When you’re searching for music to license for your project or content, there’ll be some music terms you might find useful to have up your sleeve. From genres to bpm, knowing the common ways in which music is described can be a canny shortcut to finding what you need, and give you more understanding as to what would make a track perfect for creating emotion – whether a sense of calm or unease – telling your brand story, or soundtracking everything from serious documentaries to sporting triumphs or fun dramedies.
However, with our new AI-powered Prompt Search, anyone, regardless of their music knowledge, can find exactly what they need. With Prompt Search, you can simply describe the scene you’re looking to soundtrack, such as ‘inspirational sports trailer’ or ‘mystical intergalactic travel’ or ‘creepy forest at night’, together with everyday phrases, emotions, characters, place or production type, such as trailers, documentaries, drama, etc.
Our Audio Search, which also harnesses the capabilities of AI, means that if you want to find something with a similar sound or feel to a reference track, you can. Just log into our Search tool and paste the link of your reference track from YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, etc and you’ll receive a selection of tracks to match.
So, whether you’re using Prompt Search or Audio Search, you can effortlessly find the music to enhance your vision in a matter of moments.
Want to dig deeper, and understand both music and music licensing a bit more? Here’s our beginner’s go-to music glossary for the terms you’ll find most often as you explore Audio Network’s catalogue:
BPM
This stands for ‘beats per minute’, which is pretty self-explanatory – the higher the bpm, the faster the music. So, a waltz will be around 80-90bpm, whereas a techno track will be about 120-140 bpm. You can search through our catalogue based on bpm, if you’re looking for a track with a specific speed.
Genres
Music has been divided into different genres for almost as long as people have been making it. Spotify now has well over 1,300 music genres and there are new ones being coined every day. Put simply, music genres are just categories that help to identify a specific piece of music – by rhythm, melody, style, instrumentation, themes or its cultural origins.
Here’s a whistlestop tour through music genres from classical through jazz, folk, rock, metal, pop, hip hop, electropop and more
Stems/Stings
What Are Stems?
Stems in music are created as part of the mixing process and final track delivery. They are subgroups of the full mix and usually reflect groupings of instruments/instrumental sections, as opposed to individual instruments or sounds.
What’s the Difference Between a Stem and a Mix?
We normally have 5 or 6 stems per track, whereas in a mix project of any given recording you might have 10s or even 100s of individual tracks. For example, a snare drum as part of a kit is a single recorded track, while the grouping of an entire drum kit with all recorded components in one separated subgroup and audio file is a stem.
Why Use Stems?
Stems give you greater flexibility and creative control. They are especially beneficial for those who work in branded content. You can adjust levels of key instrument groups to get the right balance in a commercial (vs dialogue and FX, for example.) For example, on our orchestral music tracks, we generally make stems of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion so you can use whichever elements you need.
Stings, bumpers and hits are very short (8 seconds or less) edits of a track for use as alternative endings or as the ‘bits’ for an editor to have.
Find out more about stems on our dedicated page.
Underscore
- This is a track with the melody/tune taken out so it can be used to sit quietly under a voiceover or effects without distracting.
- Nearly all Audio Network tracks have an underscore version available.
Music Licensing Glossary: Production Music Uncovered
Licensing music can often be a confusing array of terms and restrictions. With this handy glossary, next time you need to clear music rights, it’ll be less daunting.
What We’ll Cover:
Available Music Types
- Production (Library) Music
- Commercial Music
- Specially Composed Music
- Royalty Free Music
Musical Rights
- Synchronisation Rights
- Dubbing (Master) Rights
- Public Performance Rights
- Performing Rights
Copyright Terms
- Cue Sheets
- Incidental Inclusion
Acronyms
- PRS
- MCPS
- PPL
Available Music Types:
Production (Library) Music
- Production music (also known as library or stock music) is written especially for use with a film or picture. The library selling the music will usually own all of the rights, meaning no further permission is required from its composer or other publishers and record labels.
- With most libraries you will need to know where the music is going to be used, to ensure your licence covers all the rights you need. Make sure you read carefully where you can use the music and understand exactly what your licence covers.
