When music and video work together perfectly, it feels magical. When you choose music that really fits your marketing video, your message suddenly feels more coherent. It packs a bigger emotional punch. These results mean music selection is worth the effort.
Music copyright rules can make the process more complicated than you might think. With help from our own music guru, Jared Paul, we’ll explore the two main ways people choose music for marketing videos, while respecting artists and copyright laws.
The two options are:
- Commission an original piece
- License pre-existing music
You might think you know which one you want, but the choice may not be as black and white as you think.
When to Start Thinking About Music for Marketing Videos
If you wait until the last minute to choose music for your video, you may not be pleased with the results. Plan ahead so you have the time and budget to find (or commission the right music).
For animation projects, you can start thinking about music as soon as you have a storyboard and character designs. By that point, the mood and tone of your video should be clear, and you can focus on music choices that match. (You can also choose music early on and allow it to inform your creative decisions.)
Our experience is that music can affect the timing of edits and movement, so it should definitely be in place by the animatic stage for animated videos. If you are going to record original music, you can use a preliminary recording, known as a scratch track, to help with pacing and refine it later.
How Much Does Music Licensing Cost?
Set aside 8-12% of your video budget for music. You might need a little more if you plan to compose and record original music. But original compositions often aren’t as expensive as licensing a popular song.
We know of projects where the licensed music took up more than half of the budget. On the other hand, if you’re choosing from a royalty-free music library, you might get away with a little less.
Composing and recording might be more affordable than you think. Some home-studio composers provide good results starting at about $1,000. Find the right composer and the results can really elevate your video. Just remember that perfecting a composition can take time. Make sure you build that into your project timeline.
The video linked below includes original music by Michael Mancini. We built the Indiana 811 video around his composition, and it added life and personality to the video.
Licensing original music might seem more budget-friendly, and it can be. However, if you want to license a popular song, the costs add up quickly. The process can also be time-consuming, so don’t forget to build that into your timeline. Royalty-free music libraries are quickest to work with and can offer a wide range of options.
Pros and Cons of Different Music Sources
The main benefit of commissioning an original soundtrack is that you can get music that perfectly fits your project and vision. Working directly with a composer gives you a lot of creative flexibility, and they can make adjustments as needed.
The drawback for some projects is cost and time. The cost rises depending on the length of the song, complexity of composition, and, often, the skill level of the composer. Composing an original piece can also take weeks or months, which might not fit your timeline.
Licensing an existing song is much faster — nearly instant in some cases. However, you’re limited by the decisions the composer has already made. It can sometimes be overwhelming to find the best fit from among the hundreds or thousands of pieces in an online licensing library. You may also wonder whether and how this piece has been used in other advertising, and whether viewers will recognize it.
The benefit to licensing an existing song is that it’s fast and often affordable. However, cost depends on the popularity of the song and who owns the license.
Tips for Recording An Original Soundtrack
Modern composers have high-quality instrument samples and music editing tools on their desktop and a composer working in their studio can create respectable orchestral effects. Of course, samples will never match the work of talented session musicians, but often all it takes is a single real instrument – recorded live – to lift a recording and give it warmth and professionalism.
But why bother recording original music at all? Imagine that you spend the first third of your marketing video talking about a pain point. Then the customer finds the product that solves their problem. Things start looking up! You can’t take the viewer on that turn unless the mood of the music changes in the right way and at the right time. A composer can hit cues so the music participates in the storytelling.
For example, in this video for The Spice Hunter, notice how the custom soundtrack evokes the sounds and musical styles of different regions of the world.
On the other hand, if you’re not using the music as a storytelling device, you might not need a custom soundtrack. In that case, you’ll probably get more affordable results with something pre-recorded that fits the mood of your video.
Licensing Music for Marketing Videos
Music licensing for video can get complex. You need permission from the copyright holders to use any kind of music in your video. And a single song can have multiple copyright holders, including composers, performers, lyricists, and publishers. A music clearance service can help with popular songs, but you may need to wait months for a result.
An online royalty-free music library is the easier and more affordable option. Their search tools that let you look for music based on style, tempo, orchestration, or mood. Here are some of the services we have used, along with some comments from our music guru Jared Paul:
- NeoSounds: Three tiers, with prices starting at $34.95 per track. They have useful search tools that can help you find music by mood, style, or instrumentation.
- Premium Beat: A service from shutterstock. You can subscribe to get unlimited downloads for client projects starting at $39.99 per month.
Jared says: “Premium Beat offers great value, with quality tracks at price points friendly to indie producers and small businesses.”
- Artlist – One of the more versatile solutions on this list, Artlist offers more than just music. You can also get SFX, footage and templates to polish your projects. Commercial use plans start at $16.58 per month.
The services above are affordable whether you’re making one video or a whole Youtube channel. The following services can sometimes be a bit more expensive, but usually still in the hundreds.
- Music Bed: Licenses are based on usage and the size of your company. Annual subscriptions for businesses start at $99.99 per month. Or you can pay for a single song at $349.
Jared says: “Music Bed tends to have tracks from up-and-coming artists and bands, who would be writing the songs anyway for themselves and their fans, rather than specifically for production use, so sometimes their tracks sound a bit more authentic.”
- Music for Productions: This is a more professionally oriented service, based in Montreal. Their new pricing model is broken down by usage type including: personal, non-profit, wedding, business and enterprise. Brands will pay around $199 per song or $89 per month for a subscription.
- VideoHelper: Publishes no pricing information on their website. You’ll have to select a song and fill out a lengthy form with information about your project before they will email you with a quote for the prie.
Jared says: “VideoHelper tracks are carefully crafted to have multiple good breaks and built-in edit points, which gives a lot of good options for editing.”
Most of these services allow you to download a sample to try out on your cut. They may put an audio watermark on the file or provide a lo-fi version of the track in order to discourage non-payment. Once you are happy with your music, you can pay for the license and obtain a high-quality, mark-free file.
What to Consider When Choosing Music for Marketing Videos
So far we’ve talked about where to find music for marketing videos. But how do you know which track to choose? Each of these platforms has thousands of songs. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. These four factors can help narrow down your choices.
1. Budget – The most straightforward factor influencing your music choices. Knowing your budget before you start looking will limit your choices to what you can afford.
2. Tone and Mood – You want a piece of music that matches the mood of your video and the story you’re telling. Keep your video branding guidelines in mind too, so you can choose music that fits both this video and your overall brand style.
3. Audience – Ideally, an understanding of your audience informs all of your video marketing decisions. Music is no exception. Think about the style of music your audience is most likely to enjoy and identify with.
4. Pacing – Look for music that matches the pace and speed of your video. The number of beats per minute matters here.
How To Edit Your Soundtrack
If you choose library music, you might need to edit it to fit your video cut. Follow a few simple guidelines to unite video and music into a seamless experience for your viewers.
- Figure out the structure of the music. Try to preserve that structure as much as you can. For example, you don’t want to put two choruses back-to-back.
- Try to keep the beat when you make a cut.
- Try not to change the key abruptly.
- Experiment with straight cuts (changing the music with the scene) and very short crossfades (fading two tracks in and out over 2 to 4 frames) to see what sounds best.
Follow these rules, and your cuts are more likely to sound natural. If the idea of editing your own soundtrack frightens you, look for an audio editor to help.
It’s Worth the Effort to Find the Right Music For Marketing Videos
Whether you have commissioned an original piece or licensed an existing track, music has the power to complete a video experience. Don’t settle: the sweat and resources you put into music will be paid back to you many times over.
For help uniting music and video into a seamless marketing video, contact the experts at IdeaRocket.
