Music is not only a complicated work of art, but it also involves some complicated legal paperwork to secure licenses, copyrights and other allied rights. Legal jargon surrounding the rights to the work that you and several others have created can be rather intimidating. This article will help you navigate through verbose agreements and the jibber jabber of your legal advisors by explaining what copyright free music and royalty free music really mean.
What is copyright free music?
Adding popular music to your videos will attract viewers and will make the content generated unforgettable. Projects such as wedding videos, travel videos, PowerPoint presentations, documentaries, films, podcasts, advertisements or video games can be greatly enhanced with the help of no copyright music or copyright free music. Therefore, content creators, podcasters, YouTube video makers opt in for copyright music.
But what exactly is copyright free music? Copyright free music is that which has no copyright holders claiming rights over it. This allows the user to creatively use the track without having to worry about attribution or violation of rights of the original creator of the song. Copyright free is very rare to come by as nearly every track has some sort of copyright attached to it.
Is royalty free and copyright free the same?
Music royalties are simply nothing but profit sharing between the creators. It is to fully monetise upon the work done – some even label it as a means to thank the artist for the work that has been instrumental in the success of your work. For instance, if you wish to license the use of a specific song in your upcoming advertisement, then not only must a licensing fee be paid upfront to the music creator, but a percentage of the revenue that your advertisement generates must be paid to them in the form of royalties.
Royalty free music allows individual content creators license music out at reduced costs – devoid of the royalty. One can create content without having to make ongoing regular payments. But this does not necessarily mean that there is a lack of initial payment or subsequent restrictions in the use of the work. It is easy to identify this kind of music for it is the opposite of Protected or Managed Rights Music in which the buyer has to pay royalty as per the number of times that song is used.
Royalty free music is mainly of two kinds – public domain music and music protected by free licenses. The former implies that the work may be copied, distributed, adapted, interpreted, and displayed in public for free as if it were to belong to everyone. In the latter kind, the author himself/ herself establishes the limitations for the reproduction, distribution, diffusion of the work.
Copyright free music, on the other hand, is entirely different. It is when the content creator can access music that has zero copyright holders – this has the same effect as you writing and sharing the song all by yourself. When a music piece is labelled as ‘copyright free’ it implies that the work is a part of the public domain and there is no legal requirement of attribution to the original creator.
How Beatoven helps create unique music without copyright issues!
It is important to remember that not all ‘copyright free’ music is truly and wholly copyright free. Sometimes, there would be a number of caveats such as ‘attribution is required’, or ‘the use of the music must be limited to videos on YouTube’ or that the ‘track cannot be used in monetized videos’. Therefore, it is very important that one must look into whether or not there is full compliance with license terms and this is where Beatoven steps in.
In this day and age, with the advancement of technology, bots find matching content, even obscure infringements very easily, putting the content creator in trouble. Therefore, Beatoven helps ensure that content creators, podcasters and YouTube video makers needn’t worry about copyright issues. The pricing policy is rather simple and straightforward and any song license that is purchased is legally licensed forever. We assure you that there will be no fine print that will add to your troubles – keeping your mind free to create excellent content for your viewers.
Choosing royalty free vs copyright free?
One may be faced with the dilemma of whether to choose between copyright vs royalty free music, as both come with their own set of perks and drawbacks.
Royalty free music, works as a tempting option – it serves as an economical solution to legally download and add quality music to your project. While copyright free music, in essence, has the same effect, it is very hard to come by – the effort taken to locate such a track as compared to finding music libraries from a service that licenses music royalty free.
Having said that, either of the options is much more convenient than traditional music licensing, saving on precious time, money and effort. Choosing between the two is entirely left to the content creator’s requirements.
Some Quick Thoughts
It goes without saying, but one has to be vigilant about where the content is picked up from and one must always read the licenses carefully. A few additional minutes of wading through the license agreement can save one from countless headaches and tedious lawsuits down the road.
It would not be wrong to predict that in a few years the video format of content will be the most common form of consuming information and content on the Internet, ahead of the written format or images. Therefore, royalty free music and copyright free music will take on a greater role. It may be a good option to explore and learn all there is regarding this while you have the chance!
