Struggling to find the best background music for video? If yes, you’re in the right place!
Music is like a therapy, it refreshes your soul and your heart. Sometimes only the music tracks of a movie outsell its story and plot and some great background music in YouTube videos permanently set in your mind. But sometimes picking the right music for certain activities becomes challenging, for example, music for concentration, good music for study, Youtube piano music and many more such situations. We understand that picking the right music is very important, it can make or break your experience and this is why we are here!
In this article, we will discuss how you can pick the right music for your videos and for other situations as well.
How to Choose the Best Background Music for Video
As we already said, having the right music according to the situation is very important, it can make or break your experience. Hence, you should pick it carefully. There are certain things you need to consider while selecting the good background music, what is your video about, what kind of message you want to convey through your video, who’s gonna be your audience etc. Below are some important tips to help you find the right track.
1.Decide The Role Of Music In Your Video
The right background music uplifts the video. This music sets the mood of your audience and enhances its content. Ask yourself, what kind of video you’ve created and what role you want the music to play in it?
Suppose your video is about a music streaming app, here you’ll want the music to be the main feature. Or suppose your video is about how video campaigning works, here you’ll like to have music that keeps viewers engaged without distracting them.
2.Learn About The Different Genres To Select The Right Track
Picking one track from an endless array of music is a super hectic and tedious task. So, a good idea is to narrow down your options and choose a suitable genre. To help you out, here are some emotions evoked by different genres :
Corporate: Inviting, Engaging, Unobtrusive
Cinematic: Grand, Victorious, Huge, Sweeping
Acoustic: Connected, Human, Empathy
Ambient: Centered, Soothing, Calm
Comedy: Fun, Bubbly, Exciting, Bright
Hip Hop: Fast, Edgy, Confident
Electronic: Curious, Cerebral, Intelligent
Funk: Discordant, Bright, Unapologetic
Rock: Gritty, Raw, Substantial
If you’re still not sure which genre will be the best for your video, then head on to a music library and listen to the previews while reading your script and watching your video. It’ll give you an idea whether or not this music suits your video.
3. Make Use Of Reference Music
Sometimes some song or music stuck into your head, you can use it as a reference. Go to YouTube, search for that song and listen to it. Next step is, find songs with similar music, sounds, rhythms, instruments and wordings. There are many sites that allow you to search similar songs of any given song.
4. Determine Your Budget
Yes, you’ve to decide your budget even for background music. The good thing is, there are options for all kinds of budget. Here are a few :
Small Budget: If you don’t have any budget or have a very small budget, then look for tracks with creative common license which means it is free to use. It will get your job done without requiring any investment. The good thing is, there are plenty of sites that offer free, royalty-free music.
Medium Budget: If you’re willing to pay a little bit extra, say $10 to $100, you can get high-quality royalty-free music from a library. It will be of high quality and better sounds and will fit into your video better.
Large Budget: If you’ve a good budget and can pay from around $300 to $1000, you can get custom made music for your videos. This is great if you want to reuse the same track again and again or if you want to associate it with your brand.
5. Think About Hiring a Composer
As we discussed in the above point, if you intend to use music again and again or if you want to associate it with your brand, consider hiring a composer. There are many composers that will help you in getting the kind of music you’re looking for. Having composers by your side is a great idea when there are lots of different mood changes in your video and also when you’re unable to find the right music online.
A music composer will also help you in creating a satisfactory music that will fit your video in the best possible way. It will make the video unique and recognizable.
6. Pick Music According To Your Audience
Pick music that your audience enjoys. For this, you have to learn more about your audience, what is the average age group of your viewers, where are they from, what are their specific music choices etc. If your viewers are mostly from the corporate world, go with corporate and engaging tones rather than electronic or hip hop music. On the other hand, if your viewers are young, go with rock, hip-hop and dance music.
7. Learn About The Role Of Tone And Frequency
If your video has lots of verbal speech, then avoid adding a track that has music notes and tones similar to human voice such as music with instruments like guitar, cello, violin, piano etc. Such music will distract the viewers and don’t let them hear what the person in the video is trying to say.
If you want your video to have emotional tones that most of the above-mentioned instruments convey, then select the tracks that have simple, uncomplicated notes and soft tones that don’t overpower the video. However, if your video doesn’t require any emotion tone, select a music that complements the human voice such as ambient or bass music.
8. Use Breaks
When the background music of a video pauses all of sudden, it grabs the attention of the viewer. Use this trick to highlight something important. For example: if you want to make an announcement or a reveal, use breaks with a music track with a consistent pattern of rhythms.
9. Consider Using Popular Music Tracks
Sometimes all you need is a track that is recognized worldwide, such as Avengers or Star Wars theme song but for this you’ll need licensing as well as a good budget. So, here you have a few options, look for a similar track or find an old track that has come into the public domain and doesn’t need any licensing.
In some countries, there are agreements according to which the copyrights become void 50 or more years after the death of the singer, at this point, their music enters the public domain and becomes free to use. Popular composers like Beethoven and Bach come in this category along with others who’ve composed before 1950 in the US.
Where Can I Find The Best Music Tracks For Videos?
Now that we have discussed the tips for finding the right music, the question is where to look for the best background music for videos?
There is no shortage of sites to look for. The internet is full of music platforms and sites that offer both free and licensed music. But the most important thing is to know and understand how the music rights work.
It works like this…
Most of the songs or music were created by someone who wants to be recognized for it and earn some cash out of it. If it was created by a famous music production house, their lawyer would be hunting for the copyright violations. So, it is very important to understand the copyright rules before using music in your video.
Then comes the term “royalty-free” music which is believed to be linked to the tracks that can be used without worrying about copyright infringement. Also, the royalty-free tag doesn’t mean that the music is free to use, it means you can purchase the music and use it again and again without having to pay anything every time it is used. Then comes rights-managed music, where you have to pay the royalty every time you use the music. The music with labels “All Rights Reserved” comes into this category.
Here is a simple guide to picking the best background music for your videos :
- Go to your browser and type “royalty-free music ” in your search bar
- Now, search music according to different moods or genres as we discussed above. For example : search for “ Youtube piano music” and you’ll find a list of piano tracks.
- Select the songs or tracks that suit you.
- Preview the tracks and listen to them while watching your video and reading your script.
- Check for licensing. If it is free or the price it comes at.
- Make a purchase and download the song.
- Make sure to comply with the licensing agreement. If it says to give credits to the artist, do that.
How To Search Music For Concentration / Music For Study
That’s pretty simple. Here, you won’t require any licensing or need to pay the royalty charges as well. All you need to do, is head on to the music streaming platforms and search the desired genre. You can either download your song or listen to it online, totally your call.
So, this is how you find the right background music for video. We hope this guide helps you in finding the right background music for video, the calm and engaging music for study and the relaxing music for concentration.