What is Royalty-Free Music and How Can I Use It: A Step By Step Guide

    If you are a filmmaker or the producer of any form of visual content, you need to sign-up with a royalty-free music provider. If you don’t know what royalty-free music is or how to use it, then you are in luck as we are about to educate you on the benefits of a service that is perfect for 2021 and beyond. 

    When it comes to finding the right music to score your film or video project, you have a number of options at your disposal. Some are costly, others are complicated, and one option is a more intelligent choice all around.

    Selecting the right music to fit your project is key to the success of your overall production, and as such, you want to be able to access as much musical output as possible. Those new to scoring projects may initially be considering using existing mainstream music, only to find the costs are prohibitive and securing permission is something of a minefield.

    Others may hope to use music that is without copyright only to find that avenue doesn’t really exist or isn’t suitable. Simply put, music that has seen its copyright expire is almost always in relation to music that was recorded at least 75 years ago and therefore isn’t likely to suit any modern production.

    So, what about royalty-free music?

    What is Royalty-Free Music

    Royalty-free music is a fast-growing industry that offers you a cast catalog of great music for an inexpensive fee and does so without the need to sort out additional licenses. It’s a market that has become hugely popular with filmmakers and social media influencers and could be the right option for you.

    The music offered by royalty-free music providers is produced by singers, musicians, DJs, and bands who align themselves with a relevant company, and it’s a regularly updating database of music that will cover all your needs.

    Why You Need It

    Those who have tried to find music prior to the advent of royalty-free music will tell you that the process is lengthy and resource-heavy. Where previously the number of available options was few and far between, now you have a world of choice at your fingertips.

    The Benefits of Royalty-Free Music

    Perhaps the most significant benefit of royalty-free music is the scale of what’s on offer. A good provider will have thousands of songs and samples neatly organized according to themes and styles. 

    They will also have an SFX (sound effects) library, which will prove invaluable, and the best thing about all of this is that the libraries are constantly updating so that whenever you delve in, you come across new options. 

    The costs associated with royalty-free music, which is usually offered on a subscription basis, are far cheaper than trying to clear even a single track of mainstream music. In all honesty, choosing a song via an extensive database will almost certainly be more relevant to your production than randomly selecting a song you heard on the radio. 

    In this way, royalty-free music is very much fit for purpose and an ideal choice for anyone who’s looking for quality musical accompaniment for their projects.

    What to Look for In a Royalty-Free Music Provider

    There are now many options in the royalty-free music sphere, and now is the right time to select one as the pricing has been kept competitive. There are some key factors to keep in mind when choosing your provider.

    Look for a company that offers high-quality music files and one that regularly updates its selection.  It’s useful to note just what genres and styles of music are covered by the provider and also whether their interface is intuitive. 

    The best providers have systems that make it a breeze to search through thousands of files at ease. 

    There are many good royalty-free music providers, but there’s one that stands out of the crowd, and that’s Artlist. The quality of their product is such that even those who are not aware of the industry are still acquainted with the name of the brand.

    They offer a few great incentives to get you to sign-up, one of which guarantees you that any music you download remains your property even if you choose to leave their service. This is the kind of additional detailing that makes them a true leader in the royalty-free music space.

    A Rapidly Growing Industry

    We have all become voracious consumers of visual content. Whether that’s when we scroll endlessly through our social media feeds or when we tune in to the latest show on a streaming service. This boom in content production is one of the main drivers that have made royalty-free music so huge, and the market is now very mature, and that means that as a user, the service is now far more effective than it once was.

    Now is the opportune time to consider a trial with any of the better brands in the market, and no doubt, the experience will prove far more smooth than any other avenue you might consider when putting a soundtrack to your projects.

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