You’d like to think that using music in your content is easy…but it’s not! There are a few complications that make this a lot harder than it needs to be. So, here are some top tips to help you use music in your content with fewer issues.

Music is such a wonderful thing that we have been blessed with for generations. If you’re a content creator, adding music to your creations can elevate them to the next level. Especially if you create videos or podcasts – you need music as a soundtrack at times, avoiding cases where there’s just empty silence. 

Make sure the music is royalty-free

Firstly, you have to find royalty-free music for your content. This means the music is free for anyone to use as much as they like. It’s the same as how you need royalty-free images in blog posts – like the one above! 

Finding this music is a simple case of Googling it. Have a look to see what royalty-free music is available, and then you can use it as much as you like. Avoid going on common streaming platforms or using songs from your favourite artists. Even if they’re independent artists, they might have copyrighted their music, so your content will get taken down if they notice you’re using their songs for free. 

Consider making your own music

Sometimes, you can’t find any music that fits your content perfectly. There’s a specific tune or melody that you want to add to the background and none of the royalty-free options is doing it for you. As such, you can try to make your own music so you have something tailormade for your content. 

The good news is that you rarely have to make music from scratch these days. You can find all sorts of beats and loops online that you’re able to download and add to some music editing software. From here, you can mix things together, use effects, and create a unique song or tune that’s fit for your content. This could be a jingle at the start, some background music; whatever you like!

Always shout out the artists

If you are using royalty-free music from different artists, make sure that your audience is aware of them. Include links to the artists underneath your content or within it. This is a fantastic way of showing your support for the artist and it’s a way of giving back to them as they have let you use their music for free. 

Who knows, if more content creators supported musicians and artists, perhaps big record labels would see the benefit of allowing music to be played on videos and other types of content? This would mean that you have even more music to choose from in the future. 

Mainly, the big worry when using music in your content is copyright issues. If you use copyrighted music, there is a chance that the record label can find your content and get it taken down. On platforms like YouTube, this can mean your channel gets a warning or a strike, meaning any future strikes might get your channel shut down.