Since I license my music for free and royalty free I often get asked what exactly stock music is by people new to the idea. Production music has been around in one form or another for quite some time and has become an extremely useful tool over the years for media production outfits looking to enhance their films, radio broadcasts, advertisements or other products. It is sometimes referred to as “stock” music and is similar in many regards to its video counterpart, stock footage. For instance, both production music and stock footage are not crafted for a specific application but rather are created well in advance and then licensed to an outside customer to be synchronized with a particular product–often a film, advertisement, radio or television broadcast.

The idea of “royalty free” production music as a business model is both relatively recent and somewhat ill-defined. In this model, a company might pay its composers up front to write pieces of music, then compile these pieces into a “library” in CD or digital format. Then, the company sells copies of the library, allowing the purchaser to use its contents freely rather than pay royalties for each use. Rather than paying the composer for each time that piece of music is licensed, typically the composer would receive a one-time payment for their composition.

Still, if the end product created from this method is broadcast, the broadcaster will often pay royalties for use of that product. That is also the case with my music. Since money still changes hands in this model, some critics do not consider it to be truly “royalty free.” The difference may be semantic in nature but still causes some disagreement. The advent of the internet and the now-widespread availability of file sharing services and interactive Web 2.0 applications has caused renewed scrutiny of copyright law and its applications in the digital age. No doubt, then, business models for the distribution and use of production music will continue be re-examined and redefined for future generations.

If you need some stock music, feel free to download my collections to use in your next project!

Peace,

Dan-O

Have you ever thought about watching a movie with no music? When would you know to expect the bad guy or the monster to jump out from behind the dumpster without the appropriate “rint-rint-riiin” to give you that chill of anticipation? Music gives us the clues as to how we are supposed to interpret the movement before us. A toothpaste commercial without a peppy brushing beat would hardly pique our interest at all. Just think fast food commercials, automobile ads, sad movies, or animated films without music… Unthinkable indeed!

So common is background music that we tend to ignore it completely, until it’s not there. But where does all of that music come from? Why, Production Music Libraries, of course! Production Music Libraries are storehouses of original music scores and catchy ditties. These libraries license out the music to various clients in support of their artistic productions. Ranging from the happy morning orange juice jingle to the cowboy’s sunset sonata to the lusty, late night lullaby, music of all genres are available for purchase at a reasonable rate.

While there are differing business models, production music libraries can make money by: 1 Charging a fee to synchronize their stock soundtracks to film footage and 2. Collecting royalties when their footage is used on the radio or on television. But what about the artist and the composers, shouldn’t they get a piece of the action? Well, I’m glad you asked. The library gets paid for based on the aforementioned business models and typically, the library remits 50% of the fees they receive to the composer.

Artists are paid a onetime fee for their service. Hold on there; wait a minute! “What about “royalty free” libraries? How do they make money?” Royalty-free libraries create custom collections of soundtracks to meet their clients’ needs. The client pays for the collection and then has the right to use the music as often and for as long as they like. So, there you have it, the low down on the downbeat of the Production Music Library, supplying the soundtrack that adds the rhythm to our everyday artistic encounters.

My music library is completely free as well as royalty free as long as you link back to my site. But that is mainly because I am looking for very wide exposure and many visitors I on my site. I make money through advertising programs, plus I enjoy the satisfaction of seeing my songs used in so many different ways!

Peace,

Dan-O

I allow downloads of my music royalty free, but in world of the internet there seems to be some confusion as to which online music content is legal to use. Meaning, would you have to pay someone for a piece of music you found on the net? Yes and no. Although Napster started the revolution of on line downloading of songs with no one to answer to, those days are long gone. If a piece of music has an existing copyright, stay away.

No matter what clip of a copyrighted song you may use, it still belongs to the owner and the last thing you want is a band of lawyers coming after you for a 2 second clip of a riff from Eddie Van Halen’s guitar. The only truly free music out there is in the public domain and can be used for almost any project you wish. What is public domain or creative commons? Anything produced by Uncle Sam, under a creative commons license or where the copyright has expired is fair game. Besides music, this goes for movies, pictures and anything that tax payer dollars paid for.

Many people have made the mistake of not researching properly what may or may not be used for background music. If you are not sure if a piece of music or sound is royalty free then don’t use it. A great website to find royalty free music is www.Archive.org which includes listings for public domain media among many other files. If you are a budding artist or movie producer/director, this is a great place to begin.

Are you thinking of creating your own movie? Or are you looking to be be the next Beck with a mountain of sound clips supporting a chart-breaking new single? CreativeCommons.org, is another great place to find royalty free music, movies, and pictures on line. Be careful, YouTube is known for their stalwart adherence to copyright and will kick anyone’s movies out once they discover the on line infringement. By keeping these points in mind, you can be sure to move ahead sure footed and guilt free with your new project.

