Behind The Beats: The Evolution of Royalty Free House Music
Mackenzie Scott
Sep 12, 2022
Every genre and subgenre you can think of right now got its start somewhere. New music doesn’t just appear out of thin air — albums take months to produce, and genres emerge over the span of years or even decades.
From the blues to disco to jazz, music has always been shaped by personal, societal, and cultural experiences. Some genres (like blues and disco) are deeply rooted in histories of oppression, injustice, and resilience. Others are closely linked to specific times and places (think the Jazz Age in New Orleans).
Artists, musicians, and producers invest so much time and skill into the creation of new music — and that’s a big reason why it’s so important for creators to license music the right (i.e. legal) way.
If you’ve been on the lookout for house music that is safe to use on YouTube and other platforms, this blog will point you in the direction of some great options. But before getting into the music, however, let’s take a look at the history and defining characteristics of the house genre.
The origins of house music
If you weren’t already familiar with house music, you might not be able to guess what it sounds like based on its name alone. You wouldn’t know that this music has a four-on-the-floor rhythm, synthesizer riffs, and a distinctly disco-feel.
Similar to disco, this genre got its start in the underground club scene. DJs like Frankie Knuckles and Marshall Jefferson had a big role in getting this electronically fueled genre in front of people in the 1980s. They experimented with disco tracks by introducing different beats and deeper basslines, and so house music was born.
The name “house” is said to come from a famous club in Chicago called “The Warehouse.” But it didn’t take long for house music to become popular in other U.S. cities and then in Europe as well.
As artists continued experimenting with the original house style, sub-genres like Progressive House, Future House, Latin House, and Minimal House developed naturally. Because of that, there are so many different options to choose from when licensing house music.
Our 10 most popular house tracks
Speaking of options, we’ve rounded up a list of the top trending house tracks in our catalog to date. Whether you want a more traditional or experimental house sound, any of these 10 tracks could be exactly what you’re looking for.
1. “Above The Ground” by Lunareh
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
2. “Health Is Wealth” by PALA
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Bass and drums
Listen and license here.
3. “New York Gorgeous” by Reel Life
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and synth bass
Listen and license here.
4. “Strawberry Cocktails” by Casey Heyo
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Drums and bass
Listen and license here.
5. “Memorize” by Daniel King
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Drums and synth
Listen and license here.
6. “Upgrade” by Neon Beach
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Bass and drums
Listen and license here.
7. “Leggo Shopping” by Mikey Geiger
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
8. “Free The Pixels” by Fluxapax
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Drums and bass
Listen and license here.
9. “Red Color On Stage” by Wilasco
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Samples and synth
Listen and license here.
10. “Hauz” by Daniele Musto
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Electronic drums and synth
Listen and license here.
New house music for 2022
Like I mentioned at the top of this post, new music takes time to produce. Our team works with artists around the globe every day so that we can release new tracks on a weekly basis.
So if you’re in the market for newer sounds, these tracks are definitely worth the listen:
1. “Neon Dreams” by Lunareh
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Samples and bass
Listen and license here.
2. “Once” by Neon Beach
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Drums and bass
Listen and license here.
3. “Brick By Brick” by Fluxapax
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Drums and bass
Listen and license here.
4. “Faith” by Brendan McPherson
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Samples and synth
Listen and license here.
5. “Werk” by Matt Wigton
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Electronic drums and synth
Listen and license here.
6. “Give You” by Daniel King
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Samples and ambient tones
Listen and license here.
7. “Mini Mall House” by Mikey Geiger
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
8. “Wet Rot” by Isaac Joel
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
9. “Mean It” by Jay Urban
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
10. “Pink Disco” by Isaac Joel
Genre: Electronic
Instruments: Synth and electronic drums
Listen and license here.
Need more house and electronic music?
Those new and popular tracks are a great starting point for your song search, but if you haven’t found the perfect song yet, don’t worry. You can find even more music options by checking out the following playlists:
Electronic Staff Picks
Club Beats
Dance & EDM
Find the best royalty free music across any genre
When you find a house track — or any other type of song — that you like, you can download a perpetual license in seconds and then immediately drop the song onto your editing timeline. This process gets even more streamlined if you subscribe to one of our music plans and download our free Premiere Pro extension.
If you’d like to peruse our other royalty free genres, these blog posts can point you in the direction of more great music: