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Kevin MacLeod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people of the same name, see Kevin McLeod (disambiguation).

Kevin MacLeod
MacLeod in 2016
MacLeod in 2016
Background information
Born1972 (age 52–53)
Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Composer
  • music producer
Websiteincompetech.com
Kevin MacLeod's voice
Recorded in 2023

Kevin MacLeod (/məˈklaʊd/ mə-KLOWD; born 1972) is an American composer and music producer. Described by The New York Times as "arguably the most prolific composer you’ve never heard of",[1] MacLeod has composed over 2,000 pieces of royalty-free library music and made them available under a Creative Commons copyright license. One of his compositions, "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys", is among the most played on TikTok; from January through June 2021, it was played over 31.6 billion times.[2][3]

The wide availability and freeness of his work have made it featured in thousands of films and millions of videos on YouTube. These include Martin Scorsese's 2011 film Hugo. As of 2017, his music is featured on one of the live feeds from the International Space Station, Earth From Space. A documentary charting his career, Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod, was released in 2020.

Early life and education

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Kevin MacLeod was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1972.[4] He began piano lessons at a young age: "as a 4-year old or whatever it was."[5] He attended university where he initially studied electrical engineering; however, amid a distaste for chemistry requirements, he switched to music education after his first month.[5] He never graduated.[5]

MacLeod had a brief stint as a computer programmer during the dot-com bubble.[5] He had colleagues in the multimedia world struggling to find music, so he began composing and sharing his works online, particularly on YouTube.[5] During this time, he created his website, Incompetech,[a] which initially generated ad revenue from a PDF generator of graph paper.[6]

Career

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MacLeod, a composer and music producer,[7] has been described as "arguably the most prolific composer you’ve never heard of – although it’s very likely you’ve heard his music" by journalist Glenn Kenny of The New York Times.[1] Kenny further describes him as "a pioneer both of digital production and distribution,"[1] while the critic Justin Curto notes that he is "a bit of a legend in the space [of royalty music]."[5]

MacLeod posts royalty-free music on his website Incompetech.[6] His music is free to use but requires formal credit,[6] per the Creative Commons Attribution copyright license.[‡ 1] Instead of crediting him, parties can pay a fee for a no-attribution license,[6] which starts at $30 for one song, $50 for two songs, and $20 per song for three or more songs.[‡ 1] MacLeod receives some advertising revenue from music streaming services but "otherwise relies on donations via Patreon."[6] On his website's FAQ, he expressed disdain for the current state of copyright; he hopes to create "an alternate body of works that is able to compete with them."[‡ 2] In September 2011, MacLeod became able to assign ISRC codes for his music.[‡ 3]

"Monkeys Spinning Monkeys"
MacLeod describes "Monkeys" as a "loopable happy light fluffy piece with bright flutes and a bunch of pizzicato strings."[‡ 4]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The wide availability of his music has led to it being used in thousands of films and millions of videos on YouTube and other social media sites.[8] As of 2017, his music is featured on one of the live feeds from the International Space Station, Earth From Space.[9] The media that featured his music varies much, from Martin Scorsese's 2011 film Hugo to pornographic films.[1] One of his songs, "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys", released on February 3, 2014, is among the most played on TikTok; from January through June 2021, it was played over 31.6 billion times.[2][3] When Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig presented an award at the 2024 Golden Globes, their use of MacLeod's 2010 song "Fluffing a Duck" was widely noted and gave him considerable attention.[5][10]

Since 2020, MacLeod has used artificial intelligence, especially Suno AI, to produce music. MacLeod does not publish any music created using Suno to Incompetech, music stores or streaming services.[‡ 5]

Neely Swanson writes of MacLeod's music, "There was always a familiar quality to it. His music summons up a mood or feeling that’s instantly recognizable. There is nothing new, just something that will already be satisfying."[11]

"Fluffing a Duck"
"A trombone plays a humorous melody alongside timpanis and a variety of woodwind instruments. This music is suited for a short theme for a comedic piece that relies on visual jokes," notes MacLeod.[‡ 6]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Documentary

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MacLeod's work has been detailed in Ryan Camarda's 2020 documentary Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod.[12][11]

Awards and accolades

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In 2015, the European Web Video Academy awarded MacLeod the International Honorary Web Video Award at the 2015 German Web Video Awards for his lifetime achievement in influencing the German web video community.[13]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Alternatively known as incompetech or Incompetech.com

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Kenny 2022
  2. ^ a b Steele 2021
  3. ^ a b Prichep 2024b
  4. ^ Gutelle 2016
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Curto 2024
  6. ^ a b c d e Peirson-Hagger 2021
  7. ^ McGreehan 2015
  8. ^ Duenas 2020
  9. ^ Tyler 2017
  10. ^ Frank 2024
  11. ^ a b Swanson 2022
  12. ^ Spacek 2020
  13. ^ Webvideopreis Deutschland 2015

To self-published sources

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  1. ^ a b MacLeod, "Music License"
  2. ^ MacLeod, "FAQ" § Philosophy
  3. ^ MacLeod, "ISRC"
  4. ^ MacLeod, "Monkeys"
  5. ^ MacLeod, "AI"
  6. ^ MacLeod, "Fluffing"

Bibliography

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Books and academic sources

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  • Durand, Júlia (2023). "Library Music as the Soundtrack of Youtube". In Rogers, Holly; Freitas, Joana; Porfírio, João Francisco (eds.). Remediating Sound: Repeatable Culture, YouTube and Music. London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 211–219. ISBN 978-1-5013-8734-0.
  • Mitchell, Ben (2023). Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. pp. 391–392. ISBN 978-1-000-84918-9.
  • Seymour, Thomas E. (2021). Kevin MacLeod Documentary (Master of Fine Arts thesis). New York City, New York: CUNY Academic Works. Retrieved October 18, 2025.

News and web sources

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Self-published sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kevin MacLeod (composer).
Wikiquote has quotations related to Kevin MacLeod.

Incompetech – MacLeod's official website

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