How Much Does It Cost To License A Song
The cost to license a copyrighted song can vary widely. The cost for a song from a small independent artist might be less than $100, while a track by a major artist or label can run thousands of dollars. Some licenses might also charge you a percentage of revenue instead. The key is to carefully read the terms of the license to know what youre getting into. Licensing services like Getty and others have clear, easy to understand terms, which makes them an appealing option for creators.
Legally Free Music For Your Video Or Podcast
Where can you find legally free music for your YouTube video or podcast? Not just royalty-free, but really free? Learn about the different kinds of Creative Commons licenses and where you can find music thats free and legal for you to use in your videos and podcasts.
Where can you find legally free music for your YouTube video or podcast? Not just royalty-free, but really free? Musicians now have the technology to distribute their own music online, but without the help of a record company, theres no big marketing machine no budget, no industry contacts, no press. So how do they generate buzz for their music? One way is to let people like you use it for free.
Most free music is protected under licenses from Creative Commons a non-profit organization that gives authors the tools to share their work without giving up any rights under copyright law that they wish to reserve. The author retains copyright to the music, and the license spells out the terms under which the music may be used by the public. One of the most popular free music sites is Jamendo, but not all of its offerings are licensed for commercial use. If you are using your video or podcast to promote your business, be sure to choose music that is.
These Creative Commons licenses allow commercial use:
Here are some resources for Creative Commons music:
How To Determine Copyrights
There are three ways to tell if a song you want to use on your live stream is copyrighted or not :
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When & Why You Need The Permission To Use A Song
First of all, be aware of that when you need permission to use the music. It much depends on the way that you are planning to use it. Is it going to be in a private or public platform? For personal use or commercial use?
If you are simply making a video to enjoy with your friends or family, you’re on the safe side. You won’t need to get rights.
If you want to put the video on YouTube or share it on social media or use a piece of music in your business or client video, you should be prepared to do it lawfully, get the permission then legally use the copyrighted music.
Why should you take the music copyright seriously?
Let’s take a look at what happens if you use the copyrighted music illegally? – You must be asked to take it down and even face more severe consequences.
Take an example for using the copyrighted music without getting permission on YouTube:
You will get a copyright strike against your account or make the audio in your video muted. Any ad money might be given to the copyright holder, or worse, you could get sued.
Should I Care About Music Licensing
If youre working on a media project for your business or for a client, my suggestion is never to use any unlicensed content, especially music.
The common risks include:
1. Your video gets muted, removed, or complemented by third party ads.
2. Legal action by the copyright owner against you or your business.
3. Your reputation as a freelancer video editor gets ruined by negative feedback from clients learning you put unlicensed content in their videos.
Let me repeat. Never use unlicensed music in your business or client videos! Period.
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Sounds Complicated Is There An Easier Way
Tracking down publishers contact information and negotiating the license may not be neither quick nor easy.
Not to mention that, in many cases, using a popular commercial music track in your video may cost you a small fortune, not only in licensing fees but also in subsequent royalties paid either to the publisher or to the artists PRO .
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Dont Make These Mistakes
1. I can use any music as long as I give credit!
Thats not true. Giving credit is nice and is surely appreciated by the artist but it grants you no special rights.
The only exception I can think of is using Creative Commons with Attribution license that actually requires you to give credit, in order to use the music.
2. I can use any music as long as I dont make profit!
Once again, it does not matter whether you make money from your video or not. You still need permission if you plan to use somebody elses content.
3. I can use any music under fair-use law!
One can make an argument that you still can use copyrighted music under fair-use doctrine of the US copyright law.
If you plan to use fair-use as you line of defense against copyright claims, keep in mind that and wont work for business videos.
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How To Use Copyright Music On Instagram
If youve ever wanted to use copyright music on Instagram, youve likely struggled to find factual information. Some documentation suggests freedom with credit. Other information says otherwise. Thats made more complicated by changing rules over the years and different Instagram features. Today, were giving you ALL the rules and requirements to use copyright music on Instagram. Well also break it down by feature, enabling you to find the information youre seeking for the video youre creating!
