Monday, June 24, 2013

Royalty-Free Music for Book Trailers

Book trailers and videos are fun and easy to make. They can be simple or complex. They can contain still images and moving pictures. And often they feature music.

Like images, music is copyrighted. No matter how well a song fits your book, you can’t use it for your trailer without permission. In addition to being sued for copyright infringement, you get the double-whammy because you are using it for commercial gain.

Fortunately, there are numerous sites that sell royalty-free music and sound effects. You can sample their database to find the perfect fit for your trailer. Often the music is available in increments of 30 seconds so you can purchase just the length you need. And the prices range from $9.95 to $59.95.

For royalty-free music, check out the following online companies:

Music Bakery
Neo Sounds
Music Loops
Royalty Free Music
Shock Wave
Premium Beat

There are dozens of sites out there. Let me know if you know of any other good ones!

34 comments:

Karen Baldwin said...

LOve that you pointed out that most music is not free. Ripping music is the same as pirating books. Thanks for the links.

Stina said...

Most people know about photos being copyrighted, but we tend to forget about music also being copyrighted. Thanks for the links, Diane.

Lubaina E. said...

Thank you for the links. Although, it's been a long time since I saw a remarkable book trailer.

Jennifer Shirk said...

I used https://musopen.org/ it's free public domain music. :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Leigh and Stina, most people don't even think about the music.

Lubaina, there are a few really good ones out there.

Jo said...

I don't know how you can properly protect copyright if your property is on the internet. Its a bit the same as privacy, if its on the web, it ain't private, sorry.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I still haven't made any book trailers. On my to do list.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Great links. Thanx.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Not there yet, BUT thanks for the links, L. Diane...

Good to keep them on file.....

shelly said...

Sharing and Tweeting! Thank you.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

LD Masterson said...

Good to know. Thanks.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Musicians are just as protective of their music!

Unknown said...

I've wondered about the music people choose and how that was acquired. Just like writers, musicians want their hard-earned money.

~Sia McKye~ said...

Piracy is piracy. Musicians are just as touchy as authors.

Thank you Diane! You always come up with great info for writers and I appreciate that.

These sites have quite a variety. Very cool.

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

M Pax said...

Fortunately, a friend makes trailers for me and now finds all the music and stuff. Yay on that! Trailers are fun to do.

Annalisa Crawford said...

Good to know, thanks Diane. I wouldn't have a clue how to create a trailer... But my eldest is starting some very helpful GCSE courses in September - Media Studies and Creative IT :-D I'm angling to be part of his coursework!

Mel Chesley said...

Oh! Purple-Planet.com is a good one. It's got a wide variety of music to choose from. Some is kinda cheesy, but depends on what you are looking for. :D

Carol Kilgore said...

I'm going to bookmark this page. I haven't made a trailer yet, but that may change.

klahanie said...

Hi Diane,

You and the follow-up commenters have made a very good point.

And it's appreciated that you have brought attention to these links. I shall now duly take the liberty of sharing your posting. Thank you, Diane.

Gary

dolorah said...

That is good info.

......dhole

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Thank you, Shelly.

Annalisa, put his skills to use.

Mel, thanks for the tip.

Thank you, Gary.

Misha Gerrick said...

Awesome! Thanks for sharing! :-D

Maurice Mitchell said...

A great resource. MusicLoops has good songs, but Man are they expensive.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane .. these look like really useful sites - for a variety of reasons .. always good to know about ...

Thanks - Hilary

Stephen Tremp said...

Thanks for the links. I"m still thinking of a simple video clip with music so this is a big help.

Morgan said...

I hope to someday be cool enough to have a book trailer! Spot on links, Diane. You're the "go to" girl--always so full of helpful knowledge. :D

MusicRevolution said...

You might also try MusicRevolution.com http://www.musicrevolution.com , an online marketplace for royalty-free music with over 23,000 affordable, high-quality tracks. MusicRevolution.com has created this page of royalty-free music tracks that are absolutely free to use: http://www.musicrevolution.com/free_production_music/ I am the co-founder.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks for sharing these sites. I know my husband using a few sites for media things for church . . . I'll have to check in with him and see which ones he uses. Someday, we'll make a book trailer together. But right now, he's editing dance videos and I'm editing Champion in Flight . . .

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Stephen, you should put together a trailer.

Years of research, Morgan - I have to do something with all the info in my head!

Ella said...

Thanks Diane-this is good to know!
Music so projects the mood one wants to instill! :D
Thanks for the list! YOU are filled with wisdom~

randi lee said...

Awesome list--thanks loads for sharing!! Hope all is well in your world!! :-)

Sherry Ellis said...

Thanks for the tip!

Connie Arnold said...

Thanks for sharing the info and links to the companies. Have a great week!

Unknown said...

I've made several of my music compositions free for use in book trailers. Many of these would work well in horror, suspense, and sci-fi genres. As I mention on the page I'm willing to do some basic tweaks for free.
https://soundcloud.com/wil-forbis/sets/book-trailers