More than 33,000 sound effects from the BBC are now free.

September 27, 2024 8:02 AM

Access the library here. From thequietus.com: "The extensive archive was initially opened to the public in 2018, with around 16,000 sounds initially made available online. It has now more than doubled in size to stock over 33,000 samples, which are available to download for free as a WAV or MP3 file. The BBC’s library features recordings dating back to the 1920s, and comprises sounds made in the broadcaster’s dedicated studio for use in specific BBC programmes, as well as field recordings captured out in the world. It’s divided into categories such as ‘Nature’, ‘Transport’, ‘Sport’, ‘Crowds’, ‘Footsteps’ and more." Previously on the blue.
posted by AlSweigart (4 comments total)

Filtering for the longest duration I've found a 45 minute , 43 second recording of Dawn Chorus / Woodland Atmosphere. It's very quiet at first but picks up a little over time.

The comedy category has some interesting stuff.

I'm thinking of using the 29 second Clocks: Comic - Clockwork mechanism for a podcast intro. (The license is for non-commercial use though, something called RemArc License which looks fairly reasonable.)
posted by AlSweigart at 8:18 AM on September 27

The "London Underground" search returns sounds that are unbelievably evocative, even when I haven't heard them in the flesh since 1997. Like this one.

(Use Chrome: even after enabling pop-ups, I can't get sharing links or the download feature to work in Safari.)
posted by wenestvedt at 8:58 AM on September 27

*happy Snoopy dance* I am now downloading all the telephone ringtones

(If it helps, wenestvedt, it's working for me on my iPad in Safari)
posted by pickles_have_souls at 9:03 AM on September 27 [1 favorite]

Where did they file the Dalek relaxation source files?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:21 AM on September 27