Are you looking for great music but don’t have enough money to hire a composer for your next film? There are many great pieces of music that can be used for your next film that are free or available in the public domain. It doesn’t matter if you are a professional filmmaker or just starting out on YouTube, having a great soundtrack to accompany your visual masterpiece will make all the difference.
Nothing is more frustrating than clicking through dozens of MPEG and WAV links in search of good music only to discover poor quality, poorly recorded files. There are some sites that provide excellent songs with high quality arrangements and were recorded in professional studios. You can sort the music by genre on these sites to make it easier to find the best songs.
Here is a list of key points to consider when selecting a royalty-free music website. These suggestions should help you find the music that you are looking for. Remember that the most difficult part of finding great music is sorting through all the junk after you find a site. Sites that provide the best music and are easy-to-use will be your top choice. You should also look for sites that have been professionally designed and include real-time players so you can listen to the songs. To save the songs to your computer, you will need an instant download button. It is important to find a safe site and offer their music free of charge.
If you’re using the music for a purpose other than personal (e.g., uploading a YouTube video), you’ll still need to add an attribute to your work. You may need to pay a one time licensing fee, perhaps 25 or 50 dollars for commercial use. But that’s it.
Here are my top ten things to look out for on royalty-free music websites.
1. Downloads available for free
Free downloads of their music are a good option. Move on to the next site if they ask for money upfront.
2. Real-time player
A great site will include a music player that allows you to quickly and easily listen to a song. This may seem obvious, but it’s not.
3. Pages that are easy to navigate
Look for sites that have their music classified by genres and music styles.
4. Quality sound
If all of the songs sound terrible, what good is a thousand songs? You can hear the difference between music recorded in a professional studio and music recorded in someone’s home bathroom by listening to just a few samples.
5. Options for licensing
While the best sites offer music free of charge, those wanting to use it for YouTube videos or Facebook posts will need a Creative Commons licence. A quality site will also offer a standard license to filmmakers and commercial applications Fakaza.
6. Each song has both vocal and non-vocal mixes
It’s a great idea to be able mix your soundtrack with a recurring theme. You might want to begin with an instrumental version of a song and then use it during the closing credits. This Hollywood trick is used by some of the most talented filmmakers. Remember Titanic?
7. Visual Representation of each song
Sites may offer a picture or photo of the song’s ‘feeling’. This is a great way to quickly browse song titles.
8. Limited Quantity
Sometimes, bigger is not always better. There are many sites that offer a huge selection of music. Sometimes, less is more. It is not practical to look through 10,000 songs.
9. Search for Feature
You can use the search function on some sites to narrow down your search results. To find songs that interest you, you can use the search feature to narrow down your results.
10. Custom Music Services
Many sites offer music producers to hire that can create original music for commercial projects or movies.
How can you tell if a song you like has been used before? It’s impossible to know how many people have used the song you want. It might be better to choose smaller websites that are less well-known and take the lesser traveled route. If you do some digging, there are plenty of royalty-free music.