Have you ever finished watching a movie where you felt like the soundtrack to the film took it from being good to being amazing? I know I have. The right music has the power to set anything it touches on fire. In fact, music is actually power in itself in a lot of situations. When it comes to choosing music for your business video, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered in the process, which is what we are here to talk about today. There is a business side of things as well as a creative side of things, and when it all comes together in the end, music can bring your business video to life.
The Art of Song Selection
Like any successful pairing of soundtrack and picture, music can provide so many elements to a story. It can bring emotional depth, it can brighten a moment of euphoria, and it can drive home the feel of an entire story. Music can play a powerful lead role in your business video, or it can play a more supporting role. The choice is yours.
Defining the Role of Music in Your Video
Speaking of roles, what is the role of the music in your business video? Once you have an outlined idea for your video, this is one of the first questions to be answered before choosing the music for your video.
· Are you using music to draw your audience in and hold their attention? Videos without much dialogue will usually benefit from music that will play a more assertive role in grabbing your audience’s attention.
· Do you want your audience’s main focus to be on the dialogue of your business video? In this case, you would benefit from choosing music that can serve as a supporting background that is aligned with your video’s message. In other words, you don’t want the music to be a distraction from the message being imparted.
Keep it Consistent with your Brand
Music also plays a huge role in defining your brand’s identity, so keep that in mind. Music has a way of programming itself into the brains of your audience and using that music to identify with your particular brand upon recall in the future.
Be Patient and Tell the Right Story
What words would you use to describe the story of your video? Keep those same words in mind when you are looking for music. The process of choosing a song for your business video can take some time. It can also be overwhelming when searching through so many music choices all at once, so step away from the creative process when needed.
Pay Attention to Copyright Laws
There are a lot of grey areas involved with copyright laws and trying to figure out what is and isn’t considered a violation of those laws can literally make your head spin. This is especially true with the issue of copyrighted music and audio. So, it is important to do your research to be sure that your video isn’t in violation.
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· The easiest way to avoid copyright violations is to create original content. For music savvy folks, you can probably do this on your own. However, you can also hire a professional who can help.
· Ask yourself this question – “Am I inhibiting the original artist’s ability to earn money from this piece of work/song?”
· If the music that you are using is not in the public domain, you will need to obtain a license to use it, and the more formal the license the more protected you will be.
Where Can I Find Music for my Business Video?
So, where do you go to find the music to use for your business video? Well, there are many different websites that serve as royalty free music resources. However, it is important to be careful when obtaining music from any website – make sure that it is a reputable source that has the appropriate licenses/permissions to cover all the bases.
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· Incompetech is one of the most popular royalty free music sites and allows you to select music based on genre, mood or instrument.
· CCMixter is another great site – make sure that you select the ‘Free for Commercial Use’ licensing option and you are good to go.
· Free Stock Music is a free music resource that offers a wide selection of music content that is completely free and easily searchable.
Are you ready to incorporate video into your marketing strategy? Reach out to us at The Storyteller Agency. Call us at 850.267.0931 or send us an email to info@storytelleragency.com. We can fulfill all of your marketing and video production needs and do so in a creative way that will set you apart from your competition.