I first heard about royalty free production music when I was in College taking a website design class. Royalty free production music was given as an alternative to going through the process of asking permissions for copyrights for brand-name royalty-based music which most poor students and struggling film-makers could not afford. We were given a website that had a bunch of royalty free music that could be bought for a flat fee. I thought some of the music sounded generic and canned but I guess that’s why they call “royalty-free” because it lacks that special royalty quality. Maybe that’s just my assessment and interpretation. Its why I decided to put my own music up here to use.

I know I’m a tough audience because I am a musician and know good music when I hear it, and I know if something sounds over-produced and cheesy. But it can be a perfect solution for that training video or even that commercial for the local business. It’s the solution for budget-minded film-makers and videographers. Some of my colleagues put together their websites, one of these for a local business, which featured some smooth jazz music that was likely bought for a small sum of money, like 30 to 60 dollars for unlimited usage rights. No royalties would have to be paid and no licensing fees.

Sure you might have some corporate video that just needs some brightening up with background music—so royalty free is probably the way to go. You can usually find something for under 100 dollars that you can use for your video. There are a few websites that specialize in providing music from their libraries for commercial use. Some are better than others and you’ll find genre spanning from country to jazz and more. Royalty free production music is the go-to alternative to the expensive licensing and royalties model.

I have totally fallen in love with my iPod Touch! It has much of the functionality of an iPhone, but without having to carry an expensive data plan. And it has plenty of room for my music.

Great features: The video player is very handy. I like it much better than the video players on other handheld devices. I occasionally use it myself, but what it’s great for is entertaining my friend’s kid when we go out to dinner together. That shows you how easy the controls on an iPod touch are…even a toddler can master them. She doesn’t need any help from the grownups. I also like the interface—very easy to move icons around and set it up just as you like. I have my email and calendar connected to it, and it really helps me keep up with what’s going on outside of the office without having to sit down at a computer and log on. Apps are super-easy to download, and there are plenty of fun ones available for free and many more for just a dollar or two.

Downsides: It is a little fragile, and you will probably want to buy a case to protect it. As a larger music player, it can be hard to hang onto and I have dropped mine several times. You will also find that when you are out, you find yourself constantly on the hunt for wi-fi. Also, because I have email on mine, it has to be set up with a passcode to protect it, and it can be a hassle to log in and out to adjust music when I’m hanging out and listening (the passcode kicks in after 5 minutes). It’s also hard to get in and out of a pocket without jostling the music controls. Biggest downside…it’s definitely a gateway drug for an iPhone!

To Share or Not to Share? The Interned age has ushered in a new era in the way music is recorded, accessed and distributed. Since music file sharing site “Napster” appeared on the Web in the late 1990’s, any user with a computer and Internet access is expected to be able to find, download and share with others any music piece ever recorded and posted on the web. Among the most popular file sharing software are desktop clients for peer to peer (p2p) networks.

While music fans around the world may be delighted to get their favorite music for free instead of spending money on records, this new world of web music distribution raises many questions, such as artists control over the way their work is used (copyright), the ability of musicians to make money off their work, the future of recording industry and so on. As with any complex question, the debate has arisen on pros and cons of free music file sharing software.

The advocates of the free file sharing believe that this system benefits both fans and artists with the former being able to sample songs as free music downloads before spending money and for artists to promote themselves to broad fan base circumventing traditional recording industry. The critics of file sharing point to the fact that a number of users share files that violate copyright laws. A number of copyright holders challenged in court both individual file sharers and file sharing networks in an effort to stop their activities.

The economic impact of music and video file sharing is also contested. Some studies point out to a drop of music sales by nearly 16% between 1999 and 2003 (from $38 billion to $32 billion). Other studies find no negative impact of file sharing on music sales and even conclude that file sharing helped to boost sales of popular albums. Either way, the file sharing is here to stay and fans, artists and recording industry need to find a way to master this monster for the benefit of all parties involved.

I purchased a Yamaha StagePas300 about a month ago. This is a compact PA system that can be used by musicians or public speakers. I opted for the Yamaha brand because the other PA system I purchased with them lived in the trunk of my car for about 5 years, and it still works like the day I took it out of the boxes, so I trusted their quality.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the StagePas300. It is lightweight but has enough power to play for a venue of 150-200 people, perfect for my job as a solo musician. The mixer can be left on the speaker, or you can remove it to have better access to it. The other speaker has a small compartment that can hold a few extra chords.

My main complaint is that I had to purchase stand adapters for the speakers, since there is no way to set them on stands straight out of the box. Also, I wish that phantom power would have been included - any mic requiring phantom power will need an external adapter box. Other than those two things, I have been thrilled with the size and sound quality of this system.