Who wouldn’t like to work at an advertising agency with an entire team designated to a single project, assisting you at every step? Who, as a videographer, wouldn’t love to be handed a bunch of music tracks that perfectly fit their video concept and mood?
When it comes to music, the foremost concern voiced by video creators is this: regardless of the choice of the music library, the process of finding the ideal track for a specific video project is often arduous, time-consuming, and maybe even frustrating.
In this article, we will offer essential tips on how to efficiently navigate extensive music catalogs, alleviating the challenges associated with track selection while ensuring a fun and effective process.
Before diving into the tips on choosing the right music for video projects, let’s define, what makes a “good music choice”?
- Music that fits the purpose and message of the video. Is your video supposed to be emotional, informative, or entertaining? The choice of music should not contradict the main objective of the video. You probably won’t add a heavy metal track to a business presentation, right?
- Music that fits the mood of the video. Every video tells a story. The right music will support that story and enhance the particular emotional element you want to convey with your story.
- Music that matches the pace of the video. Most videos out there can be sorted into slow, fast or moderate when it comes to their pace. Based on that, slower or faster music should be chosen to accompany the video. The music should always follow the visuals in a logical, organic manner.
Now that we’ve covered the criteria for choosing the right musical background in videography, it’s time to reveal the best strategies for finding it!
Regardless of the music library, media platform, client industry, or project type, there are several practical strategies to find suitable background music for your video without spending an eternity in music catalogs:
1. Finding music is not a last-minute task
It’s the truth every videographer learns at some point in their career, whether the easy or the hard way.
For some reason, it’s common, especially among beginners, to assume that music is a secondary element in a video that should not require too much time or effort. Sadly, it often turns out to be a costly mistake draining creators of money, energy, and patience, as finding the right music can turn into a tedious search long after the video footage is completed.
In client work, it can be particularly nerve-wracking. Even the most skilled videographers find themselves engaged in lengthy negotiations with clients who simply won’t approve their work due to the choice of music.
PRO TIP 1: To avoid getting caught up with music during the final stages of your video project, make sure you have the initial music selection well in advance, even before the post-production or shooting phase. In fact, find a few music examples during the mood board phase, so you can share them with the client and keep them in mind when making creative shooting or editing choices.
PRO TIP 2: Always take a step back from your work. If you’re uncertain whether a particular music track will work with your footage, take a break and revisit the same track after a week. Gaining perspective can greatly assist you in making the right choice, while overthinking or rushing may lead to a poor final decision or a client’s veto.
2. Rethink how you utilize the search filters and keywords in music libraries
While it may seem obvious, the way you search for music in the music libraries can make a significant difference.
Our number one piece of advice to videographers is: to expand your scope of keywords to add more nuance to your search phrases.
We ourselves being music curators at TuneReel, can reveal that assigning certain keywords to music tracks requires a great sense of nuance.
The curator’s goal is to make sure that the videographer finds the song they need quickly, without spending hours sifting through the tracks.
One effective method is to assign multiple tags that collectively describe the essence of the song as accurately as possible.
For instance, let’s take the keyword “smooth”. There are thousands of smooth songs that fit this descriptor. However, depending on the nuances, smooth music can also encompass other qualities like sexy smooth, dreamy smooth, laid-back smooth, etc.
When searching for music, it’s essential to pinpoint the exact vibe of your video. Once you identify a few keywords that perfectly describe your video, add several synonyms to each keyword to broaden the search and incorporate more nuances. Chances are, it will be one of those extra synonyms that will land you the perfect song.
3. Explore special features in music libraries (e.g. Similar Tracks, Music Recommendations, etc)
As music libraries continue to evolve rapidly, videographers are presented with a range of exciting features to enhance their music search.
At this point, Similar Tracks is a feature adopted by the majority of music libraries, TuneReel.com being no exception. This feature proves particularly useful when you are already feeling lucky with your search but would like to have some alternative options in case the client wants to consider them as well.
Typically, similar tracks can be found within the licensing page of a specific track in the music library.
Sometimes, however, the deadline is just too tight. There’s no time nor extra help coming your way, leaving you in urgent need of a music track.
In such cases, the most obvious choice is virtual music supervising service.
All it takes is for you to provide the brief of your project including a video snippet or a detailed description. With TuneReel, you’ll receive a carefully curated selection of music that is available for immediate use in your project within a day.
4. Find help in online groups for composers and music producers
Another rather underexplored way to find music for your projects is simply posting a job proposal in musicians’ communities on Reddit, Facebook, Discord, and other platforms.
Here’s a short list of groups where you can connect with composers and producers, ask music licensing and film scoring questions, and post job offers:
Discord – Group for Video Game Music Composers
Discord – United Composers Collective
Facebook – Film Scoring Network for Composers and Filmmakers
These and other similar social media groups are swarming with musicians eager for side gigs. Even when your video budget is on the lower end, you might just get lucky as these groups bring together musicians from all around the world, and some producers apply lower rates to their services.
5. Opt for professional custom-made music
Perhaps the most desired yet costliest option in this guide is hiring a composer or a music library to create a custom soundtrack for your video. However, if your budget permits, this can be the ideal solution. An experienced composer can get familiar with your video concept, hear your sample music, and subsequently deliver a completely bespoke background music piece exclusively for your project.
Interested in tailor-made music? Reach out to us and we’ll connect you with our roster of producers who will produce a custom soundtrack for your video.
Final thoughts
As you can see, finding music for videos, ads, and films is not such a daunting task when you’re aware of your options and music sources, and know exactly what kind of music is needed for your project.
In most cases, the very first item on the list is to crystalize the essence of your video – this will make your music search noticeably easier.
