Everything You Need to Know about YouTube Royalty Free Music

Whether you’re an amateur, semi-professional, or a student when it comes to being a video editor and creating high-quality content, music matters. And there is nothing more frustrating than spending countless hours finding the perfect piece of music for your video only to run into a licensing issue upon uploading.

Not every video creator or editor has the ability to purchase the licenses to the songs they’ve chosen or would like to use. So how does an amateur video creator find good quality royalty free music for their videos?

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about YouTube royalty free music, and how to produce high-quality content.

Copyrights

Before getting into where to find royalty free music, it would help to know why royalty free music is in high demand. In a word, copyright.

One of the biggest problems people who wish to monetize a video face is copyright. In order to monetize a video on YouTube, for instance, you can’t use another party’s copyrighted material anywhere.

In order to get around paying for the right to use the music you’ve chosen, which can get pretty costly, you’ll need to use royalty free music. The trick is to find high-quality royalty free music for your videos.

Creative Commons and Fair Use

Before you say anything about creative commons and fair use, they’re different than royalty free music. Creative commons is content created and released by the artist who sets the terms and conditions for use. Usually, creative commons properties are free.

Fair use properties are those properties which may be used in whole or in part by the public for the use of commentary and criticism. Parody humor is a great example of this.

While both provide a way for the public to gain access to free content, there are drawbacks to them. For instance, while the artists themselves control creative commons, there is a risk of that person not liking how you use their work. They may deny your use of their property.

Likewise, fair use is meant for criticism and commentary. Think along the lines of Saturday Night Live and College Humor. Both parody and criticize popular songs, movies, TV shows, and plays. However, if you wish to use material under fair use for something other than criticism or commentary, you could find yourself in trouble.

The ’10-Second’ Rule

Speaking of using fair use material and creative commons material, the 10-second rule does not exist. There is no 10-second rule. If you’re unsure what the 10-second rule is to keep reading.

The 10-second rule is a myth that somehow emerged among vloggers and YouTubers. The concept behind the myth is that as long as you use only 10 seconds or less of copyrighted material, it’s legal. This is false.

It doesn’t matter whether you use ten seconds, five seconds, or 1 hour of the copyrighted material. If it’s copyrighted, it’s illegal to use without permission and the proper licenses.

Royalty Free Music

There is a third option for those who wish to use high-quality musical content without purchasing a license, or dealing with creative commons and fair use- Royalty free music.

The concept behind royalty free music is to allow a person to pay for the music license only once and be able to use the material for as long as desired. And there, immediately, is the appeal to vloggers, YouTubers, and video editors alike.

And just when you think it can’t get any better, it does. You don’t need to track down each individual royalty free music license and purchase them. Instead, you can find a third-party company that has a large library already.

Much like most services, you will only need to pay an annual or monthly fee but will gain access to anywhere from dozens to thousands of song choices for your videos.

Acquiring Royalty Free Music

As mentioned, royalty free music is best found through a third-party curator who offers annual or monthly payment fees. Usually on the low and affordable range.

YouTube royalty free music is the answer to overcoming copyright laws and fair use laws for not just vloggers but podcasters as well.

However, it’s important to note that royalty free music does not mean copyright free. The copyright is still in place. The third-party royalty free music service pays for the license one time for you, and you pay the company for the right to use it.