Background music for Vlogs

As you know, the only difference between a vlog and a traditional blog is that the former is distributed in video format, while the latter is shared through writing.

In recent years, the growth of platforms such as Youtube has allowed this video-blogs to become an increasingly common practice, to the point that many vloggers are already engaged in this activity in a professional manner.

And the creators get the background music for their videos on:

In 2013, for example, the highest paid vlogger had a minimum revenue of $720,000 for that same year… and that was several years ago!

As you know, music is a fundamental element for any video and even more so if one of your goals is precisely to make money with them.

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So, if you’re thinking about creating a new vlog and have some doubts about how to manage this important aspect, I recommend that you continue reading this article, I’ll give you plenty of useful tips!

WHY SHOULD YOU BUY LICENSES AND NOT USE FREE MUSIC?

Most songs are protected by so-called copyright.

That gives you two possibilities:

The first option is very impractical, as you will probably not be answered or you will be asked for a lot of money, so you will opt for the second way.

However, there are some who decide not to get any license or permission and use songs downloaded for free from the Internet in their vlog or project.

What can happen?

The consequences can be diverse:

And this would happen in the best of cases, as legal action could even be taken against you, although that’s not very common.

You can never cheat on the Content ID.

This term is used to refer to the algorithm used by Youtube to detect misuse of visual and audio content.

It works like this:

Therefore, it is not that there is a person or a group of people who are constantly watching, but we are talking about a computer system and, obviously, because it is automated, it’s crazy efficient.

WHERE TO BUY THE RIGHT KIND OF MUSIC?

Having made clear the unfeasibility of using music without obtaining the corresponding license or permission, and even more so if what you want is to monetize your vlog-, I’m going to present you the most recommendable options to obtain music and be able to use it for your videos in a totally legal way.

Broadly speaking, you have three main ways of getting music:

If you opt for the first method, you must know that the cost is usually quite high.

As far as the second option is concerned, it usually won’t work for you, as most of these songs can’t be used for monetized projects.

So I will focus on the third option, as for the creation of a vlog is the most recommended.

Let’s see what platforms can help us with this issue:

EPIDEMIC SOUND

Epidemic Sound is a platform that has a library with more than 300,000 songs.

They decided to launch a subscription that actually fits the need for any vlogger or Youtuber and offers the following:

What’s their price?

Its price will depend mostly if you’re going to use their service for your personal channels or for a business:

In addition, if you want to test the platform without any commitment, they are now offering a trial period of 30 days completely free of charge.

ENVATO ELEMENTS

Envato Elements is another good option if you want to have unlimited downloads of songs and sound effects for a very cheap monthly subscription.

In addition, the music search system by genre of this marketplace is very effective and easy to use.

What is its price?

Their subscription price is $16.50/month, which provides these advantages:

AUDIO LIBRARY

If you have a low budget, you do not have to misuse the music in your videos, as the same Youtube platform offers a large library where you can find music completely free.

However, the platform can make some requests in exchange for the use of its music.

It all depends on the type of song:

As you can see, the most recommended songs for a vlog would be royalty-free. However, these are not unlimited.

Also, if you’re creating your own vlog to earn money, what better than using unique songs that are difficult to find in another video.

Seen the way in which you acquire your music, let’s go now into the more theoretical and practical aspects, which will give you a new vision on this subject so important to succeed with your vlog:

THE REASONS BEHIND BACKGROUND MUSIC

In order to make that relevance clear to you, I am going to present some of the functions that this element can exercise:

One of them is to generate more realism.

The use of certain music can increase the sensation of living the scene in-situ in the same user.

Another possible function that music could play in your videos is to create feelings.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of vlog you want to create, because even in the most objective video blogs, which are simply intended to inform, we might find a feeling to convey: credibility.

Music is also capable of building an environment.

This is usually the most recognized function of background music, since as its name suggests it serves to create a background, a situation or a context, whether real or fictitious.

Finally, music is also capable of provoking in the user a more active and participative attitude.

This participation of the users in front of the video in question is vital for any vlogger since it is through this attitude that they try to earn money.