- Audio Network differs from most libraries in that it issues one central licence which covers all the music you use for global multi-platform use and distribution in perpetuity.
Commercial Music
- This term covers all kinds of commercially available music, from the Beatles to Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran to Megan Thee Stallion. This is music that’s primarily to be listened to, rather than synchronised with picture.
- Generally speaking, the better-known the performer and track, the more it will cost. There are no set fees for commercial music, and all rates are negotiable.
- Under current EU Law, if the composer(s) died more than 70 years ago, then the music is usually no longer in copyright and you won't need a sync licence, though sound copyright may still need clearing. (Always check to confirm)
Specially Composed Music
- This is music scored especially and exclusively for your production. It can be expensive and there are no fixed rates so it's a question of agreeing a fee.
- Audio Network provides this service and can advise on the costs, best composers to work with and the different ways of approaching the project.
Buyout Music/Royalty Free Music
- Royalty Free Music is used to describe the type of library which allows you to buy music and then use it as much as you like in productions.
- It’s important to read the small print, though, to know the limits of where the production can be used and distributed.
Audio Network does not offer Royalty-Free Music.
Musical Rights and Music Licensing Terms
What Does a Music Licence Cover?
Synchronisation (Sync) Rights
- These give you the right to synchronise a musical composition with your film. A ‘sync’ licence is usually obtained from the publisher of the music you wish to use, and is required whatever type of music you’re using.
- The only exception to this is music which is public domain (usually where the composer has died more than 70 years ago). Even when you have secured a sync licence you will still require a dubbing/master licence covering the sound recording of the musical composition you wish to use.
Dubbing (Master) Rights
- Dubbing, or Master Rights give you the right to dub (or use) the sound recording of a musical work onto your film. The sound recording copyright is usually owned by the record company that released the recording, and the owner can usually be identified from a ℗ symbol in the sleeve notes.
- It’s important to clear both the dubbing and sync rights to the piece of music you want to use. Most music will have rights in the composition and separate rights in the sound recording.
Public Performance Rights
- The right to make a public performance of the music in your film is usually the responsibility of the broadcaster in each territory. The broadcaster will negotiate a blanket licence with the collection societies responsible for the composition and sound recording in their territory.
- In the UK PRS for Music licenses the public performance of musical compositions, and PPL sound recordings. Public performance licences are also required for web sites, trade fairs etc., and these are the responsibility of the web site owner or venue.
Both the sound recording and the musical work are automatically cleared as part of our general licence.
Copyright Terms
Cue Sheets
- A cue sheet is a record of every piece of music used in your production, and includes details of the title, composer, publisher, record label and duration to enable the broadcaster to report the music use to PRS and PPL.
- It is the producer’s responsibility to deliver full cue sheets for each programme, as part of their broadcasting licence agreement. If you don’t complete the cue sheets there can be penalty payments which the broadcaster may want to pass to the producer to pay.
Incidental Inclusion
- You have to clear every second of music on your production, including music that is playing in shot.
- Make sure you've covered every bit of music that is audible on the soundtrack, even ‘incidental’ music, such as a track playing from the radio in shot.
Acronyms
PRS
- The Performing Rights Society (now PRS for Music) is the UK royalty collection society responsible for licensing the public performance of musical compositions, on television, online, in shops, pubs, clubs and concert venues.
- Other societies known collectively as Performing Rights Organisations (PROs) collect in other territories:
- ASCAP or BMI in the US
- SACEM in France
- GEMA in Germany
MCPS
- The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society is the UK royalty collection society responsible for licensing the copying of musical compositions onto CDs, DVDs and via online downloads.
- You’ll usually need a licence from MCPS if you’re selling copies of your production or a soundtrack album.
PPL
Phonographic Performance Limited is the UK royalty collection society that licenses public performances of sound recordings. Broadcasters license this right from PPL. Shops and offices also have a licence to cover playing music in public.
DISCLAIMER: this information is intended as a guide. Always obtain independent legal advice if you are in any doubt about using music with your production.
Need Music for Your Project?
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
