BACKGROUND MUSIC FOR TRAVEL VIDEOS

People don’t want to stop traveling. It’s a fact, and that’s what the data shows year after year. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2019 there were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, 6% over the previous year.

But, besides traveling, what people like is to share their trips on social media. Apps like Instagram, Facebook or YouTube are full of audiovisual content with tourist monuments, paradise beaches and places with dreamlike views.

Here’s an example:

Because of this eagerness to share the photos and videos of our trips and enjoy the content that others have posted, the phenomenon of travel videos like the one you just saw has increased.

These are clips in which photos are combined with videos already recorded during one or more of the trips made with the aim of making a video collage as a memento.

This does not seem to be a very complicated task. All you have to do is choose the best photos and videos and add some original effects to make them dynamic and entertaining.

However, there is a differential element that will make your video be remembered forever or easily forgotten: the music.

A travel video with the perfect music is a piece that stays in your mind as well as in your heart.

What is the music that best fits my travel video?

The answer to this question is quite personal, as is the approach to the video and its further editing. It is recommended that the music should communicate relaxation, comfort and, above all, emotions.

Another important thing when choosing the perfect music for your video is that it should be in line with what you want to transmit.

However, no matter what your video is about, there are music tracks that will always fit. The key is to be clear about the approach you want to take to the video: more emotional, more romantic, more adventurous, etc.

Can I use any song for my video?

The question here is whether your video will be for private or public use.

That is, if you are going to have the video for yourself and show it to family and friends at a private meeting or by sending it through Whatsapp, it is not a problem to use the song you want.

However, if your idea is to share it on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube, you can’t use just any song. You must make sure that the music track in question is not copyrighted.

Otherwise, you could get into trouble.

The importance of respecting copyright

When it comes to choosing the music for a travel video, the first songs that come to mind are all those you can hear on the radio, TV or on Spotify.

But keep in mind that virtually every famous song you hear on the radio, TV or on Spotify is copyrighted.

Copyright is the exclusive right of an author, publisher or record company to use a piece of music.

In other words, the only people who can use the songs are the owners of their rights.

The reason you listen to the songs on the radio or Spotify is because they have already acquired the rights to the music from the record companies that own the rights.

And this, of course, is not free.

To get permission to use these songs in your video you’ll need to contact the record companies and ask for their approval. They will almost certainly give it to you for a very high price, which is usually not worth paying.

What if I use copyrighted music without paying for it?

This is, without a doubt, the worst possible decision.

In most cases, record companies and collecting societies -like the PROs in the EE.UU- are not at all flexible when it comes to penalizing people who have used protected music without their permission.

As you can see, a high price to pay for using a well-known song in your video.

Luckily, this kind of situation can be avoided.

On the Internet there are several alternatives that offer royalty-free music in a legal and economical way, so you can have peace of mind by using quality music in your travel videos.

How do I choose background music for my travel videos? The Best 3 platforms

Of all the platforms that offer royalty-free music on the Internet, there are three that are by far the best.

Below I will show you each one of them, presenting you with their most powerful features.

However, before starting with the presentations, I must warn you: none of these sites offer free music. All of them work through a monthly -or yearly- subscription with a very reduced cost.

That said, let’s discover them!

Epidemic Sound

Epidemic Sound is one of the oldest companies in the royalty-free music industry.

Based in Sweden since its birth in 2009, it is considered one of the largest companies in the sector.

If you have to define it in one word by its music library, that would be ‘huge’. It has more than 30,000 music tracks and more than 60,000 sound effects, all designed by independent producers and artists who work exclusively with this platform.

It also has a couple of features that will help you find the perfect sound for your travel video.

Apart from all the above, in Epidemic Sound you will find a license that will be ideal for you in case you want to create audiovisual content about traveling in a recurrent way in a YouTube channel.

The license is called ‘Personal Subscription’ and has the following advantages:

However, if your idea is to share your video trips on these platforms, you will need to know that they have 2 different plans:

Plan	Price	Visit
Personal	13€ / month	HERE
Commercial	49€ / month	HERE

You have seen all that Epidemic Sound has to offer and why it is considered one of the best platforms to offer music without copyright.

However, to convince you, they have decided to throw out the baby with the bathwater and offer you a 30-day free trial.