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are subject to change. Always pay attention to Instagrams direct insight, as well as any in-app suggestions or restrictions. The nature of copyright music is ever-evolving, and as such, the best advice is only to use music you have the rights to use.
Why You Need Music In Your Live Streams
Music ups the production value of your live stream. Viewers pay more attention to broadcasts with music, and you can set a tone for your stream with music. If you want your viewers to feel a certain emotion while watching your stream, music is the easiest way to evoke it. An upbeat pop song can create excitement, a slow piano solo can invoke sadness, and some EDM will make your viewers feel ready to party.
When added at the right moments, music adds another layer to your broadcast. Even if you or your guests are extremely engaging speakers, the right music will put your live stream over the edge.
How can you use music during a live broadcast? Playing a jingle at the beginning of your stream as an intro helps cement your brand in viewers minds. Add music when you display your stream screen, before your broadcast starts, to set a mood for the rest of your stream. If you have guests, you can assign them a theme song for when they first appear.
Your live stream has endless opportunities for adding music. The only downside is ensuring you add music you have the right to play. Copyright infringement can get your stream shut down and get you in real trouble.
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Can I Use Any Song With A Cc License On It
Almost you need to make sure that what you want to do with the music is OK under the terms of the particular Creative Commons license its under. CC-licensed music isnt free for all uses, only some so make sure to check out the terms .
Most importantly, you need to use music that is not licensed under a No Derivative Works license. This means that the musician doesnt want you to change, transform, or make a derivative work using their music. Under CC licenses, synching the music to images amounts to transforming the music, so you cant legally use a song under a CC No Derivative Works license in your video.
Also, make sure to properly credit the musician and the track, as well as express the CC license the track is under. For example, you might include text like this at the end of your video:
This video features the song Desaprendere by fourstones, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
What Might Happen If You Dont Get Permission
Best case scenario, if you dont get copyright permission to use a piece of music in your video, you might be asked to take it down. But you might also face more severe consequences. For example, if you post your video on YouTube, you could get a copyright strike against your account or have the audio on your video muted Any ad money might be given to the copyright holder, or in a worst case scenario, you could get sued.
To avoid the legal headaches youll need to make sure you have explicit permission from the copyright holder to use any music.
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How To Get Permission To Use A Song
Copyright law is a complicated topic, but get it wrong and you could end up in hot water . You might think that if you dont intend to monetize your video or if youre just making a fan video, youre in the clear to use copyrighted music on YouTube. But thats far from the truth.
The fact is that unless your video is only for your personal use you must get permission from the copyright holder to use any music on YouTube. This is the best way to not run into any copyright issues but doing so isnt always easy. Even just tracking down the owner can be tricky, but this guide will walk you through how to legally use copyrighted music.
Most Music Falls Under Four Main Categories
Before we get started, lets review the four main categories most music you can use in a video falls under.
1. Copyrighted
This covers just about all popular music. DJ Khaleds record label wouldnt be too pleased if you used his tracks without paying first, so unless youve got deep pockets, heres a major key: Keep it legal and only use music from the remaining categories below.
2. Creative Commons
Creative Commons songs are copyrighted but can be used for free if you follow the specific terms and restrictions attached. There are a variety of different CC licenses. For an overview about Creative Commons, have a look at our help article. For more specific information, you can reference the Creative Commons website to get a closer look at the types of licenses and what they mean.
3. Royalty free
Royalty free doesnt mean free music. It means you pay a one-time fee to use a music track and then dont need to pay any royalties thereafter. Some may ask that you provide attribution or credit in return for using the music, and some may actually charge you to use it. Pro tip: Double-check to make sure.
4. Public domain
This refers to music where generally either 1.) the copyright expired or 2.) the copyright owner deliberately placed the song in the public domain. Most public domain resources usually fall under the former therefore, a lot of the music in this category is really, really old. Like, made-three-DJ-Khaleds-ago old. Read more about the public domain here.
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What To Know About Livestreaming Copyrighted Music
Kate Brannen Smith
The biggest determiner of whether you are allowed to livestream copyrighted music on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch is whether youre streaming a prerecorded version of a song or a live performance version of a song. Streaming prerecorded music is much harder to get away with, even if you have attained the correct licenses. And streaming live music is much easier to get away with, even if you havent attained the correct licenses. This blog post will walk you through the rules regarding streaming copyrighted music on streaming platforms Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.
