Should you add background music to video content?


Should you add background music to video content?

What music belongs in corporate video content?

Poets often referred to music as the literature of the heart because it can ignite emotions and change moods. Music is an essential part of any video material, and movies show it better than any other type of content. Some soundtracks are so powerful that they outsell the film, and the public associates them with a specific theme. Let’s take the movie Bad Boys. Whenever you try to picture Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, all you can hear in your head is the song with the same name. Movies show that when you pair the perfect background sound with video, you can amplify its resonance.

When producing professional video content, pairing the right song with your visual content can make the difference between satisfied and grumpy viewers.

But how can you tell what music to use in your videos?

In the past, video commercials used jingles to catch the viewer’s attention, but in time advertising evolved, and it started to integrate contemporaneous music. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are only some of the celebrities who sold their music to brands like Pepsi to feature it as background sound for commercials. But you don’t afford to pay Beyoncé to add her songs on your video content, and you can’t insert a tune without a license because you’d fall under copyright regulations. Each song is the property of the creator, and only they can give the copyright to someone else to use it. This means that you cannot use any piece of music without the creator’s accord. And this leaves you with a single choice; you need royalty-free music if you want to produce video content for social media.

Creators can permit individuals and companies to use their sounds, or they can collaborate with a library that sells the use of the songs on their behalf. But the library will never sell the original copyright; it only provides the buyer with a license to use it.

Why do companies use royalty-free music to accompany their video content?

Video content is the next big thing, and both individuals and organisations use it to reach audiences. With the rise of video, the need for affordable music has also exponentially increased. The purchase of Royalty Free Music adds buyers the opportunity to synchronise and use the melodies on their videos without violating copyright.

YouTube is the primary channel that gathers video content, and after Google bought YouTube, it developed a system that identifies copyright violations when videos are uploaded on the platform. YouTube Content Management System uses fingerprinting technology to compare content and identify copyright cases. When the system finds a match, it leaves the creator with three options track, block or monetise. Most music holders opt for the monetise solution because it splits the revenue between Google and the copyright owner.

So, if you want to create video content and stop ads from appearing on top of your video and someone else collecting the revenue, include only royalty-free music to your materials.

How to pick the right background music?
What role does music play in your video?

Determine if sound supports your message or it has a leading role. Look at the subject of the video and decide if you convey a piece of accurate information or you speak on a more generalised theme. For detailed messages, a background melody with no changes will maintain the viewer’s attention towards the subject. For broad topics with little details, a sound that evokes emotions would work better. Opt for songs without lyrics for the first type of content and vocal melodies for the second because music can have a leadership role.

Is popular music the right choice?

Only because everyone knows the song, it doesn’t mean it’s a safe bet for a corporate video. You cannot go to the most trending song and add it to your video. And it’s not budget-friendly to get the permission of a famous creator to use their song in your video. It may cost you more than the revenue the video delivers.

Sometimes you love a trending song so much you think you’ll be sneaky and use it in a video you share on social media. Bad news! Facebook also has copyright-detection capabilities, and it can flag or remove your account if you use music you don’t own.

Do you know your audience?

There’s no point to produce video content before running market research to identify the public segment you address. In video marketing, the audience is the most crucial factor you must consider when you create content. The viewers tell you the message you need to share and the background music you must pair with it.

Before hunting for the right song, consider your public and check factors like culture, age, and personal preferences. If you address to baby boomers, a rock track may not be the best choice. It’s always best to use music that mirrors the audience in some ways, even if this means you are encouraging stereotyping. Sometimes, it’s surprising to find out the melodies your audiences resonate with.

What emotions do you want the video to evoke?

As we stated before, background music functions like a tool that injects your content with feelings. When producing video content, your purpose is to get your public feel something because emotions often drive purchasing decisions. Often, people rationalise their decisions with logic after they make them, and there is nothing they can change. Music always establishes the tone of the video, no matter if we’re speaking about short clips or movies. You cannot produce a comedy film when you insert dramatic sound on the background. The tracks should match the grandeur of the visual.

Once you decide the emotion you want your audience to feel, search for songs that embody it, and listen to them more than once. Most royalty-free music libraries organise their songs according to themes, so you can browse through categories and pick one that reflects the tone of the message you want to convey.