Quirky — uses peculiarity or the unexpected to drive home a point. Example: Zazzle
Cutesy— something that makes you go, “awww!”. Example: Cheerios
Entertaining — aims to inform and entertain. Super Bowl ads typically fall under this category. Example: Nerd Skin Care
Inspirational —uses inspiration to drive action (manifestos are typically done in this style). Example: Squarespace
Artsy /hip/cool— feels youthful, stylish, trendy, etc. Example: Converse
Luxurious — shiny, fancy, flashy, sexy, rich. Think luxe car commercials, high-end hotel chains, etc. Example: Vegas Hotel commercial
Use intro and outro music as “bookends”
Consider giving music or sound design a featured role in the opening and or closing sections of your video, acting as a set of “video bookends”. This helps set your tone, hold your message together, and leaves your viewers with a feeling of completion. One way to do this is to pair music or sound design with an image for three to five seconds. Using “bookend” music, or simply turning up the volume of the music at certain points, can also be used to divide your video into chapters or segments.
Public Domain
Public domain compositions are created by a composer who has been deceased long enough that the intellectual property becomes public domain. Using this public domain music does not require an expensive license fee or royalty. In most countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention (an international agreement governing copyright of literary and artistic works), copyright term is based on the life of the author, and extends to 50 or 70 years beyond their death. After this period, the work enters the public domain.
And here’s a good source for public domain compositions with high quality Partners In Rhyme
Pacing
Choosing a track with consistent rhythm will allow you to work with stops and starts to highlight important points. Sometimes a great way to accent an image or a message is to actually pull out the music for that moment and then re-introduce the music right after. Be careful not to overuse this technique though, as it will lose its efficacy.
Here is a list of some good libraries to consider:
YouTube Audio Library offers 150 royalty-free tracks, including sound effects and audio clips. The great thing about this library is that all tracks are high quality. They are available as 320kbps MP3 files, making it easier for you to download, remix, or use for any purpose.
2. AudioJungle
On the website, AudioJungle team claims that they provide top-quality and royalty-free music tracks. And the fact is that most of the tracks are incredible, including various types of music and even sound effects. If you have your own music, you can also sell here. Note that not all tracks on AudioJungle are free.
3.Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive is where you can search music by the type of Creative Commons license, public domain, commercial use, or remix/video. Also, this website has more than 1,500 tracks with several types such as classical, blues, folk, and novelty. Free Music Archive also includes an extensive MP3 library for iOS and Android devices.
4. Bensound
When visiting Bensound, you see a Royalty Free Music category. Click it, and royalty-free music tracks are shown in a matter of second. Bensound allows you to download and use tracks for online videos, websites, animations, and so on. But, it requires a credit with a link to this website. It’s also possible to buy a Bensound Pro license in case you need high-quality music and don’t want to cite the source.
5. Incompetech
Incompetech is a royalty-free music library created by composer Kevin MacLeod. This library gives tons of tracks, and you can view them by feels, tempo, genre, or length. Besides, you are free to download a track as MP3 file, get it from iTunes, listen directly on the website, and watch the video on YouTube.
This site lets you search by the type of Creative Commons license you’re willing to work with, or you can filter out only background music in the public domain. There are over 1,500 tracks tagged as public domain and allowing for commercial use, so it’s definitely worth checking out!
Gerry Music offers tracks created by sound engineer and musician Gerry Black, who offers free background music for personal use with Creative Commons attribution. For marketing videos, you can license tracks for $18.
Another musician’s site, this one features the works of Kevin MacLeod. His collections span jazz, rock, classics, macabre and more and tracks are available free of charge with proper attribution.
This site houses thousands of tracks produced by independent virtual record labels who typically license their music in exchange for your credits attributing the work to them. Just make sure you read the Creative Commons license information and that the background music you’re after is approved for commercial use.
TuneTrack Commercial is a collection of royalty-free tracks with one-time license fees. The search engine is… not the best, as there aren’t a lot of ways to filter and sort tracks. But there are a few dozen artists featured on the site, which gives you some variety the single-composer sites are lacking.
As the creators of opsound note in their licensing information, you’re free to use the music on their site for any purpose, but commercial users are encouraged to obtain permission from the creator. Opsound is an open community, so you’ll find all kinds of background music here. Quality will vary, but you’re more likely to find something truly original here, too.
BeatPick has a way more powerful search engine and allows you to filter by genre, mood, vocals/instrument, artist, song topic and more. Once you choose a track, clicking “License this song” will let you indicate what you’re using it for, which dictates the cost of the license.
Jamendo is unique in that it suggests different tracks for different types of video ads, including Facebook, YouTube, radio, TV and more. Pick your track and then click through for licensing information–$49 gets you a standard license for most online uses.
If the ethics of music production and licensing are important to you, you’ll want to check out the background music licensing site that promises, “We are not evil.” MagnaTune works directly with artists and promises that 50% of the license fee goes directly to the music’s creator.
IMATunes is a German company who guarantees their musical works are royalty free currently and in the future. It’s easy to filter music by mood, genre, tempo, or instruments.
