For time-pressed professionals, it could seem a lot simpler to select songs from the free music library supplied with your chosen social media platform. But the truth is, whether you’re a social media manager, brand manager, video editor or content creator, you could be putting yourself at a real disadvantage by doing so.
There are lots of reasons why it pays to license music specifically for social media, from the legal protections licensing for your chosen platform provides to the quality control you’re ultimately able to enact on your brand. In this blog we break down everything you need to know about the risks of relying on free music libraries for social media and how you can utilise music to elevate your brand.
What Are the Risks of Relying on Free Music Libraries?
Free doesn’t mean risk-free. Many “free” tracks still require proper attribution or have hidden restrictions and, if you fail to comply, platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok may issue a copyright strike. But even if you’re using the library built-in to your desired social media platform, there are legal and creative limitations.
Firstly, free music libraries often restrict monetisation or require additional licensing for commercial use. That means if you’re seeking music for corporate videos, you’ll need to obtain a specific commercial music licence or run the risk your video being pulled down. In addition, free music platforms can change their terms and conditions or remove music from their catalogue at any time, leaving your content vulnerable to take-downs.
By their very nature, free tracks are available to everybody, making them liable to overuse and you liable to sharing content that could seem generic or repetitive. It’s also difficult to guarantee production quality, and poorly mixed or mastered music could affect the overall professionalism of your video.
What Are the Benefits of Licensing Music for Social Media?
When you use Audio Network, you’re opening yourself up to a world of choice. Whether you’re looking to license pop music, license electronic music, license hip hop music or license orchestral music, we have more than 250,000 high quality tracks available, spanning every genre, mood and style imaginable. Every track is recorded to the highest possible standard, and with cut-downs and stems available on selected tracks not only do you have the flexibility to access world-class music that matches your brand’s tone and values – you then have the ability to truly make tracks your own.
If the idea of exploring music licensing for commercials, music licensing for social media or music licensing for video editing brings you out in a cold sweat, don’t worry – you’re not alone. But with every track at Audio Network pre-cleared for commercial use, obtaining licensed music for videos is a synch. Simply put, we take care of all the legal stuff, so you can swerve takedowns or any rights issues that are so common with using free libraries.
Finding the Perfect Track With Audio Network
First off, you need to choose which of our Search functions you want to use: Musical Styles, Mood/Emotion, Instrumentation or Production Genre. You can listen to our latest releases – we have new albums every fortnight. Or discover music organised around themes and genres with our playlists such as Business & Brands, Epic Gaming, Fashion & Beauty, Background Music or find out what’s Trending on Social Media.
You can filter to narrow down your options further – by mood, such as anticipation or determination, romantic and reflective, or tension-filled. You can also filter by genres including everything from dance to drum ‘n’ bass, indie to hybrid orchestral.
Want to get more specific? Try our new Prompt Search feature, which harnesses the power of AI to find your ideal sounds. Simply put in a description of your content, a scene or the emotions you want your audience to feel, and you’ll get a playlist full of options within seconds.
Or you can use our Audio Search to find a track that sounds like something you’ve heard on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok or SoundCloud.
For more on adding tracks to your projects, watch our easy explainer:
Still stuck? Why not contact one of our team and send us a music brief?
Read All About It
So, now you know all about why licensing music for social media is a smarter choice than using free libraries, why not check out more of our blogs, from video editing tips to keep your audience hooked and how to license a song for video to how to find music for YouTube videos, TikTok or Instagram. And to find out why using the best music can make you more money, read our deep dive into unlocking Music Licensing’s ROI.
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!
