When creating your own movies or just making videos for YouTube or a Facebook post, you will surely need to add some background music. Be careful what music you choose – YouTube and Facebook may shut down your video for copyright infringement.
This happened to me when I created a memorial video that was posted on Facebook. Somehow they “knew” that the music he was using was copyrighted. They did not allow the pole to stay up. I solved the problem by finding royalty free music on the web. I was able to use this music by simply adding a credit to the end of the video. Like everything else, it was a learning curve to find this ‘public domain’ music and then search through the tons of junk that is available.
It’s hard to find music for which you don’t have to pay royalties. Many sites offer that type of music, the problem is that they offer quantity over quality. Most of the sites are difficult to navigate and the music is cheesy. Worst of all, some charge an upfront fee to download their songs. You can find quality music for free, but since each movie project is unique, so is the music. Finding music that suits your vision can take a long time.
Royalty-free music can take a lot of hassle out of creating your videos. You might not get pinged right away, but if you’re using copyrighted material, someone will probably find out and insist that you “cease and desist.” For the average citizen, a Creative Commons license is perfect for obtaining music without paying a license fee.
For corporations and businesses that want license protection, a standard license, available for a small fee like $ 25, allows you to use a song for things like: phone hold music, radio announcements, or corporate introductions where you don’t want to. ao cannot give adequate credit in writing. Why hire someone to write the music or pay royalties if your budget doesn’t allow it?
I highly recommend looking for a website that is set up in multiple categories to help you navigate the music you want quickly. Choose the genre of music like hard rock or country or orchestral. From there, it’s much easier to try and download songs or just read the short description under each song to get a quick idea of what might work for you. Some sites even provide a photo for a “visual representation” of each song.
Another good feature to look for are songs that have a vocal and non-vocal version. One of the benefits of having both versions of a song is that you can combine them throughout your movie and use them as a recurring theme without repeating the exact same thing over and over again and sounding monotonous.
For those who want to have a completely original soundtrack, many sites offer music services like score writing and soundtrack editing to make their movie unique.
One important thing to remember when searching for your music: Be specific. “Alternative royalty-free music” will produce better results than simple “royalty-free music.”
