If you plan to create videos and want to add a little music to make them more interesting, it pays (or more accurately, saves you money and frustration) to plan ahead.
The last thing you want is to have a really great video that is getting a lot of attention and you get slammed for an unlicensed usage violation and you have to take it down.
Youtube and Vimeo are just two sites that scan work uploaded to make sure it is not in violation of copyright laws. Now the good news is you can add music to your videos at little and sometimes no cost, but you have to have an idea where and how the videos will be viewed to make sure you pay for the right license.
So, if these things cost money, you might ask, why are they referred to as Royalty-free in some cases and Creative Commons by others? What do these terms mean?
Royalty-free refers to the right to use the intellectual property, in this case music, without having to pay a royalty or fee for each use. What that means is that you pay a single fee for the right to use the music on your website or in a video and it doesn't matter how many people actually go to the site to listen to it. You pay once and that's it.
There are additional fees if you choose to distribute the music by streaming or on CDs or make it available for download. That is what all the fuss is about over the music streamed on sites like Spotify.
Creative Commons licensing is similar, but you may not have to pay a fee. Some artists list their works under one of the Creative Commons licenses, which allow you some uses of the music as long as you attribute the work back to the artist, referring to him or her as part of the agreement.
If you are planning to create a series of videos that all share a common theme, and you want the same opening and closing music on all of them, it might be smart and least costly for you to purchase an extended license. These cost a little more, but with all the competition out there, it pays to negotiate.
If you know what you want and who created it, negotiate directly with the artist. Setting up a relationship with artists whose work you like may sound like hard work, but it is a lot easier than you might think. Artists may not be getting much money for the titles you are downloading from the Royalty-free and stock audio sites, so find what you like and then do some searching for the artist.
When all is said and done, though, the most frequented video sites now let you add tracks to your videos without having to pay a fee. If their library of tunes works for you, have fun. But if you need something special, or want a particular sound to set a mood or guide the viewer to action, taking the time to try out samples, test them in your cuts, and then purchase the right licenses makes your end-product much more likely to survive its own success.
Happy creating.
