I just wanted to see other's opinions on what the most popular websites are that provide license and/or royalty free music?

For me, the best one is Audio Network - Production Music Library (http://www.audionetworkplc.com) . I found them when I was searching for corporate video music, and I found a site that has top quality music for every use! A bit more expensive than the average royalty free site, but still affordable.

www.Stock20.com - Flash Detection (http://www.stock20.com) is pretty cheap & easy to use. One thing I like is each song you buy you get several different lengths (10 sec, 20 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, 1min 20 sec, 2 min etc).. Usually it seems I get about a dozen versions & lengths.

Creative Commons (http://www.creativecommons.com) has links to excellent, free-to-use music. Some you can use for commercial purposes as long as you credit the composer. I favour one web site in particular that has professional material, but I won't share the link for fear that the demand will drive him to start charging. :-)

Thanks for all the responses. I'm currently using Triple Scoop Music and am getting bored with it's selection of instrumentals and vocals. The featured artists are ones my brides never recognize, so I feel they're a bit disappointed with the music used in their highlights. Any suggestions?

You won`t find easily-recognizeable music for free.

I'm willing to pay, I just need to find a place that will sell it to me.

Problem is, if it's something the bride will find familiar, the license will cost you more than what you'll get paid.

That's not entirely true. Over the years we've had plenty of people report varying experiences on this issue; some have said that licensing costs were out of their reach while others have had to pay only a nominal fee, or even none at all (Moby, for instance, is one artist making his work available free of charge for applications such as limited-run wedding video). It just depends. There is no one set answer for this. It might be prohibitively expensive and then again it might not. You'll have to contact the specific publisher directly and find out for yourself.

I use this site sometimes, although usually not for wedding stuff

dig.ccmixter “You already have permission…” (http://dig.ccmixter.org/)

on another note, why does it matter if you use copyright materials in wedding videos? Because of potential internet distribution?

Joe

Blue Umbrella Studios
Wedding photo and video in Austin, Texas
Blue Umbrella Studios » Wedding photo and video in Austin, Texas (http://www.blueumbrellastudios.com)

Have you noticed that even well know tunes are now re-recorded by new artistes for commercial, movies etc. Using the real thing is just out of consideration for even big budget work. Some are very, very similar - others not so.

Joe,

It's illegal to use copyrighted music in wedding videos if I plan on selling the dvds or putting the videos on a website (personal,youtube, vimeo, etc.) I need licenses to do that. Vimeo is in the middle of a lawsuit and I don't intend on being next on that list....

These people have been posting on filmmaking groups on Facebook. They're based in the UK. Haven't given their work a listen, though...

We are an independent record label and publishing company not a big bad corporation out to sue people for file sharing, we WANT them to spread our music around. Most of our catalog has been released under a Creative Commons License and is free to download. Are you an independent filmmaker ? If you need free creative commons... music for your productions follow the link and give us a listen. If you hear anything you like just message me and I'll get back to you.
Pete Smith | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=656132090&v=app_2405167945&ref=profile)



J.

I posted a similar question elsewhere and got the below reply. Strangely enough, I just got a phone call yesterday from that Songfreedom company he mentions. They said they'll be launching in a month and will be offering the rights to songs like "Hey Soul Sister" and "I'm Yours". Hopefully this is true because this is exactly what I've been looking for!



Hello Aaron!

We've been struggling with the same issue. We've had to weigh staying popular against staying legal. We like using big songs... but we don't like getting sued...

We've been using zoomlicense.com lately but none of that music is ever a bride's first choice and you're not going to find Jason Mraz on there. There just really isn't much out there, at least that I've found, that will give you truly "popular" music short of forking out thousands for a license from a record company.

We got some email from a place called "Songfreedom" a little while back. They're apparently working out a deal with record companies to make it easier to get that music, but their website doesn't seem to have launched yet, so I don't know what to expect. I'm keeping an eye on it though... might make a good replacement for my instrumental catalog, lol. It's Songfreedom.com (http://www.songfreedom.com) if you want to check that one out.

I'm afraid I'm no more help than that though. If you find something, let me know! Good luck!

-Tommy

we recently launched withetiquette.com which was created for the photo and cinema industries that we work in. the idea was to find independent artists with music that is created with the same passion that our films and photos are. we are adding more artists frequently and are looking to diversify our offerings in teh coming 6 months.

P.

Thanks for the info Patrick. We do have the occasional bride who's looking for music with an indie feel but the majority of my brides want music they are familiar with. I looked further into the Songfreedom company and it looks like they're going to offer a mix of popular music and some up and coming artists from major labels. You mentioned that Withetiquette is planning to diversify at some point...but will this include songs like "Hey Soul Sister" and "I'm Yours" like Songfreedom is? I couldn't find pricing on your website but I know that Songfreedom is offering their entire library for less than $75 a month...are you doing something comparable?

If you want great music that doesn't sound like 'canned' production music, Tune Society (www.tunsociety.com) is a great place to purchase/license music. It's all royalty free and easy to use.

I've used it for several productions and the music is incredible.

Hope this helps...

Aaron,

Just came across this. If you are still looking for popular music and cool indie music then you're in luck. Songfreedom.com is up and running but doesn't cost $74.99/month. It's actually $39.98/month or $480/ year for unlimited use of music in the catalog. I'm not sure how many weddings you do but if you do 20 then you're cost per song equivalent is only $24. Hope that helps. As Patrick mentioned, withetiquette offers some great indie music as well. I believe you asked about their pricing and last I checked it was around $99/song. Obviously that could add up for the average cinematographer doing 20 weddings (around $2k/year) but you may find some songs you really like that are worth the money. I think the bottom line is that it's great that people like you are looking for a legal way to use music. And it's also great that people like Patrick are stepping up so there are multiple choices for everyone.

Matt Thompson
President & CEO
Songfreedom.com

Hey Matt,

I like the looks of the site, but having problems getting audio previews to play. It pulls up a Yahoo search with a bunch of links to different sites, some look suspicious. Not talking about the I-Tunes previews, but the ones that have the blue play button. Need to make it easier for prospective clients to browse the offerings.

However, I have bookmarked your site.

Aaron,

not sure if u're still looking for music as there's this site that's currently offering free royalty free music and u only need to link back to their site for now.

it's here, Free Royalty Free Music, Free Sound Effects (http://www.jewelbeat.com)

you could email them to ask for more details.

hope it helps. =)

We use Royalty Free Music, Sound Effects and Editing Software - SmartSound (http://www.smartsound.com/) which has a very wide selection of excellent royalty-free music. The neat thing is that using the software SonicFire Pro you can manipulate the tracks (adjusting the mix or tempo) & create your own customised versions. It all very nicely integrates with Final Cut but can be used with Windows too. Even better is that nowadays you can buy individual tracks instead of buying a whole album just for one piece. You can browse their whole catalogue online & just choose & pay for the music you actually use.