What is Free Music & Video Downloader? Also called Lacey, it is a free Windows tool from the sz development that finds songs by artist or title on sites like SoundCloud and Bandcamp and saves videos from YouTube and Vimeo. Most of those sites forbid downloading in their terms, so it suits free or self-made content.
Artist, song, and album search
Music can be found by artist, song or album. The Search Albums option targets complete albums. Search results can be narrowed with the F3 key or Ctrl+F, and downloaded tracks receive artist-and-title filenames with ID3 tags.
Playlist and video downloads
Whole YouTube playlists or chosen videos can be saved. Lacey can download multiple videos at the same time, with support for up to ten concurrent downloads. It also handles direct .m3u8 playlist URLs for HLS video.
- Video quality goes up to 4K.
- Audio can be kept as MP3.
- Up to ten downloads can run at once.
Saved music and folder layout
Downloaded music can be played in Lacey's built-in player. Cover images can also be downloaded, and the Deep folder layout option organizes tracks into artist and album folders instead of keeping them in a flatter collection.
Music and video sources
The program searches and downloads from multiple services. Music sources include SoundCloud, MixCloud, and Bandcamp; video sources include YouTube, Vimeo and German public broadcasters' media libraries. Source availability and account or regional access requirements vary.
Pros
- Searches by artist or song title and offers album searches
- Downloads all or selected videos from YouTube playlists
- Extracts video audio to MP3 and generates ID3 tags
- Includes a music player and simultaneous downloads
Cons
- Downloading breaks many sites terms of service
- Copyright still applies to saved music and video
System requirements: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
Can Lacey download an entire YouTube playlist?
Yes. Enter the playlist address to download all videos or choose selected videos.
Can it save only the audio from a video?
Yes, as MP3.
Can downloaded music be played inside the program?
Yes. The built-in music player plays downloaded music files.
