Summer’s here and opportunities abound for creating inspirational videos or slideshows of your travels. Don’t get too caught up on which gear you should use to capture the images, however. To put together a truly inspiring highlight reel of your adventures, remember that visuals only make up half the picture (pun intended). A solid soundtrack is absolutely crucial for adding impact to the imagery and it can mean the difference between creating an awkward snooze-fest or cinematic magic. To illustrate this point, try watching this celebratory scene from Star Wars with and without music. It clearly demonstrates just how much music matters.

Whether you’re planning a road trip across the country, taking a high-flying hot-air balloon ride, or rafting down a river, choose an inspiring song list that enhances your story and leaves your viewers with wanderlust. The best way to do this is by choosing royalty free music with an unlimited subscription from music hubs like Artlist, especially when you intend to share your videos online. To help, we’ve put together a collection of instrumental tracks that feature a travel theme with a cinematic edge. Within the list, some tracks highlight pop sensibilities while others lean more into the rock or electronic genres, but all possess a common thread in that each song is epic and will elevate the impact of your project.

Here is our list of the top 10 royalty-free cinematic songs (in no particular order) to use when scoring your next travel video or slideshow.

1. Be Still The Earth – Traveling Together

  • Genre: Cinematic, Electronic, Rock
  • Mood: Uplifting, Carefree, Hopeful, Serious, Dramatic, Powerful, Peaceful
  • Video Theme: Road Trip, Sport & fitness, Lifestyle, Building & city & More
  • Album: Animos

2. Veshza – Hit The Road

  • Genre: Electronic, Cinematic
  • Mood: Uplifting, Powerful, Happy, Playful, Hopeful, Serious, Dramatic
  • Video Theme: Travel, Aerials, Landscape, Nature, Slow motion & More
  • Album: CloudRoad

3. Josh Leake – Dusk To Dawn

  • Genre: Cinematic, Ambient
  • Mood: Uplifting, Love, Hopeful, Peaceful, Serious, Dramatic, Tense , Sad
  • Video Theme: Vlog, Road Trip, Travel, Sport & fitness, Lifestyle & More
  • Album: Clara

4. Tristan Barton – Wings

  • Genre: Cinematic, World
  • Mood: Uplifting, Powerful, Carefree, Playful, Hopeful, Serious, Dramatic
  • Video Theme: Travel, Aerials, Landscape, Slow motion, Nature & More
  • Album: Wings

5. Ian Post – Just Jump

  • Genre: Cinematic
  • Mood: Uplifting, Carefree, Playful, Hopeful, Peaceful, Serious, Dramatic
  • Video Theme: Time-lapse, People, Vlog, Road Trip, Travel & More
  • Album: Moments In Time

6. Vis Major – Cerulean

  • Genre: Cinematic, Ambient
  • Mood: Uplifting, Carefree, Love, Hopeful, Peaceful, Serious, Playful
  • Video Theme: Travel, Aerials, Landscape, Nature, Slow motion & More
  • Album: Avalon

7. Loya – Blue

  • Genre: Cinematic, Ambient, Electronic
  • Mood: Uplifting, Carefree, Love, Hopeful, Peaceful, Serious, Dramatic, Sad
  • Video Theme: Time-lapse, Food, Weddings, Travel, Lifestyle & More
  • Album: Orion

8. Ethan Rank – Summit

  • Genre: Cinematic, Rock, Pop
  • Mood: Uplifting, Powerful, Happy, Carefree, Hopeful, Dramatic, Tense
  • Video Theme: Time-lapse, Travel, Nature, Road Trip, Lifestyle & More
  • Album: Awaken

9. John Isaac – A Whisper

  • Genre: Cinematic, Folk, Rock
  • Mood: Uplifting, Powerful, Carefree, Love, Hopeful, Serious, Dramatic
  • Video Theme: Slow motion, Road trip, Travel, Time-Lapse, People & More
  • Album: Heart And Soul

10. Michael FK – End Time Delusion

  • Genre: Ambient, Cinematic, Electronic
  • Mood: Uplifting, Carefree, Love, Hopeful, Serious, Dramatic
  • Video Theme: Vlog, Road Trip, Travel, Sport & fitness, Lifestyle & More
  • Album: Hypnagogic

Thank you to Artlist for sponsoring this article and making this content possible.Â