The use of a musical soundtrack for your video projects, be they short-films or social media posts, is crucial. It’s something people don’t really appreciate until they notice the music attached to films is either not there or just plain sub-standard.
We are media consumers have become very adept at picking up the nuances of the audio that runs parallel to the visual, and the countless number of items of filmed content we view every day has led to us being very clued up on the matter.
A viewer can tell if the ambiance isn’t effectively served by a soundtrack and is more than capable of noticing if the musical accompaniment to filmed content just doesn’t fit. That’s why as a media producer you simply can’t afford to get it wrong as there are literally millions of other content providers who will eagerly snap up your viewership.
Five Reasons You Should Use Public Domain Music
In short, they are as follows
- Free of charge
- Avoiding punishment for illegal use of licensed Music
- Ease of Use
- Wide range of music available
- Unique
Music Can Be Costly
Using music on your video project can end up being far more costly than you might think unless of course, you happen to know a number of quality musicians who don’t mind working for free.
Using existing mainstream music as a soundtrack to your project will prove very expensive and there is no way around the licensing issues related to doing so. We strongly advise electing to use existing tracks without the relevant permission as it will certainly lead to your social media accounts being deleted and a punishment that could lead to a large fine.
Royalty-Free Music
Another, more inexpensive option, is to use a good royalty-free music provider which can offer you a very cost-effective option when it comes to putting together your video’s soundtrack.
Whether it’s a good track or song you’d like to use of high-quality SFX, these can both be secured at a royalty-free music provider. Essentially royalty-free means music that isn’t licensed to a large publishing company and can be available for a one-off fee that is far lower than using recognized music that is well known.
The rise in user-generated content has led to a plethora of websites offering massive libraries’ worth of music and SFX for your use, all available for a low subscription fee, which is even more relevant if you plan on making a number of videos.
The Clever Affordable Option That’s Free
Another option to consider, and one that costs precisely nothing, is the use of music that is available in the public domain.
Public domain music is music that is available without the need for a license or payment and is available to anyone who wishes to use it.
Music enters the public domain for a number of reasons. Most commonly it covers the music that was made prior to the need for a music license, and this covers all manner of classical music.
It can also cover music that was covered by copyright of license but that license has since expired and as such is now available for you to use in your film, video, or social media posts.
As you may have guessed, a lot of this musical output is rather old and as such may not be as relevant for some content you are producing but on the other hand, may also be ideal.
For instance, you may be filming a period drama or a historical epic, in which case the ‘dated’ sense of the public domain music will prove ideal.
Time to Get Searching
There are a lot of great public domain songs that you can use and they can be easily found on relevant sites that cover the topic and offer links to the relevant musical content in high-quality formats. Be aware that some sites may charge you for the downloading of the physical track itself, this is to cover the costs of their recording and is still relatively low in price.
Much like the research, and thought-process, behind looking through immense libraries of royalty-free music in search of the perfect soundtrack for your film project, looking for the ideal piece of the public domain is very much a process.
However, it’s clear that there is a wealth of available music out there and all of it available for little nothing, which will suit your budget whatever the size.
Happy hunting.
