Sound Packs for Videographers and Podcasters

It’s easier than ever for budding videographers and podcasters to get creative and produce their own content from a home studio setup, and a generation of amateur filmmakers have been turning their hobbies into a viable income. 

audio check for interview

However, to really make your creations pop, you’re going to need the perfect music and sound effects as an accompaniment. We’ll walk you through exactly why this is so important, and where you can go to find the best sounds. 

Why Are Sound Effects So Important?

To Stand Out From the Crowd

Any glance over at YouTube or Apple Podcasts will quickly show you that you’re up against thousands of other content creators. Even if you choose to distribute your creations via other, more niche, platforms, you’ll still find it hard to stand out. 

By having the perfect music and effects, you instantly make your videos and podcasts look more professional and slick, as well as helping build a structure around your storytelling. It puts you a step above the competition that doesn’t use quality sound, making them look far more amateurish by comparison. 

To Create Atmosphere

Music can make or break the tension or mood of a scene. It should draw your audience in, grabbing their attention and not let go. For example, if you’re hoping to break into the murder mysteries podcast scene, you’re not going to get anywhere without some spine-chilling music to accentuate the dramatic moments. 

To Enhance Storytelling

Ultimately, any sort of creative endeavor aims to tell a story, and all sorts of ingredients go into making this happen. The script, audio equipment, personality of the creators and good lighting are all key examples. However, good sound engineering is like the icing on the cake.

This is especially important if you’re producing any kind of audio drama or documentary style video or podcast, but sound effects can even be useful in more off the cuff and casual productions too. 

For Transitions

These are great spots to let your audience know you’ll be transitioning into a new scene, topic or discussion. Transitions are the perfect opportunity to let your listeners and viewers know it’s OK to take a break here. Some high-quality podcasts can have a running time of several hours, and can be difficult to digest fully in one sitting. Use musical interludes to mark transitions, and add timestamps to your content descriptions so the audience knows where to come back to. 

Types of Sound Effects

Editing

As well as having a good selection of royalty-free music, you’ll need a good bank of sound effects to use in different circumstances. You can shop around to find different sound packs to cover genres like sci-fi, fantasy, drama, mechanical SFX or even just a generic royalty-free music pack. Find one that best fits the theme of your productions and go from there.

How to Find Sound Packs

If you’re looking for the best sound effect download, there are now dozens of providers offering this service. They generally come in two types:

  • Royalty-free – You usually pay a small monthly or annual fee to access a library of music and SFX. As paid-for services, these platforms usually have a huge range to choose from, often having tens of thousands of tracks. Good examples include sites like StoryBlocks, ASoundeffect.com and Music Radio Creative
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  • Creative commons license – These sound files are usually completely free to use and download, but might come with some conditions. For example, a non-commercial license means you won’t be able to use it if your content is generating revenue, and other files might require you to credit the original creator. Just make sure to double-check the type of license before you download. Popular sites include 99Sounds, Bluezone Corporation and Sonniss  

You’ll generally find better quality content at paid-for platforms, but you can still find some gems in the free download sites. All reputable platforms will let you listen to snippets of the full sound library too, so you can try before you buy.

Can You Make Your Own Music and Sound Effects?

You certainly can, and it can even be quite a fun part of the creative process. In fact, those with musical talent often insert original tracks into their productions for that added uniqueness, and creating your own effects can definitely help you learn the sound editing ropes. However, it could quickly become time-consuming, distracting you from other aspects of the creative process. If you’re relatively new to content creating, we’d recommend opting for a royalty-free or creative commons sound pack until your skills improve.