Content
As you already know, music is an increasingly important element in any type of business and especially in those that base their activity on the media, be they TV, Radio or the Internet.
In this article, I will explain to you the fundamental role played by background music in a journalistic genre that never goes out of fashion: the interview.
If you are preparing an interview for your program, company, or personal blog, you will discover not only the importance of the musical element in an interview but also the best Internet marketplaces to go when acquiring the licenses and avoiding problems with the copyrights.
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What aspects do you have to take into account when selecting the appropriate background music?
Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to choose a type of music for your interviews, but the best thing is to try not to make a random decision, not very thoughtful neither too personal.
Have in mind that the tastes are very diverse, so you probably will not be able to satisfy the musical interests of all your audience.
There are many aspects to take into account in the choice of one musical genre or another:
- Adequacy with the journalistic format of the interview.
- Tuning with the protagonists (interviewer and interviewee).
- Compatibility with the choice of subject.
- Match the type of emotion sought.
In addition, there are other factors and one of them is volume.
This should be loud enough so that the music is heard, but also low enough so that it does not disturb or make it difficult for the audience to try to listen to the conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee.
The recommended volume levels in general terms are:
- Between 0 and -6 dB for the human voice.
- Between -16 and -20 dB for music.
Where can you buy Royalty-Free music?
As you probably know, most music is protected by the so-called copyrights, which means that you must be very careful when it comes to obtaining this type of music, otherwise you could have several problems.
In order to avoid legal problems or platforms like Youtube to detect that you are using some music of which you do not have the corresponding rights, you have two options:
- Request the record company the commercial use of the songs that you want to use.
- Acquire the corresponding licenses through institutions or companies dedicated specifically to it.
Logically, the first option is very unfeasible, either because you will not receive any answer or because they will ask you in exchange for an exorbitant amount of money.
Therefore, if we choose the second way we find:
Different PRO’s
The PRO (Performance Rights Organization) representative in your country is the company in charge of controlling that the individuals and businesses use any kind of music content in a legal way.
In the US, these are for example BMI, ASCAP or SESAC.
With this goal in mind, these institutions usually offer different licenses depending on the type of usage.
These companies are characterized by offering somewhat abusive prices.
The final price to pay depends on many specific factors, in addition to the possible reductions or bonuses that may be applied, but usually, you’ll need a synchronization license.
Legis Music
While we will name later another platform on which to get this music, we would first like to highlight a new feature we have introduced in Legis Music:
Launch of three exclusive plans in 2023
We consider it vitally important that our customers can access royalty-free music easily and cheaply.
Therefore, these plans have been designed so that you only have to pay once to get them, allowing you to enjoy unlimited songs for life and have the peace of mind of not having to worry about copyright claims in the future.
Thus, you can choose the plan that best suits your needs:
- Starter Plan. In this case, it is the most recommended for using the songs for personal and home videos. It also allows you to use the music in all social networks and on any web page. The only condition is to credit legismusic.com in every publication.
- Personal Plan. If you are looking to get numerous songs to use in your personal projects, this is the license for you. The Personal Plan offers unlimited music downloads, which can be used in social networks and streaming platforms, YouTube, apps, video games and audio books; as well as podcasts, virtual classes and online ads. Its price is $49 in a single payment and for life -if you use it for 3 years, it will be like paying $1/month-.
- Business Plan. This plan is specially designed for freelancers, companies and those who work for clients. It is the most open license of all, as any use case is covered and it also offers unlimited music (the only thing that is not allowed is to resell the songs). Its price is a one-time payment of $99 for life -if you use it for 2 years, it will be like paying $4/month.
As you can see, if there is one thing that makes our licenses stand out, it is the opportunity to enjoy them forever and paying only once.
Below is a table with the three plans and their respective prices.
| Starter Plan | Personal Plan | Business Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $49 for life | 99€ for life |
The reasons for placing background music in your interview
What is the duration of your interview? Ten minutes? Half an hour?
In any case, imagine what an interview would be without any musical element, especially in the moments of opening and closing.
The world of interviews is changing, and not only should they inform the public about a certain topic, but they should also entertain them.
These new interview models base their entertainment on showing a more informal format in which not only the protagonists are those can who feel most comfortable, but also the audience.
It is in this scenario where music plays an important role.
This can have numerous effects on the reception of an interview by the public, let’s see what they are:
Professionalism
One of the consequences of using music for your interviews is that they will look more professional since they will show care for all the details.
In addition, this professionalism can be translated into greater credibility and objectivity of the information or content that appears in your interview, which, independently of the opinion of each person with respect to the subject, is the main objective of this journalistic genre.
Emotion
Before I spoke to you about the importance of entertaining the public with interviews.
Well, one of the most effective techniques when entertaining is precisely to create emotions.
It doesn’t matter that these emotions are positive or negative.
Everything will depend on the theme addressed.
And in that of creating sensations, the use of environmental music is somewhat fundamental.
Empathy
This effect of the use of music for interviews goes a bit in line with the previous aspect. However, we are not talking about the same thing.
Music has to be able to generate emotions.
However, these emotions will not help if the public is not able to put themselves in the skin of the interviewee.
In this aspect, music again plays an important role.
To Hook
The most relevant thing for any television, radio or internet program is that the public does not change channels when the corresponding content is being broadcasted. 
This is where music comes back into action.
The public can continue to watch an interview, either because they are interested in what is being said, or because they are being influenced by aspects that are somewhat unconscious, such as the predominant colors, background music… or by both at the same time.
The point is that music has the ability to hook people as if they were watching a movie.
Conclusion
The duality of functions of the interviews is more than clear. And just watching the most successful current programs of this journalistic genre you can realize the importance of the fact of entertaining their public.
To create that entertainment, music plays a very important role, either when trying to show an image of professionalism, to excite, to create empathy or just to engage.
Therefore, if you are preparing an interview and f you want to make it successful, you should use royalty-free music.
