Is it legal to download free tracks from SoundCloud?

Updated 28 October 2026 · 4 minute read

Short answer: when an artist offers a track as a free download, downloading it is fine. That's exactly what they're inviting you to do. What you do with the file afterwards is where it gets more nuanced. This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice, and rules differ between countries.

Free download means permission to have the file

When an artist switches on downloads on SoundCloud, or hands out a track through a download gate, they're giving you a copy for your own use: listening, practising, playing in your sets. Cratedigger only saves tracks offered this way and skips everything else.

It doesn't give you the rights to the music

The artist (or their label) still owns the track. Unless they say otherwise, a free download doesn't let you:

re-upload it to SoundCloud, YouTube or anywhere else;
sell it, or include it in a paid pack or compilation;
use it in videos, ads or games without asking.

Some artists attach a licence, for example a Creative Commons licence, that allows more. Check the track description.

Playing it out

Playing tracks in a club or at an event is usually covered by the venue's licences with music rights organisations, not by you individually. That's the same for free and bought tracks. If you run your own events, check what your country requires.

Publishing mixes

Uploading a mix that contains other people's music is a grey area on most platforms. Some have licensing deals for DJ mixes, others detect and block copyrighted tracks. Bootlegs and edits of famous songs are the most likely to be blocked.

Bootlegs and edits

Bootlegs use music the producer doesn't own, so the producer can't really grant rights to it. They're widely played, but they can be taken down at any time. Treat them as tracks for your sets, not for releasing.

Tracks that aren't free

Downloading tracks that aren't offered as downloads, for example by recording the stream, isn't covered by any permission from the artist and goes against SoundCloud's terms. Cratedigger doesn't do this; it skips tracks that aren't free.

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