With free gospel music downloads, you can create an amazing gospel playlist, discover new artists, and rediscover some cherished favorites without spending a dime. There are plenty of websites offering free Christian music, so you're sure to find lots of great songs to enjoy. Throw on your headphones and jump in with this list of solid sites for all of your gospel music download needs.
Where to Download Free Gospel Music
While the gospel genre isn't as mainstream as pop or country, you can still find many safe, reputable sources for free music in this category. Try one of the following sites to find available downloads.
- Secret Place Ministries - This site offers five free Christian music downloads if you subscribe to their email list, which is free to do. The songs are in the Praise and Worship genre and an mp3 format, and they come with an accompanying free download of the sheet music for the songs.
- New Release Tuesday offers a new free music download every Tuesday. They feature a variety of Gospel styles with a strong emphasis on Contemporary Christian Music and Praise and Worship with artists such as Natasha Owens and Todd Agnew. You must provide your email address and zip code to download the free songs in mp3 format.
- CCM Magazine, or CCM, is a leading authority on this genre of music. They offer a free mp3 download every week, and you do not need to register to access the freebie. Their library emphasizes Contemporary Christian Music and Praise and Worship. Artists include Jonny Diaz, Faithful, The Love Amendment, and Newsong.
- Amazon Digital Music offers free mp3 downloads for Gospel in its Digital Music section, though the selection here is often small. You must register for an Amazon account first, and it offers mostly traditional Gospel choir songs and hymns with artists such as Justine and Kimberly, and Alberto Rivera.
- Internet Archive specializes in Haitian, Caribbean, Trinidad, and Jamaican Gospel music. You do not need to register, and the songs are in mp3, torrent, and in rare cases, MIDI. It does not feature professional artists but user-generated recordings. This is a great way to hear new music that you may not be familiar with.
- ReverbNation features indie, up-and-coming Gospel artists, mostly in the Urban Contemporary Gospel and Praise and Worship genres such as Caleb Cross and Youthful Praise. You'll need to dig in a little to find the free downloads, but each artist typically offers at least one. Select the artist or album you want to look at, and then you can download the songs without a "buy" button for free. You must register for free "as a Fan" on the site before you can access the music, which is downloaded in mp3 format.
- Gospel Hotspot has a great selection of African gospel songs, and you can download some of them for free. Navigate to the type of music you're looking for, and then look for songs that say "[Download]" in the titles. Click to open the page with the song, description, and video, then scroll down to find the red Download button. Be aware, though, that there are lots of ads here, and some of them do feature a download link — make sure that you're clicking on the right one to get the song.
Most song downloads are available as mp3 files, but some sites offer different formats. Make sure that the songs you're downloading will work with whatever you're using to play them on.
Types of Gospel Music
Gospel music is religious-themed songwriting associated with the Christian faith. There are a variety of styles and even sub-genres that have their own large fanbases. One user may be interested in downloading a Christian-themed pop song, while another might be searching for a Praise and Worship tune. All of these varieties are available to download online.
- Southern Gospel is usually associated with vocal harmony groups, similar in style to barbershop quartets. Recently, a subgenre of Southern gospel, called progressive Southern gospel, has emerged. It blends more modern musical inspirations with the vocal harmony roots.
- Bluegrass Gospel is often closely associated with Southern Gospel and country music but has more of a jazz sound than the other genres.
- Urban Contemporary Gospel is a type of music heavily influenced by rap and modern R&B but with a Christian message.
- Celtic Gospel has its roots in Ireland by adopting many of the sounds that were present in historical Irish tunes.
- Contemporary Christian Music, often referred to as "CCM," encompasses the sounds of popular modern music but marries them with Christian and faith-based lyrics.
- Christian Rock music carries the beat and sound of traditional rock music but leaves out many of the controversial lyrics and the questionable lifestyles of those who are typically associated with this genre of music.
- Christian Country Music is very similar to regular country music; in fact, many artists release their songs to secular and Christian radio stations at the same time.
- Praise and Worship is often heard in church services and on Christian radio stations. It is an easy-listening type of sound mixed with lyrics from the Bible or with a Christian theme.
- Classic hymns appeal to those people who like the classic church sound. These songs usually have several verses and can often be heard during traditional church services.
Discover New Music for Free
Whether you're collecting traditional worship songs for a service or event or you're looking for new inspirational tracks for your playlist, try some free downloads to add variety to your music library. Your collection will grow quickly, and it's always fun to discover inspiring songs, artists, and styles.
