Searching and Filtering the Music Library
PublishFi's music library is large enough that browsing by scroll alone is rarely the fastest path to the right track. The Music tab includes a comprehensive set of filters that let you define exactly what you are looking for — whether that is a driving 120 BPM instrumental in D Minor, a clean vocal pop track under two minutes, or something from a specific curated playlist.
Opening the filters
In the Music tab, click the Filters button below the search bar. This expands the full filter panel. Filters stack together — every selection you make narrows the results further, and results update as you adjust each one.
Available filters
Genre
The Genre selector lets you pick a single genre to limit results. Selecting "All Genres" or clearing the selection removes the genre filter and returns the full library.
BPM range
Drag the two handles on the BPM slider to set a minimum and maximum tempo. The range covers 0 to 300 BPM. This is especially useful when you need music that matches the pacing of your edit — fast cuts typically call for higher BPM, while slower, more emotional content benefits from something in the 60–90 range.
Duration range
The Duration slider works the same way, letting you define a minimum and maximum clip length. The range spans from 0 to 8 minutes (0:00 to 8:00). Use this to find tracks that fit your video timeline without requiring extensive trimming.
Key and scale
Click individual keys from the full chromatic set — Ab, A, A#, Bb, B, C, C#, Db, D, D#, Eb, E, F, F#, Gb, G, G# — to filter for tracks in a specific key. You can select multiple keys at once. Below the key grid, choose Major or Minor to further restrict results by scale. This is useful when your video contains other audio elements, such as a musical intro, that you want to match harmonically.
Explicit content
The Explicit filter offers three choices: All (show everything), Has Explicit (tracks flagged as explicit), or No Explicit (clean tracks only). Set this to "No Explicit" when producing content for a broader audience.
Vocals / Instrumental
Use the Vocals/Instrument toggle to choose between:
- All — return tracks regardless of vocals
- Vocals — tracks that include singing or spoken word
- Instrumental — tracks without vocals
License
The License filter controls whether results include free tracks, Soundstripe-licensed tracks, or both. Set this to Free if you want tracks available without a premium subscription, or Soundstripe to browse the licensed catalog.
Advanced: Stems Available
Under the Advanced section, you can toggle Stems Available to show only tracks that include individual layer files — such as separate drums, bass, or vocal stems. When a track has stems, expanding the track row lets you preview each layer individually and add only the stems you want.
Playlist
The Playlist filter lets you search and select from curated playlists. Type in the playlist search box to find playlists by name, then select one to restrict results to tracks within that playlist. You can select multiple playlists. To remove a playlist filter, click the X next to its name, or use the Clear button to remove all playlist selections at once.
Combining filters
All filters work together. For example, setting Genre to "Electronic," Vocals/Instrument to "Instrumental," BPM to 110–130, and Duration to 1:30–3:00 will surface driving background tracks that fit neatly into a short-form video without much trimming.
To start over, click Reset filters to clear all active filter selections at once.
Using the search bar with filters
The search bar and filters operate together. Typing a keyword — such as "uplifting" or "lo-fi" — searches titles, artists, moods, and tags, while any active filters continue to apply. This lets you combine free-text intuition with precise parameter control.
Tip: Moods are stored as tags on each track. Searching for mood words like "melancholic," "energetic," or "chill" in the search bar is often faster than browsing by genre alone.
