Is Free Music Really Free?

Avoiding Music Copyright Issues

Music is an important part of our world. It is everywhere – we listen to it for the pure enjoyment of the music itself and we find it all around us.  It can make us feel happy or sad, it builds suspense and make us think.

Podcasts are no different to the rest of the broadcasting world in that they too tend to start with music. That music tells your listener a little about what mood they can expect from you and your podcast.

This intro is important and finding the right music can be a challenge.  Not only do you want the music that reflects your podcast but you need to make sure you don’t break any rules (and by rules, I mean legal rules!) and finding your way can be a minefield.

In this blog, I’ll talk about:

• Copyright
• Licensing
• Royalties
• Creating

Copyright

Let’s start of with copyright. My recommendation is to assume that every piece of music you hear is subject to copyright. This means that someone somewhere has the right to decide if you can use it and how you can use it.

There are exceptions but in my view it’s best to err on the side of caution.

Even when you purchase a song, you don’t buy the copyright – you are simply being given permission to use that music which leads us rather nicely into licensing.

Licensing

Copyright law is complex and I don’t pretend to be an expert. You will find many sites use ‘Creative Commons’ Licensing. 

Creative Commons helps you legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world. We unlock the full potential of the internet to drive a new era of development, growth and productivity.

With a network of staff, board, and affiliates around the world, Creative Commons provides free, easy-to-use copyright licenses to make a simple and standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work–on conditions of your choice.

From the Creative Commons website https://creativecommons.org/about/

When you are given permission to use a piece of music – it is typically licensed to you. That license will determine how you can use it. Even if you’ve paid someone to create music for you – the copyright will typically remain with them.

This is where you need to start paying attention because, even on free music sites, you need to check the license.  It may be licensed for personal use only or it may be licensed for commercial use.

Some licenses require attribution (you have to credit the copyright owner whenever you use it).

Other licenses allow you to build upon their original music – this is a derivative license.

Royalties

Many licenses allow you unlimited usage of a piece of music but others will require you to pay royalties. You may recall movies where people are living off the royalties from a successful song or role that they had – this is because they earn every time the song is played or the tv show is shown!

When you search on Google for free music – a lot of the results that appear are actually royalty free. You need to be super cautious at this point as royalty free does not mean free! It just means that you don’t have to pay every time the music is used.

There will still be a license associated with the music and you must check whether that license requires a payment as well as checking what it will allow you to use the music for.

Free Free (my own term) is when you can use the music without needing to pay any royalties or any licensing costs. However, this does not mean that you are completely free! You still need to check the licensing requirements to make sure you are using it as the license permits.

Be honest about your use and intentions for your podcast.  If it is business associated, consider it commercial. If you are considering having advertisements or sponsors – commercial. If you’re not sure – I’d err on the side of caution again and go with commercial!

The hassle and worry over someone potentially challenging your usage is, for me, not worth the worry.  Even if you think that you’re only using it a little bit in the grand scheme of things and that no one will bother to find you, you are still using it without permission. And, with technology the way it is these days – it is so much easier for usage to be tracked.

I once attended a talk where the speaker was playing a snippet from a movie on YouTube and displaying. The YouTube algorithm identified this was the case and stopped the video from playing.  It was instantaneous – we never did see the video snippet!

Creating Your Own Music

I avoid all these concerns as much as possible by working with musicians to create the music for myself and my clients. The work is original and licensedfor use on their podcast.

This allows my clients to specify the type of music they like, the feel they want for their podcast and then it is created for them.

It also saves the pain of going through loads of different pieces of music to find one that works for you on all levels – the right sound, the right cost and the right license!

Some Music Websites

Check the licensing on all of them. There are also sites that allow you to pay them and you are able to use the music within those sites without needing individual licenses.

Want to learn more?

Visit podcastconcierge.com/5-steps-dates/ or email me at book a discovery call .