Finding music you can use in your podcast
April 9th, 2008There are a number of ways to add music, sound effects and other auditory backgrounds to your blog or podcast that won’t cost you a cent.
Free loops
A sound loop is a short sound sample or piece of music which is designed to be repeated over and over again seamlessly without any evident beginning or end.
Longer musical tracks designed to run underneath spoken voice to lend an atmosphere to the conversation are called the musical bed or soundbed.
Some audio editing tools provide royalty-free loops that can be added to podcasts or vidcasts royalty free.
For example, Apple’s low-cost Garageband includes 200 sound effects including radio-style stingers and sounds from people, animals, and machines and a library of more than a hundred 7, 15, and 30-second jingle loops that can be used in your podcast.
Adobe’s much more expensive Audition includes thousands of 32-bit, uncompressed, royalty-free audio loops and soundbeds in over 20 different musical styles ranging from rockabilly to cocktail jazz and classical to funk.
The Podsafe Music Network is an on-line collection of music that can be played as part of a podcast without having to pay a licensing fee. This site is part of the PodShow Network, founded by former MTV VJ and podcasting pioneer Adam Curry.
All too often when I get in to a discussion about “free” music with other video producers they roll their eyes and declare it is all awful. Not true. For example, one of the podcasts I listen to regularly is an Irish tech site,
The Podsafe Music Network provides an on-line collection of music that can be included as part of a podcast without having to pay a licensing fee.
In order to use podsafe music, you are required to mention the song, the artist and the Podsafe Network. Shows that use music from this network often begin each show with a statement t like “We kick off the show with “NAME OF SONG BY BAND” from the Podsafe Network. It only takes a few seconds to cite the artists which seems a worthwhile trade for what you get.
Most of the music published on the Podsafe Network is published under an open source agreement called the Creative Commons.
Public domain
Works placed in the public domain are free from any copyright restrictions, and you may use them anyway you like without need to sign a contact or pay for that right.
Using music published under the Creative Commons
The Creative Commons is a non-profit organization devoted to coming up with flexible licensing arrangements that allow copyright holders to share their property with others without losing complete control of that work.
Creative Commons offers several different licensing agreements, each of which specifies what rights are being waived by the copyright holder. Each song published under Creative Commons is made available at no charge, but the conditions under which it can be used vary. Some agreements preclude use of the original recording in a for-profit work; or you might be prevented from altering the material; or it might be used in works that will also be released under a Creative Commons agreement. Read the contract before you use an audio or video clip running under a creative agreement.
If the contract has clauses that bother you, contact the copyright holder to see if they are willing to scratch that clause. In many cases, you will find the copyright holder is eager to find a new audience and may be more than willing to work with you.
The Creative Commons website provides links to search engines that can be used to look for songs and other types of files published under the Creative Commons.
Creative Commons offers several standard types of agreements under which audio files that can be freely copied are released. You can use the proper official CC logo to quickly identify the type of license the material is run under.
Searching the Creative Commons
There are several good ways to look for songs, sound effects and background audio listed as part of the Creative Commons.
Magnatune
Most music offered under Magnatune is royalty free for podcasts that earn under $1000 per year, with no permission required from Magnatune.
Songs can also be purchased for use with commercial podcasts. See the website for costs. If the podcast has speaking in it, you are required to embed a sentence describing the song, the author and that you got it from Magnatune. Or you can refer to the song in the show notes or associated web site.
Opsound
Opsound provides a search tool for looking for and sampling open-source music and sound clips.
The Opsound website provides an easy-to-use interface for browsing (listening to) thousands of open source music clips arranged by genre or by artist. If you find a clip you like, and would like to use it, you can follow the links provided to download the music, to look at the license the music is published under, or to email the clip’s owner to renegotiate the contract. In many cases, the music’s owner will be glad to amend their contract and allow you to retain control of your work.
Soundclick
This search engine is slicker, providing things like album covers to go with the music, but does not make it as easy to see the contract the music is published under or to contact the artist.
Shockwave-Sound
Shockwave-Sound sells royalty-free music, loops and sound effects for a one-time fee.
Sound effects, songs and loops are all available. Most songs are priced between $20 (for a 30 second loop) and $50 (for several versions of a song) for up to 5,000 plays. The website provides details about additional fees that may be charged.
The Freesound Project
The Freesound Project is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds. Freesound focuses only on sounds, not songs. If you need the sounds of birds chirping, wine glasses clinking or street noises, this is the place to go.
indie heaven
Allows you to listen to a wide range of independent music. If you like what you hear, you can email the artist to work out a deal.
Freeplay
Free music for non commercial use. Low cost for commercial use.
Sound dogs
A library of over 280,000 sound effects available for immediate download in six different file formats. Most of their sound effects are a couple of seconds long and cost a couple of bucks.
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