Music is often the special ingredient that establishes the level of quality in your marketing video, podcast, website or presentation. Unfortunately, the laws that determine how various types of copyrighted or licensed music can be used – and how much you need to pay for permission to use it – can be a confusing. This overview just scratches the surface. If you are a professional musician or want to re-sell music, you should seek legal advice from an expert in intellectual property and licensing rights.
How do you want to use the music?
For presentations and podcasts, you most likely are going to use music that falls into one or two categories: Royalty Free and Creative Commons licensed. Sorry to add to the confusion, but music can at times be both royalty free and Creative Commons licensed. Fortunately, that shouldn’t matter in the following explanation. (We will touch a third rarely-used category after describing these.)
| Royalty Free music
The most confusing thing about the term “royalty-free” is this: It doesn’t mean the music is free to use. The term “free” means that you pay only once for the right to use the music in your presentation. In the licensing world (including photography and artwork also), the term “royalty” typically refers to a recurring charge for usage. Royalty free music is very similar to stock photography. In most cases, you are not commissioning the music, you are looking for music that fits the mood or theme of your presentation, video or podcast.
(Note: If you are commissioning music from a friend, you should look at the Creative Commons licensing section below in order to find the license agreement you and the creator want to follow.)
Royalty free music sources
Royalty free organizations operate in ways similar to stock photography companies. Some charge a monthly fee or for a collection of tunes. In most cases, however, the license holder charges per tune.
Sources for free and royalty free music
If your video is intended for YouTube, you may want to check out the YouTube Audio Libary. Many major artists allow their music to be played with your video because they earn royalties from YouTube for those plays.
| Creative Commons licensed
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that was formed in the early days of the web to encourage open-source intellectual property licenses. Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright but replace individual negotiations for specific rights between copyright owner (licensor) and licensee.
Sources for Creative Commons licensed music
Note: These are just a few sources. And remember, Creative Commons licensed music doesn’t necessarily mean free. You must read the specific license the creator is using to make sure what conditions you must follow. (We’ve explained the various licenses here.) The benefit of Creative Commons has to do with the common licensing approach that makes it easy and free to impliment the types of rights the creator wants to cover his or her work.
FreeMusicArchive.com | Check out their license guide, a good description of how Creative Commons licensed music works.
| Using commercially popular music
(Note: If your video is intended for YouTube, before reading the instructions below, refer to the YouTube Audio Library)
The revenues related to the music you hear on the radio, in movies, on TV and other media channels is typically managed by a “performance rights” organization. The two largest are BMI and ASCAP. They both have categories of licensing and royalties that cover usage on websites, podcasts, and presentations. However, these fees can be quite expensive and are recurring. You can get more information on their websites: BMI.com and ASCAP.com.