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How Does Royalty Free Music Work?

Filmmaking is a complicated process with a lot of working parts that have to come together for the finished video to be a success. One of the most frequently discussed considerations for new filmmakers and business owners interested in producing videos to make has to do with music. Specifically, “royalty free music.” In fact, many wonder, “how does royalty free music work?” and what exactly does it mean?

At Beverly Boy Productions, we frequently discuss the option of “Royalty Free Music,” with clients as one of the many variables that could be incorporated into a film or video project. In order to help our audience better understand what Royalty Free Music is and just how it works, we’ve put together a quick guide.

What is Royalty Free Music?

Essentially, any music that requires a single upfront fee for the use of the music but does not require any ongoing fees based on the frequency or number of times that the music is replayed in a commercial video project is Royalty Free Music.

The idea is, the individual pays a single licensing fee for the music and, upon paying this fee, the music may be used for as long as the individual wants and as many times as he or she wants, without any additional fees added on.

So, for example, you might pay $50 for a song to be included in a video that you post to your “About Us” page of your website. You pay the $50 and include the music in your video. Then you post your video and whether 1 person sees it on your website or 1M people see it, doesn’t matter. You paid for the Royalty Free Music, and you own the rights to have it in your video.

Also, you can keep the music in the video for 1 year, 1 day, or 100 years. You purchased the rights and there is no time limit. This is Royalty Free Music!

How Does Royalty Free Music Work Different than Music with a Royalty Fee?

Rights to a Song / music

So what makes Royalty Free Music different than music that does have a Royalty fee? That’s a great question!  Royalty Free means that there are no royalty charges or ongoing charges to come with the use of or the licensing of the music. Likewise, music that has a royalty fee would have ongoing charges.

For example, if you purchase a song that has a Royalty Fee, you might have something where you pay for the song, say $50 upfront, and then a royalty for every 1,000 times the song is listened to.

So for example, if you had to pay $1 for every 1,000 times the song is listened to as the Royalty on a particular song then you would pay $10 for every 10,000 times the song is listened to, or for every 10K visitors to the page of your website that has the video on it with the song.

Keep in Mind, Royalty Free Music is Not Free

There is a difference between Royalty Free Music, and free music. When you ask, “How does Royalty Free Music Work?” Essentially, there are no royalty fees for the music, but it’s not considered free music. You may still have to pay a flat fee for the licensing or rights to include the music in your video, you just won’t pay ongoing fees for the music above and beyond the initial upfront cost.

Just because you get music without a royalty fee, does not mean it is:

 

– Copyright free

– Low quality

– Completely free

– Stock music

 

So next time you ask, ‘How does royalty free music work?” Know that royalty free music is not free music, it’s just music that does not require an ongoing Royalty Fee in order for continued licensing of the music to be considered legal.

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