Whether its an ad, tutorial, YouTube video, or travel video, not having correct music sucks. To be honest, finding the right music is not that easy. Unfortunately, you can’t take tracks from your favorite artists and put them into your project. Video music is a sensitive term. Therefore, the term music licensing was coined. But, it is a procedural approach. So, let me guide you on to “how to license music for a video”.
What is a Music License exactly?
Music license is simply an agreement between the music owner and music user that says it is okay to use their music. Likewise, this is a win-win situation where artists receives royalties (payment) from their work, and the user can find music for their project. Music licensing is a business in itself. In the other hand, audience will get the audio and video music in the convenient ways.
Let’s clear some misconceptions regarding music license for a video:
- Simply giving credit to music creators without also paying for the use of their work does not grant you a music license.
- Similarly, DO NOT mistake the label ‘royalty-free’ to mean that music is free for you to use. It only refers to the music being free of royalties, just like the term ‘duty -free’ does not mean completely free of cost. Therefore, Royalty free music means that you have the ability to use the music as long as you like and as many times as you want once the royalty is paid. You can learn more with Royalty Free Music.
There are two types of music license in a video:
#1 Synchronization license
This license is given directly from a publisher. But, it’s a typically tedious and expensive process to synch license, when for a popular artist. If the artist wrote the song and owns the publishing rights,then you will need to contact them directly. The process is:
- Find the correct music publisher for the track you want.
- Request a quote.
- Wait, wait & wait
- Enter into the real contract.
#2 Master License
On other hand, a master use license generally comes from a recording label. In this case, you need to contact the record label who owns the recording of the track, which may or may not be different from the publisher (or, if the artist owns rights to their own publishing and recording, then you will need to contact them directly). Again, depending on the company and artist, it can be a tedious and expensive process, resembling the same steps as the synch license.
Now let’s explore some of the alternative ways to license music:
- Public Domain Music– Particular music falls in the Public Domain if no owns a copyright to it. Different countries have varying public domain copyright terms, so make sure to do your research!
- Stock or Production Music– Comes with a combined master and synch licenses already established. Since pre-authorization from both the composer and recording agent are already granted, using this music thus saves you all of the work to obtain these permissions. This is where a music licensing company plays a vital role.
- Creative Commons Music: Creative Common is a system that allow users to legally use some rights reserved music for free. It is denoted by CC and creative common license permits you to legally share or use music and songs online. You should still give credit to the author of the work, and there might be other certain restrictions with your use of the music.
Music Licensing Companies
A perfect solution to your needs
Licensing companies are introduced to accommodate buyers. They act as a
bridge between crear and user, saving them from having to be involved in the legal process of licensing. Who wants to spend their time on that? Moreover, you should be busy creating instead.
So, if you want to rise beyond all the limitations and give stronger wings to your video content, a Music license company is your ideal solution. The process is simple and far better to make your content stand out in the crowd.
To give you an overview, here is an example of the BAM Music licensing process.
Most current music licensing companies, including BAM, have simplified the music licensing process so that you can do everything online yourself, or get a custom quote. All you need to do is:
1: Browse & find music on the website.
2: Register & download for free
3: Choose the correct license from those offered (or get in touch for a custom quote).
4: License online with a credit card or PayPal.
To find the right license type, check it out on BAM’s licensing page, as shown below. From the time you choose one, it takes about 3 minutes to license and you’are covered.
If you do not find the licensing type you are looking for, then you can request services like:
#Music Search
It can be easy to get inundated with all of the music in the library. So many good options! But not to worry, we have sound and synch experts at BAM Music to help you find the music that best fits your project.
# Customize Music
So, you found a track you love but hate that horn part that comes in at 0:15. No problem! Let the licensing company assist you and rework the track to make it work for your content.
#Commissioned Music
Not all licensing companies have music commissioning. Since BAM started as a commission music company, from the beginning, we have a whole network of composers delivering for Netflix, BBC, Endemol, and so many more. So, you can trust them for elevating your creation with custom music. 2 composers started the video music back then to bring fresh and creative music to creators.
There are many companies out there with proper licensing guidance. Take a few minutes to research a few of these music licensing companies.
Here are some pointers to pick the best find which music library for you, as different music libraries offer different things:
- Licensing deal structure, particularly length of contract, territories allowed for use, and types of media addressed in the terms.
- Music catalogs and quality of music.
- Attentiveness and assistance from the company when you have questions.
Gone are the days of struggling to find the right music and license it for your video. You are a creator-leave the technical aspects of licensing to the licensing companies and get on with your projects! With +30,000 tracks by real artists, you can turn up your stories and license with the help of BAM.
