If you are making a video for any sort of project, then to really bring the whole presentation to life you will want to inject some music into it. Music can be used to evoke emotion, highlight certain aspects of the video, emphasise your key points, or simply be played in the background to give the video some depth and dimension.

Where to find good background music for videos?

That is the question.

Whether your video project is…

• A personal video
• Documentary
• Presentation
• Wedding
• Special occasion
• Advertising
• Informational
• Instructional

…your video will be made that much better with the inclusion of quality music.

What Are the Music Options?

Really you have three options at your disposal to source music for your videos:

1. Compose and record the music yourself
2. Hire a professional composer/producer to create a score for you
3. Music sync licensing

Create Your Own Music

If you have the skills and the gear to create your own music (or perhaps someone who is working on the video does), then you will be able to produce music at will for your videos. This is especially favourable as you will be able to make the music really fit the video and adopt any sort of mood or tone that you choose. There is also the added satisfaction of having created both the video and the soundtrack. Not only this, you will save money in the process.

Hire a Composer

Obviously this is going to cost a few dollars and there is no guarantee the composer will really be able to capture the sound you are after, but still a great option nonetheless; and you will be closer to an original sound than if you source music via the third option on the list.

A composer/music producer can work closely in tandem with you and actually score the music to the timeframe of the video, much like a composer does when scoring scenes for a movie.

Music Sync Licensing

This is the most versatile option. Yes, it costs a fee to get a sync license for your video, and that price will vary depending on the artist, what you want to use the video for and where you actually get the license, but music licensing is really a godsend when it comes to sourcing fantastic, relevant and high quality music for your videos.

There is a plethora of music licensing websites on the internet today offering literally millions of music tracks in every genre imaginable. There are probably just as many tracks, if not more, that are instrumental, making them the perfect choice for video music.

Some of my favourite music licensing websites include the following:

• Songtradr
• Musicbed
• Audio Network
• Pond5
• Audio Jungle
• Getty Images Music

To name just a few.

Musicbed have the most highly curated list and are extremely fussy about their artists and the music they upload. Quality is of supreme importance with these guys.

Songtradr are newer on the scene, but they probably have the most user-friendly and simplest licensing process out of all the music licensing sites. That’s why they are my favourite choice.

To check out the music on the Songtradr catalogue, just click on their logo below.