That user participation with the videos is totally quantifiable and is the one that will make you earn more or less money:

In fact, if you look at most vlogs, when the content in question has finished, the author always devotes a few seconds of his video to ask for “Likes” and subscriptions to his Youtube channel.

And during that short period of time, a piece of music usually sounds.

It’s no coincidence, as vloggers use it precisely to encourage visitors to interact with their videos.

I’m going to explain now how best to handle this element to get the most out of your videos:

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MUSIC?

To make a video blog and have optimal results must take into account many factors:

And a very important part and at the same time one of the most complex of the editing process: music.

It’s because of that complexity that I’m going to give you some advice so that you can treat that music in the most appropriate way possible:

Consider the role

First of all, you must be very clear about the role you want music to play in your video.

Music may be able to give specific information very important for the user to follow the plot of the video, but it is also possible that its function is limited simply to have something in the background and not only silence.

In relation to that function, the volume of the music must be adjusted. The more important the function of the music, the louder the volume.

However, you should not overdo the volume, otherwise, the effects of the music could become counterproductive.

Many times, if the background music simply has a background function, that is to say, a bit more secondary, it is very appropriate to maintain a lower volume so that it is not so noticeable and so that its effects on the spectators are more unconscious.

Get quality music

If we were talking before about the camera, which obviously has to be a good one, the same happens with music.

These melodies cannot be just recordings, because the final result of the video suffers.

What you should do is opt for music with good professional sound.

Obviously, you will have to pay for a subscription, but considering the large amounts of money you could earn offering a quality video, this turns out to be an investment. Remember, the best options are Epidemic Sound or Envato Elements.

Don’t be afraid of editing

When music is played in a video, especially when it is in the background, both the visual and the musical narration must be in perfect harmony.

So, if you have to make any adjustments to square both narrations, such as pausing or trimming the music, don’t hesitate to do so.

Also, if the background music has a more secondary role, people won’t even notice those editing touches.

Enter and Exit

Music plays an important role in splitting sections of a video.

It is very important that the structure of this one is very clear to the spectators since this way possible confusions will be avoided and also the communicated message will be transmitted with greater force.

A very important technique when dividing the same video into different parts or sections is increasing the volume of the music in the moments of transition from one part to the other.

However, surely the moments in which the music has more importance are:

A technique widely used in the closures and that really generates many results is to finish the videos abruptly, because in this way the visitor is surprised, his attention is captured and the desire for more is created.

Know your audience

Another aspect to take into account when choosing one music or another for your vlog is your target.

Depending on the characteristics of your target audience (geographical location, age, interests… data that Youtube gives you on its Analytics page) you will be able to intuit which type of music is the most-liked and, therefore, which musical genre is the most likely to make them feel more comfortable and identified.

You’ll need to look at the analytical results of your videos to see which region your videos are most viewed in, which age is predominant, and so on.

Tone and frequency

If your video uses a lot of voice-overs, you should be very careful, as choosing a piece of particular music can cause human voices to be confused with the sound of instruments.

To avoid such problems it is highly recommended to choose simple melodies or repetitive chord progressions.

In this way, you will be able to increase the volume of the music and, consequently, its importance, which will go hand in hand with the voice-over.

If you want to transmit power and force to the voice-over, ideally you should opt for melodies played by low-frequency instruments.

These are the types of instruments that transmit a high and a low frequency:

Rythm

As far as the rhythm of the music is concerned, it is very important that it be constant since, in this way when pausing in the music, a visual element or a particular moment of the video can be highlighted.

However, this technique should not be abused too much, as it may then lose its effectiveness.

Be aware of your budget

Depending on whether you have a higher or lower budget, you can opt for more or less expensive music retrieval systems.

If in your case you have a high budget, you could even hire a composer to create a single song exclusively for your video.

This option would be recommended if you want to create a strong brand image for your vlog, thus cohesive all the videos with the same music in the introduction.

However, if your budget is more moderate, it would be ideal to get the licenses to use the music content you are going to use

Conclusion

This article has made clear the importance of music in vlogs.

And it is that sincerely right now it is impossible for me to think of any quality video that is triumphant and that is not using this musical element.

The more you take care of all the details, the more likely you are to increase your audience and thus, your revenue.