Get A Creative Commons License
One of the simplest and by far the easiest ways to put your hands on the best music for your YouTube marketing videos is to get a license from Creative Commons.
The team of Creative Commons spend lots of time and resources to allow millions of people worldwide to use music in their projects free of charge. They encourage authors to introduce creative works and make them available for reuse by other people. No wonder, the number of YouTubers that obtain a CC BY license is growing by the day. This type of license enables you to use copyrighted materials for both commercial and non-commercial purposes through the YouTube Video Editor.
So, if youre OK with the fact that YouTube will automatically specify the source youve taken your background music from, go ahead and search for the best music to spruce up your next marketing video.
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How Do You Use Copyrighted Music On Facebook Legally
We have written about in the past, but the rules warrant another look as livestreaming continues to grow in popularity and Facebook continues to strike new deals with record labels.
As of 2018, i.e., the three biggest labels in the world on licensing agreements that both enabled use of these companies music by users on Facebook platforms and paved a way for musicians to profit off the use of their music.
The amount of recorded music youre allowed to livestream, however, is still limited, as Facebook delineated in a set of updated guidelines published in late 2020 on both and . Here are the main takeaways:
- Live performances: permitted. Music in stories and traditional live music performances are permitted, writes Facebook.
- Full-length recorded tracks: iffy. The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited, writes Facebook. By limited, Facebook means the content may be made unavailable in certain areas, muted, or blocked entirely.
- Short clips of music: permitted. Though they give no specifications around whats considered short, Facebook says short clips are permitted.
- Audio without a visual component: not permitted. Every video with music must have some visual component. Basically, you cant treat Facebook platforms like music-sharing platforms.
Can I Use Copyrighted Music In A Video Game
From Guitar Hero to SingStar, many video games use popular songs as backing tracks or as part of the gaming experience. Whether you can use copyrighted music in a video game is a question of copyright law. This article sets out what music you can legally use in your video game.
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How Youtube Finds Copyright Violations
YouTube relies on its business partners and creators to make revenue. As a result, the issue of copyright violation is one that theyve invested time and money into tackling. One reason is that they need creators to keep posting content without the fear of being ripped off. Another is that YouTube could be the target of countless lawsuits from creators whose material are copied through the platform.
To settle copyright violations, YouTube uses a Content ID system. Nearly all copyright disputes are solved using this system. The original content owners give YouTube audio or video files of their work. These files are converted into a digital fingerprint and added to the systems database. The Content ID bot roams through the YouTube server, comparing fingerprints to every byte of data uploaded. Once a match is found, the original content owner is notified and given options to take action.
The Content ID system works. There are several examples of creators trying to fool the system by speeding up their video, changing voice pitches, adding random elements, and so on. They eventually get caught. The only reason why some channels have not been flagged yet is that the system is not on a lookout for their particular content. If the original creator informs YouTube and adds their content to the systems database, all channels in violation will be caught eventually.
Can I Legally Use Copyrighted Music In Commercial Marketing Videos
Either if you make marketing videos for your own small business or create content for your clients, you will eventually find yourself in need of legal background music.
As a rule of thumb, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner to use any copyrighted material, even when working on strictly non-commercial projects.
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Search Within The Public Domain
There is a common misconception that all those tracks you can find within the public domain are not worth the effort. In fact, the public domain is a great place to start searching for some great musical compositions for your product demonstration video, branded mini-documentary, explainer, a video pitch, or other type of marketing videos. Here, you can find lots of songs and tracks that have become classics. Today, lots of websites offer rich collections of musical works and royalty free music from the public domain. Just sift through the curated lists of the tunes and songs until you hit on something that suits your taste or your individual project.
If you find an old song on your own, dont rush to use it in your video. Make sure that your preferred composition isnt protected by copyright law. A good rule of thumb is to check its release date. Should it be later than 1922, keep on looking further. That being said, it would be wise to check your countrys copyright laws just to be on the safe side.