Music licensing is often referred to as “royalty-free music” or “production music”. It is music that has been composed and created for the sole purpose of being used in a project. Anyone is able to license the music for a nominal fee for use in their own project.
Commercial music written and performed by musicians such as Adele, M83 and U2 for instance, cannot be used for anything other than private performance.
If you purchase the music track on a CD, or even download it as an MP3, it’s explicitly stated you are not able to use the music track or song except to listen to it by yourself. It is not permitted to use it for business and even playing it on radio for customers in hair salons.
To perform commercial music for the public, a performance licence will be required from the relevant performing rights association of the country. In the UK it may be PRS or PPL. In the US/Canada, it may be BMI or ASCAP.
The organizations pay a cost to the owner of the company depending on the scale of their company/location. It can be costly and time-consuming playing the radio for your clients within your premises, however, it allows the company to play the radio to its customers , without legal concerns.
This isn’t the best option for video production or filmmaking since the purpose and goal of music is different. Because many companies in the field of video production create content for their clients, they require background music for their film or video that is suitable to be used for the intended purpose. When licensing music for commercial use the process of obtaining a license public performances, online or in-store distribution is often costly and complicated.
Music licensing that is royalty-free offers an affordable and simple option to acquire well-produced music with all rights for the user in a cost-effective clear and transparent licensing.
Anyone who is creating online content has the aim of publishing it online or publically. It’s as simple as that. It is illegal to make use of music that you’ve not composed yourself, or borrowed from the music library.
Similar guidelines apply to home movies and personal projects, however since they are not for profit and are not professionally produced for a client, it is possible to incorporate commercial music in this kind of content. However, when the content is posted to social networks like Facebook and YouTube there is a chance that your video is not available in some countries or completely deleted.
This is because commercial musicians as well as record companies have a contract in place to monitor the how their material is used on the platforms and enforces the same. However, there are numerous record labels that permit to use their songs for advertisements.
Ads will be added to your video as overlay, a pre-roll or half-time break in the video, in exchange with permission for the use of their track. If you’re making something for yourself for fun, then this shouldn’t matter.
Clients may be interested in to include the most recent chart-topping song in their video due to the fact that it appeals to their public, or they believe it reflects their image. However, as previously mentioned, this may result in being removed or blocked with additional consequences, such as suspension of your account. If the video isn’t removed or blocked, it will be displayed with advertisements.
This is not what you’d like to see from your customer. You’ve made a video that promotes their latest product, but before the video even begun, the viewers are shown advertisements for rival product and brands. This undermines the value of the video as well as the brand.
The music you’re using is not affected by copiesright claims, blockages or deletion once it’s released online. This means that you can provide the final product to your client without worry about any problems related to music.
You can make money off your content. If you’re producing content for your own personal online channel on YouTube You’ll likely be enrolled into the program of partners, which allows you to earn revenue from ads that are displayed in your video. It is not possible to earn money from these advertisements when the music isn’t licensed, since it would go directly to the creator/producer of the tune. You must pay for the music license and earn money from the music license. Simple.
Make sure you have a distinct distinctive brand for your videos. If you’re making for an individual or a company, or for yourself. If you’re using a famous, well-known commercial song, it’s likely that the song will resonate with viewers more than the content. But, if you make excellent video content and license the most perfect track that you’ve never heard before and you’re providing a exclusive audio/visual experience that’s modern and exciting.
The music creator may be offering permission to you to utilize their music for online ad-revenue through YouTube and Facebook You won’t be aware of this until you post the video and are informed that ads will be shown alongside the video with the entire earnings going to the artist.
The music track that it’s using may be a low-quality version of the product an artist wants to sell. It could be a lower 128kbs MP3 that seems acceptable, however when played against higher quality content, it’ll be muted, quiet, and, in general, not as great. If you download music from the library, it must be broadcast-quality audio files (WAV) or MP3 with 320kbps format as the standard.
There’s no need to be the only one searching for music that is free. Content creators who are solely creating for personal use do not have the funds for licensing music, and therefore require something for that is free. If you’re creating projects for a customer that is paying them and would be satisfied by using the same music track like everyone else? If it’s free, odds are that many will use it.
Anyone is able to upload a music track online. There isn’t any vetting process and no quality control or legal guarantee. Any blog or digital content site can provide a music track to users to share. When you download the ‘free music track’ what do you know if the source actually has right to offer the track to you?
When you buy a licensed audio track that is part of a professional-curated library, you can have the guarantee that each musical track is vetted and licensed legally to allow you to use and license.
It is possible to find thousands of tracks from music on the internet. What’s the difference between Track A’ and B? If you are a filmmaker or video producer consider this question: “There are thousands of video cameras available. iPhones can shoot 4K video and you can plug a microphone into them. Why should a company hire me to shoot their video”?
The quality of the instruments employed. The creation of dynamic audio including crescendos, builds and builds. The post production mastering process and edits to ensure that a three minute track can be reduced into a 30 second edit, without losing the excitement that the track has.
The difference you experience when you watch an official video using their iPhone when compared to someone shooting the same type of video using professional equipment, lighting and staging is evident. The same is true in the case of photography or Nigerian Music. Technology is there and the expertise and the ability to mix them to produce the best quality outcome.