“Music is the soundtrack to life,” right? With Dick Clarke’s profound words ringing true, your killer YouTube (or Instagram, Facebook, or Twitch) video sometimes just isn’t the same without music.
Of course, it goes without saying that having good background music can make a big difference to the quality and mood of your video. However, these platforms have policies regarding the use of copyrighted music. Copyright laws are stringent, and understandably these sites need to uphold these laws.
YouTube has various methods of identifying and flagging users who violate copyright rules. If they find you using copyrighted music in your video illegally, they will alert music owners to your infringement, and they can then mute the music on your video.
So, then, how can you – as a video creator – use copyrighted music on YouTube? Well, the answer is, you can’t. If you desperately want to use one of these songs, you’ll have to get familiar with the ins and outs of music licensing, which can be a little complicated. However, if you’re more flexible about the music choices in your videos, there are easier ways to put a beat in your vlog with royalty-free music.
This post first looks at how to legally use copyrighted music, how to use royalty-free music in your videos, how it can help you, and where you can get it.
How do YouTubers Use Copyrighted Music?
Copyrights on songs are complex. Dozens of people have worked on creating and producing a song, and each of them is considered a partial owner of that song’s copyrights. So if you want to use copyright music on YouTube legally, you’ll have to get permission from everyone who holds the copyright for that song.
Once you have permission, you’ll need to negotiate a licensing agreement for your video and decide on a price. And if you receive money from your videos, you will probably also have to pay royalties on your project’s revenue. The negotiation process can take quite a while – up to a few weeks even. And the cost can range from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.
If this process sounds too complicated, time-consuming, and costly, there is an alternative. As we mentioned above, you can instead work with royalty-free music, of course.
How to Use Royalty-Free Music in Your Videos
Using royalty-free music is quite popular now. But what is royalty-free music exactly? Here’s what to know: A company will license a song from an artist in order to license it out to YouTubers and Vloggers for a fraction of the cost for their specific projects. And as the video creator, you don’t need to worry about paying any royalties to the copyright holders on revenue you receive from your successful video. That’s right. You pay for your license once, and you’re done.
So it’s Not Free?
Yes and no. Not all royalty-free music is completely free. Some paid royalty-free providers will require you to pay a license fee, giving you the right to use the music in your projects. On the other hand, some royalty-free music providers offer 100% free music. Just make sure you read the fine print. If it’s free, you may be required to add a credit somewhere in your video or a link to the artist.
Another bonus. With some providers, you can either buy one song and use it as many times as you want, or you can sign up for a subscription plan giving you access to a library of songs. So if you are doing multiple projects a month, you’ll have a wider variety of music choices by signing up for a subscription plan.
So all is not lost. You have options for adding good-quality music to your video without having to pay astronomical copyright prices.
How MorningLightMusic Can Help
If you’re looking for unlimited music for your projects, browse high-quality music in the MorningLightMusic library. You can sign up for a monthly, yearly, or one-time payment membership. We also offer single-track licensing. Once you’ve chosen your tracks, it’s up to you to get creative with your videos.
With the all-access membership, you have unlimited access to the entire library—download tracks as many times as you want for as many projects as you wish. We have something for every mood you can think of. Here’s to creating the soundtrack to your life.
To find out more about MorningLightMusic, a royalty-free music provider, visit www.morninglightmusic.io.
