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Quiz shows have been one of the best TV entertainment options for several decades.

This type of programming is very attractive to all kinds of audiences.

They are very dynamic programs in which the contestant tries to guess the right answers to the questions asked from the quiz show.

Something that the viewer also feels from his or her own home, where he or she also ‘competes’ to find out those answers.

Both of them, along with other programs of the same type, have several things in common: they are television programs, they have a ‘Q&A’ style, they have charismatic presenters… but there is one thing that differentiates them all, and that often happens subconsciously: music.

The melody of a television program is one of the differentiating elements that makes each contest unique.

Maybe you didn’t stop to think about it, but it is very possible that, if they cover your eyes and reproduce the entrance of a famous ‘Quiz show‘ you can identify it instantly:

I’m sure you were right. This is the music of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’.

It is a tune that, when the program started, nobody knew it would become so famous, but nevertheless it is a tune known all over the world.

Do you want to get the perfect tune for your contest too?

As you can see, the services I just presented to you are not free, so you might be wondering the following:

Can I play royalty-free music on my Quiz Show for free?

Of course, this option to sound your Q&A program is an option that is practically never used.

There are certain drawbacks that, in most cases, cannot be easily solved.

For example, when you use free songs without copyright, you must always mention the artist of the song.

Another inconvenience that is usually unsolvable is that free songs often do not allow for editing, so they cannot be cut and a shorter version cannot be created.

Can you imagine a 3-minute soundtrack for a TV quiz show?

It would leave a very bad image to the audience from its first broadcast and it would certainly be a program destined to fail.

In addition to these two problems, free music has other problems associated with it.

In the event that there is a misinterpretation of the song’s license, it could give rise to a copyright claim by the song’s owner.

As you can see, a lot of problems to save a few euros in sounding your program correctly.

So, do I need to pay to use music on my TV show?

In most cases, the answer is yes, especially if the music is copyrighted.

All tracks that have this type of protection are managed by the PROs.

PRO are acronym of ‘Performance Rights Organizations’ and is responsible for defending and managing the intellectual property rights in each country, (BMI, ASCAP or SESAC in USA, PPL–PRS in the UK…).

The cost of the licenses to exploit each music track usually varies depending on the use.

However, we warn you in advance that they are usually quite high.

Because of this, most people who are looking for music for television programs opt for other options that are just as legal but much cheaper and easier to use.

What happens if I use music from Spotify or YouTube?

You will most likely have two types of problems:

What happens if I break the copyright?

The PROs usually have a large number of staff hired for the sole purpose of inspecting any audiovisual media that may use copyrighted material.

As you can see, it is not worth taking any chances with copyrighted music or platforms like YouTube or Spotify.

How to add background music to my Quiz Competition

Since the budget is usually not an issue in the audiovisual environment, it is best to spend a little money on acquiring quality music where you don’t have a copyright problem.

Fortunately, there are platforms on the Internet where you can have thousands of songs at your disposal in a few clicks.

We have tried several of them and there is only one that we can recommend with guarantees: AudioJungle.

Audiojungle

Audiojungle is one of the largest marketplaces in the entire copyright-free music industry on the Internet.

This platform has one of the largest and most varied music libraries on the market, with over 700,000 music tracks and sound effects in both MP3 and WAV formats.

It also offers a very simple web environment for intuitive navigation, making the search for songs accessible to everyone.

It has a pre-listening system available so that you can hear all the songs before you decide on a particular one, all without having to create an account.

Depending on the use that you are going to give to the song you will have to acquire one or another of the following musical licenses:

In the case of the sound effects, which will also be tremendously useful for certain situations in the TV quiz show, these are the licenses you will have at your disposal:

Have you seen all that Audiojungle can bring to your Q&A program?

Well, don’t wait any longer to try it out and find that soundtrack that everyone will hum at home.

Alternative option: Personalized Music

In addition to the PROs’ licenses and other better options like the ones just presented, there is also a third option in case you do not find what you are looking for: Create custom melodies and sound effects for your contest.

On the other hand, you will have to hire specialized music design staff to create, from scratch, that background sound.

This usually has much higher costs than the Audiojungle and licenses, besides the fact that its creation time will also be much longer.

Therefore, our recommendation would be that you first take a look at these online platforms we just mentioned and, in case you don’t find the sound you are looking for, then start considering this alternative.

However, before that, you should keep in mind the kind of melody you want.

Otherwise, you may make the mistake of using any style of music that minimally meets the objective.

What is the best style of music for a Q&A program?

TV quiz show music is usually quite dynamic and in a style that shows energy and is catchy.

Your goal should be to keep the viewers’ attention, while at the same time entertaining and encouraging them.

One track that shows this very clearly is Audiojungle’s ‘Fun TV Show Intro Logo’, which features characteristic instruments such as drums, electric guitars, and trumpets, so common in TV contests.

Conclusion

A question and answer contest is a project with many possibilities of success since it is dynamic, entertaining and fun content for all kinds of audiences, from the youngest in the family to our parents, uncles, and grandparents.

To be successful, it will not only depend on the format of the program, the advertising it is given, the presenter chosen, or the schedule at which it will be broadcasted.

It will also depend on the visual aspect and, of course, the most subliminal factor: the music.

Music is that cheerful, catchy element that keeps viewers hooked on the TV quiz shows.

Luckily, at this point, you will know that royalty-free music is not the best option for this type of show.

It is worth investing a small amount of your entire show budget to provide a quality soundtrack that your viewers will love.

Each one of them in their own style, but both provide you with a wide and varied music library that will make the search for the perfect tune as easy as possible.

Plus, you can pre-listen to each of the music tracks and sound effects to make sure that they are exactly what you are looking for.

So what are you waiting for to find that background music for your contest?

Just choose the platform you like the most and try it out right away!