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Music licensing is commonly referred to as ‘royalty-free music’ or ‘production music’. This is music that has been written and produced for the sole purpose of being used in another project. Anyone can then license this music for a fee, to use in their project.
What about commercial music?
Commercial music, written and performed by artists like Adele, M83 and U2, for example, may not be used for any purpose other than personal/private performance. When you buy a CD or download an MP3, it is specifically stated that you cannot do anything with that song or music track except listen to it yourself. Any commercial use is prohibited, including playing it on the radio for clients in a hair salon.
To play commercial music to the public, a public performance license from the appropriate performing rights organization in that country is required. In the UK it may be PRS or PPL. In the US/Canada, it may be BMI or ASCAP. These organizations charge a fee to the business owner, based on the size of their business/location. This can be expensive and time consuming just to play the radio for your customers at your facility, but it allows the company to play the radio for their customers without legal issues.
This is not a suitable solution for video production and film making as the use and purpose of music are not the same. As many video production companies produce content for clients, they need background music for their video/movie that is licensed for its intended purpose. When licensing commercial music, arranging such a license for online, public, in-store performance, and mass distribution quickly becomes expensive and complicated.
Royalty-Free Music Licensing offers a simple and cost-effective solution to acquiring well-produced music with all the necessary rights for the customer, within an affordable and transparent license.
Who needs to license music?
Anyone who creates digital content with the intent to publish it online or publicly. It really is that simple. You may not legally use music that you have not written yourself or obtained a license from a music library.
What about ‘home movies’ and ‘personal projects’?
The same rules apply to home movies and personal projects, but because these are produced non-profit and professionally on behalf of a client, it is possible to use commercial music in this type of content. However, when this content is posted on social platforms like Facebook and YouTube, your video may be blocked in certain countries or removed altogether. This is because commercial artists and record labels have an agreement in place that monitors the use of their content on these platforms and they can enforce it accordingly. However, there are many commercial artists and record labels that allow the use of their music in exchange for publicity. An advertisement will be attached to your content as a pre-roll, overlay, or halftime break during the video in exchange for permission to use your music track. If you’re producing something personal, ‘for fun’, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
The risks of using commercial music in professional video
A client may want to see the latest chart-topping hit in your video because it resonates with their target audience or they feel it represents their brand. However, as stated above, this could end up being immediately blocked or deleted with further implications such as account suspension. If the video is not blocked or removed, it will be displayed with ads.
This is the last thing you want for your client. You produced a video promoting your new product, and before the video starts, ads for competing brands and products are shown to viewers. It degrades the potential of the video and the brand.
Why license RIGHTS FREE MUSIC?
There are THREE key reasons why the right music licenses are so important.
1. You are using music that will NOT be subject to copyright claims, blocking, or removal when posted online. This means that you can deliver your final product to your customer without fear of any music-related issues.
2. You can MONETIZE the content you produce. If you are producing the content for your own online channel on YouTube, you will certainly enter the partner program to earn money from the ads displayed on your videos. You cannot make money from these ads if the music is not licensed as it will go directly to the artist/producer of the music. Pay music license, make money from that music license. Easy.
3. Create an identity for your video. Whether you’re producing something on behalf of a client or for yourself. If you use a very popular and well-known commercial music track, that song is likely to resonate more with the viewer than its content. However, if you create really great video content AND license the perfect music track that no one has ever heard before, you are offering a completely unique audiovisual package that is fresh and new.
What about free music?
If you search for it, you will find music that is available to use for free. But ask yourself, why is it free?
Free in exchange for ads and revenue.
The creator could be giving you permission to use their music in exchange for advertising revenue online through YouTube and Facebook, and you won’t know until you post it and let them know. Ads will be shown alongside your video, and all revenue will go to the artist.
A sample of poor quality.
The free music track you’re using could be a low-quality sample of something an artist is trying to sell. This could be a low 128kbs MP3 that looks adequate, but when played with high quality content, it will sound low, muted, and generally not that great. When music is licensed from a library, it must be available in streaming quality WAV or 320kbps MP3 as standard.
Who else is using it?
You won’t be the only one looking for free music. People who create content purely for personal projects don’t have a budget for music licenses, so they need something free. If you’re producing a project for a client who’s paying you, would they be happy if you used the same free music track as everyone else? If it’s free, chances are a lot of people will use it.
Settlement and Insurance
Anyone can upload a music track online. There is no background screening, no quality control, and no legal guarantee. Any blog or digital content platform can host a music track for others to share. So when you’re downloading a ‘free music track’, how do you know that the provider actually has the rights to give it to you? When you license a music track from a professionally curated library, you have the assurance that each music track has been legally reviewed, contracted, and published so you can license and use it.
Why pay for music?
There are thousands of music tracks online. What is the difference between ‘Track A’ and ‘Track B’? As a video producer/filmmaker, ask yourself this question: “There are thousands of video cameras available. iPhones can shoot 4K video and you can plug a microphone into it. Why should a business hire me to shoot their video?”
When you license music from an accredited library, you are paying for the experience in writing and composing the music track. From the beginning, middle and end. The quality of the instruments used. Dynamic audio production, builds and crescendos. Mastering and post production edits so that a 3 minute piece can be condensed into a short 30 second edit without losing any of the magic of the music track.
The difference you get when someone shoots a corporate video on their iPhone compared to someone shooting the same video with a professional camera, lighting, and staging is painfully obvious. It’s no different when it comes to music or photography. There is the technology, the knowledge, the skill and the ability to combine them to achieve a result of the highest quality.
What can I do with licensed music?
What you want. Music may be licensed for limited use or global distribution, mass production, and streaming. You can license music for a specific purpose and adapt it to fit any additional requirements at any time.
Royalty-free music licensing aims to be the most cost-effective and practical solution for using music in your professional projects. General online distribution is commonly a one-time license fee per track for lifetime use.