free BGM sites for cafe-style music
1. OpenTracks (formerly DOVA-SYNDROME)
A Japanese free BGM site that changed its name from DOVA-SYNDROME on September 15, 2026.
It has over 19,000 BGM tracks and jingles, and combining the “Jazz” or “Bossa Nova” genre with the “Stylish” mood gets you to cafe-sounding tracks fast.
There’s also a ranking sorted by downloads, so starting with what everyone else is using works too.
“Light, Upbeat Jazz” below is from the official channel, and at six and a half minutes it’s long enough to run behind a cafe video without ending halfway through.
2. Amacha Music Studio (甘茶の音楽工房)
Along with Maoudamashii, this is one of the names that comes up most often in Japanese roundups of free BGM sites.
Tracks are sorted two ways, by image and by genre, and the “Stylish” and “Grown-up” images or the “Jazz” and “Piano” genres are your way into cafe-style music.
The terms say a copyright notice isn’t required, which makes it easy to use even in short videos with no room for a description.
3. BGMer
Its categories are clearly built around YouTube, so you can browse by use: “Vlog,” “Talk,” and “Live stream.”
For cafe-style music, start with the “JAZZ” and “Chill Hop” genres or the “Stylish” and “Chill” moods.
Many tracks come in both SHORT and LONG versions, so if you want something to run behind a long talk video, the LONG version saves you from editing loops together.
The terms state clearly that you can use the music on monetized channels.
4. Maoudamashii (魔王魂)
A go-to free BGM site run by composer Koichi Morita.
It’s best known for game music and vocal tracks, but its “Acoustic” BGM series includes some jazzy pieces too.
“Acoustic 11” below is described on the official channel as “comfortable jazz.”
Credit is required in principle, written as something like “Music: Maoudamashii” in the video or the description.
5. MusMus
There’s a lot of jazz here, and the official YouTube channel even has a compilation of nothing but jazz tracks.
“The Good Old Days” below is described on the official channel as a “jazzy piano piece,” and true to its title, it suits footage of a retro coffee shop.
You can use it without signing up, but credit is required (any format works as long as it’s clear the music is from MusMus, like “BGM: MusMus”).
6. YouTube Audio Library
YouTube’s own collection of background music, built into YouTube Studio.
You can filter by genre and mood, and the “Attribution not required” filter leaves you with only tracks that don’t need credit.
YouTube’s help page says music and sound effects downloaded from the library won’t get Content ID claims (YouTube Help).
For videos you’re only putting on YouTube, it’s the option with the least risk of claims.
Tracks under a Creative Commons license still need credit in the description, though.
The 6 sites side by side
Here’s how to find cafe-style music on each site, plus the two points where their terms differ most.
Terms can change, so check the latest version on each site before you use anything.
| Site | Where to find cafe-style music | Credit | Videos where the music is the main content (e.g. work BGM videos) |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenTracks | Jazz, Bossa Nova, Stylish | Not required | Not covered by the license |
| Amacha Music Studio | Stylish, Grown-up, Jazz | Not required | A copyright notice and ads may be added to work BGM videos |
| BGMer | JAZZ, Chill Hop, Stylish | Optional by default | Credit in the description is required for BGM showcase or reupload videos |
| Maoudamashii | Acoustic BGM | Required in principle | Not specifically addressed in the terms |
| MusMus | Jazz (compilations on the official YouTube) | Required | Not allowed |
| YouTube Audio Library | Filter by genre and mood | Depends on the track | Not specifically addressed in the help page |
If you’d rather skip writing credits, go with OpenTracks or Amacha Music Studio. If Content ID claims worry you, go with the Audio Library.
The last column covers easy-to-miss conditions, explained in the next section.
How we picked these 6 sites
There are plenty of ways to define “popular,” but for this article we used these three criteria.
- They come up often in free BGM roundups and rankings: widely used sites are easier to find guides and examples for. None of these sites publish user numbers, though, so this one is our team’s rule of thumb
- You can browse by cafe-friendly categories like jazz, piano, or stylish: without categories, you’re stuck searching by track titles and previews, and finding something cafe-like takes much longer
- They publish their terms in their rules or help pages: we only picked sites where commercial use, credit, and prohibited uses are spelled out in writing, and everything in this article is based on that original text
3 easy-to-miss conditions in free BGM terms
Free BGM terms tend to put “commercial use OK” and “free” front and center.
What actually trips people up later, though, are these three conditions.
You may not be able to use it when the music is the star
This is the one people miss most.
OpenTracks only licenses its music for use in the background, and excludes videos where the music is the main content, giving “work BGM” videos as an example (OpenTracks license).
MusMus also prohibits using its music in video works where the music is the main feature (MusMus terms).
If you’re planning a work BGM video that’s just free tracks strung together, check this first.
Registering tracks with Content ID is prohibited
You can’t register free BGM tracks with YouTube’s Content ID.
The terms of OpenTracks, Amacha Music Studio, BGMer, and MusMus all prohibit it.
Five of the sites, Maoudamashii included, also prohibit registering the music with copyright collectives like JASRAC.
Content ID automatically scans for videos that match registered audio, so if someone registers a free track, claims would land on other people’s videos that simply use the same track in the background.
“No credit needed” isn’t always the case
Some sites don’t require credit, but others, like Maoudamashii (required in principle) and MusMus (required), expect it.
And like BGMer, a site may make credit optional most of the time but required for BGM showcase or reupload videos (BGMer terms).
If you’re using tracks from several sites in one video, check each site’s credit format so nothing slips through.
Free BGM FAQ
Q. Can I monetize videos that use free BGM?
A. BGMer and the YouTube Audio Library explicitly allow use in monetized videos in their terms or help pages.
OpenTracks and Maoudamashii allow use whether commercial or not, but don’t specifically mention YouTube monetization.
If you’re counting on monetization, read each site’s page on YouTube use before you start.
Q. What should I do if I get a Content ID claim on free BGM?
A. Start by checking the guidance from the site you got the music from.
BGMer tells you to file a dispute with YouTube if a claim comes in, and MusMus says claims from anyone other than its partner, TRACKS Inc., may be fraudulent.
A claim is different from a copyright strike, and a claim alone doesn’t put a strike on your channel.
Q. Can I play cafe-style free BGM in my own shop?
A. Playing music in a shop is a different use from the “video background music” this article covers.
Each site handles it differently, and in-store playback may involve separate rules and procedures, so check each site’s terms and ask them directly if it’s unclear.
Q. Can I release free BGM tracks as my own on Spotify or similar services?
A. No.
Maoudamashii and Amacha Music Studio prohibit distributing their tracks through services like TuneCore and Spotify, and BGMer prohibits releasing its tracks as they are.
OpenTracks and MusMus also prohibit distributing or redistributing the audio itself.
Even if you arrange a track, you still have to follow each site’s conditions.
Start by deciding whether the music is background or the main event
When choosing a free BGM site, decide up front whether the music will sit in the background of your video or be the main thing, on top of checking whether the site has cafe-style tracks. That saves you a lot of head-scratching over the terms.
If it’s going in the background, all six sites are fair game, and you can choose by sound and how much credit-writing you’re willing to do.
About the Author
Cafe BGM Playlister Editorial Team
We’re the editorial team behind Cafe BGM Playlister, a media site dedicated to cafe music and background music for work.
Our parent label produces and releases music by cafe BGM artists. None of the sites or tracks featured in this article are affiliated with our label.
We chose these sites and tracks after checking each site’s terms and publicly available information.