Note: If you need more information about this platform, don’t miss our complete guide to Epidemic Sound.

Envato Elements

Envato Elements is another gem when it comes to distributing royalty-free music.

Although not as old as Epidemic Sound, this Melbourne-based Australian company has a lot of experience in the industry.

The platform has a music library very similar in quantity to its most direct competitor: more than 90,000 audio tracks between songs and sound effects.

All the songs can be filtered according to whether you are looking for a particular music genre, by song speed – in BPMS -, by duration, whether you want them to be instrumental or vocal, and in the case of vocal songs, you can choose whether you want them male or female.

Most of the songs are instrumental, so they will be great for your musical background proposal. However, you will have the option of choosing from a large number and variety of songs.

In addition to the above, the monthly subscription offered by Envato Elements – which costs $16.50 / month – will bring you the following advantages:

As you can see, Elements is another all-rounder in the distribution of non-copyrighted music. But it is something that, until you try it, you don’t discover its real potential.

Artlist.io

If Epidemic Sound is the industry veteran and Envato Elements is its faithful competitor, in the case of Artlist you could say that it is the promise that seeks to establish itself as the best of all.

This young Israeli company, founded in 2016, comes with very clear ideas and with the desire to revolutionize the music market without copyright. And that’s something you see as soon as you first enter the platform.

With a revolutionary and minimalist design in which you have everything in sight, Artlist seeks to offer a complete, simple and intuitive service, something that shows perfectly in its fantastic user experience.

Regarding its music library, it is true that it cannot compete in quantity with its competitors because it ‘only’ has just over 9,000 music tracks. However, when it comes to music quality, he is no match for other companies.

All its songs can be filtered according to Mood, Genre, Instrument or Video Theme, the latter being a fantastic option for finding music according to the theme of the video, among which you will find ‘Travel’.

But that’s not all.

Artlist proves to be revolutionary in its approach to licensing as well. This platform only offers a single license, called ‘Universal License’, which covers any aspect you want to use the song for, including the videos, of course.

In addition to all that, Artlist offers other benefits, such as

And how much does all this cost?

I knew you were gonna ask sooner or later. Normally, you are worried that this service that offers so many advantages could cost you a lot of money. In that case, you can start to calm down.

The Artlist Universal License costs $199 a year -about $16.60 a month- so you can get an idea. However, unlike the other platforms, they bet on a single annual payment instead of monthly micropayments.

This way, you pay only once and focus on finding the right songs instead of being concerned about whether you have money in the bank or whether you have received the bill in your inbox.

But now you can pay even less!

Because Artlist offers a promotion for new customers to get 2 months free. All you have to do is subscribe to their newsletter and buy their license.

This will turn those 12 months of subscription into 14 months at the same price.

The 3 keys to success with your travel video

After learning about the three best platforms for getting the perfect music for your travel video, it’s time to reveal the keys that the music tracks you choose must-have.

Conclusion

Travel videos are one of the best ways to show the best moments of your vacation to those closest to you.

As long as the video is well assembled, creative and consistent with what you want to transmit from it, it will be a piece that will delight anyone who watches it.

And as you have already discovered throughout the article, the essential factor that makes this possible while at the same time awakening the emotional factor of the viewers is the music.

Without this element, the message you want to deliver with the travel video will be incomplete, and will not have any effect on the people who watch it. Or can you imagine an audiovisual piece in which only photos and videos of you enjoying the trip are shown without music?

Luckily, you now know the three best platforms in the field of royalty-free music, with which you can add the soundtrack you were looking for in a legal, economical way and with the highest quality.

Each one will provide you with an extensive music library with a multitude of songs that you can use as a melody to showcase your adventures.

All this with the peace of mind you need, knowing that you will never be fined for copyright infringement.

However, you know that each one of them has its own specific features that make them different from each other. Now it is up to you which one you want to start trying according to your needs:

Service	Type	Prices	Visit
EPIDEMIC SOUND	Subscription	From $15/month	HERE
ENVATO ELEMENTS	Subscription	From $16.50 / month	HERE
ARTLIST.IO	Subscription	$199 / year	HERE

And if you are looking for more, I recommend you to visit our articles about how to choose the right music for a video or music for your photo slideshows.