You can probably think of a thousand reasons you would want to download a YouTube video: going through a long tunnel on a train and losing signal, taking a flight, or just not wanting to use data when you’re on the move. Maybe you’re wanting to incorporate the videos in your own editing projects. The possibilities of working with downloaded YouTube videos are endless, but what’s the best way to download them in the first place? There are a couple of ways you can download YouTube videos, so let’s take a look at how.

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How to download YouTube videos

YouTube offers users two ways to download YouTube videos: one way to download your own videos, and another way to download other people’s videos.

Some people use YouTube as a type of video storage platform because it’s very straightforward to download your own content that you have uploaded. Simply go into YouTube Studio and find a list of videos you have uploaded to your own channel, both public and private. There should be an option for you to quickly and easily download the high-resolution version of all those videos, which is perfect for keeping backups of your work to access whenever you like.

But let’s say you’re exploring YouTube and come across some videos you really want to download for yourself. Maybe you’re keeping them for a journey so you don’t have to stream them. Or maybe there’s a channel giving away incredible free stock footage and you want to incorporate some of their shots in your own project. The best way to do this is through YouTube Premium. If you’re a YouTube Premium subscriber you will have an official feature letting you download videos as well as not seeing ads before each one, in exchange for a small fee. So if you watch a lot of YouTube videos or want to download some free music or stock footage, YouTube Premium is the way forward.

How to download music from YouTube videos

If some music in a YouTube video really catches your ear, it’s probably been acquired from a music library and will be protected by copyright. But many musicians have turned to YouTube as a way of getting their work out into the world and sharing it with people for free. In some instances these YouTube channels dedicated to free music might have a link to a website for you to download their work, but with YouTube Premium it’s easy to just download the video.

Once the video is downloaded you can import it into video editing software like VideoStudio Pro, separate the video layer from the audio layer, and export the audio track as a separate file. Then you can load it up into your preferred music player app, but remember that the licensing of the music must be clear for you to do this. Make sure it’s definitely copyright-free music.

How to find copyright-free music and videos on YouTube

If you’re looking for copyright-free music and videos to use in your own video projects, YouTube is a great place to start. Many creators love sharing their work for free on YouTube to either build up a subscriber base they can then target with more premium, paid-for content, or because they want to give back to the community.

To find copyright-free music and videos simply search for terms like ‘free music for videos’ and ‘free stock footage’ and you’ll soon unlock a wealth of content to download. Just make sure to explore the channels carefully and read the descriptions to make sure you are abiding by their licensing terms. You might find that some creators ask for attribution (or credit) in return for using their content for free.

Download copyright-free YouTube videos to use in your own projects

If you want to find and use free stock footage in your videos, there are plenty of creators on YouTube dedicated to doing that. Some might link to a different site for you to download music and videos from, but for others it might be straightforward to use YouTube Premium to download those videos and import them directly into VideoStudio Pro.

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