Royalty Free music is a term that lots of people have heard of… but what does it actually mean? It can get confusing, so we’re here to break it down for you and advise you on how to use music in your content. From copyright to the difference between music licensing, royalty free music and stock music, keep reading to debunk the mystery!
What Is Royalty Free Music?
Royalty Free music allows the purchaser to pay for the music license once and to use the music for as long as desired. This means that it doesn’t matter how big your audience is, or how many times the music is used. Royalty Free is the opposite to rights managed licensing. In this type of licensing, you must pay fees according to the number of times the track is used and the audience size.
What Is Royalty Free Music Not?
It is not:
- Free of cost. Some sites offer free music, usually at a lower quality.
- Stock music. This is a type of music library that offers music already in stock that has been made and is ready to license and use. Many stock music libraries offer their music on a Royalty Free basis. Others prefer to offer their music with a Rights Managed model or “per usage” based.
- Copyright free. Anyone who creates music automatically owns the Copyright for that music. If the creator allows anyone to use their music, the Copyright owner is giving you the right to copy their music. This doesn’t mean that the artist has given up their Performing Rights, either.
- Royalty Free! Usually Royalty Free music licensing does not include “public performance” royalties. This means that whilst you aren’t paying performance royalties, the music still isn’t free of royalties. Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) like ASCAP are paid by the networks and are in charge of distributing the performing royalties to the music composers.
What Are The Alternatives?
There are various other options, such as Stock Music or music licensing sites such as Audiosocket. People often choose Royalty Free music because they believe that it is cheaper and easier. However, you can land yourself in hot water if the music you use is violating copyright laws. So, is there an alternative that won’t break the bank? How can you ensure that you are licensing music properly and allowing artists to receive their performance royalties?
Audiosocket Vs Royalty Free Music
Audiosocket is a music licensing site that contains over 80,000 tracks and over 2,000 sound effects. These tracks are created by real artists in a wide range of genres, and you can receive unlimited access starting from $10 a month.
This means that instead of paying to license one track (without promise of avoiding copyright restrictions), you can license multiple tracks with a subscription. Audiosocket take care of licensing the music and distributing royalties to artists, so you don’t have to!
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that Royalty Free music sites not pay performance fees to artists. Royalty Free doesn’t mean that the music is copyright or royalty free, and the quality can vary greatly. You don’t want to risk getting in trouble or having your YouTube video, for example, taken down. The best option is to ensure that you aren’t violating any laws, as well as providing artists with their hard-earned royalties. You can do this by using a trusted music licensing company such as Audiosocket.
