How to Create Custom Royalty-Free Background Music with Soundraw

Creating the perfect background music for your content projects used to mean spending hours browsing stock music libraries, only to find tracks that almost — but never quite — fit. Soundraw changes that equation entirely by letting you generate and customize AI-composed music that matches your exact creative vision. Whether you’re producing YouTube videos, podcasts, or social media content, this guide will walk you through the complete workflow from first track to final export.

Step 1: Set Up Your Soundraw Account

Visit soundraw.io and create a free account. The free plan lets you generate and preview unlimited tracks, though downloads require a subscription. Click “Start Creating” to enter the music generation studio. No software installation is needed — everything runs in your browser.

Step 2: Define Your Music Parameters

Before generating a track, Soundraw asks you to set three key parameters. First, choose a Mood — options include uplifting, dark, chill, energetic, dramatic, and more. Then select a Genre such as hip-hop, electronic, cinematic, lo-fi, or rock. Finally, set the Duration by entering the exact length in seconds or dragging the timeline slider. You can also select a Tempo range (slow, medium, fast) to match your content’s pacing. These three inputs give the AI engine a clear creative direction.

Step 3: Generate and Preview Tracks

Click “Create Music” and Soundraw’s AI will compose multiple track variations in seconds. Each track is entirely original — generated from scratch based on your parameters. Preview each one by clicking the play button. You’ll notice that every track has clearly labeled sections (Intro, Build, Chorus, Bridge, Outro) displayed on a visual timeline. Listen through several options and select the one closest to your vision. You can always regenerate if none of the initial results feel right.

Step 4: Customize the Track with the Section Editor

This is where Soundraw truly shines. Click on any section of the track to open the customization panel. You can rearrange sections by dragging them to new positions on the timeline. Shorten or extend any section by dragging its edges. Use the Energy slider to adjust the intensity of each section — lower the energy during a verse and raise it for a dramatic chorus. You can also mute individual sections to create breaks or drops. This section-level control means you’re not stuck with a linear composition — you’re sculpting the music to fit your content’s emotional arc.

Step 5: Fine-Tune with the Mix Console

Below the timeline, Soundraw provides a simple mix console where you can adjust the volume of individual instrument layers. Boost the drums for a more driving feel, or lower the bass for a lighter, more ambient vibe. While this isn’t a full DAW mixer, it provides enough control to shape the overall tone without overwhelming non-musicians.

Step 6: Download and Use Your Track

Once you’re satisfied with the customization, click “Download.” On the Creator plan ($16.99/month billed annually), you can download unlimited tracks in high-quality WAV or MP3 format. All downloads are royalty-free for commercial use across YouTube, podcasts, social media, and client projects. If you need stems for advanced mixing, upgrade to the Artist plan, which lets you export individual instrument layers as separate audio files.

Step 7: Integrate into Your Project

Import the downloaded track into your video editor (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro) or podcast editing software (Audacity, GarageBand, Descript). Because you customized the track’s sections and energy to match your content, the music should sync naturally with your edits. Make minor volume adjustments and add fade-ins/fade-outs at the edit points for a polished final result.

Pro Tips for Better Results:

• Generate multiple variations with slightly different mood or genre settings and A/B test them against your content before committing to customization
• Use the energy slider to create dynamic contrast — a quiet intro that builds to an energetic chorus keeps viewers engaged
• For podcasts, generate a short 15-second jingle for your intro and a separate ambient track for background scoring
• Bookmark your favorite generated tracks before customizing — Soundraw saves your original generations so you can always start fresh from a different variation