Here are some of the entries received so far in our YouTube Video Contest (in no particular order).

Contest ends Monday night, May 7.  Here’s what’s up.

We’re looking for the three BEST videos that promote your event, your product, or your message.  Prizes will be awarded for all three categories.

Here’s what you can win:

1. The Ginny Culp Royalty Free Music Collection of your choice (from our current catalog) *
2. A sound effects collection of your choice (from our current catalog) *
3. A featured spot on our blog … you’ll get brand new exposure to new people
4. We’ll PRO-mote your youtube video that means … new subscribers … views and favorites

* Since we offer a variety of licensing, you’ll receive the license that you normally purchase.

To qualify, the video must fit into one of the the three available categories, and must contain (only) Ginny or Erin Culp royalty free background music.

Narrated videos? Fine either way.

DEADLINE TO ENTER:  Monday night May 7 2012 … midnight EST.

AVAILABLE TO CATEGORIES TO ENTER:

1. A video that promotes an EVENT (can be a webinar or conference)
2. A video that promotes a PRODUCT (physical or digital)
3. A video that states a MESSAGE (entertainment or educational)

The rules:

• Videos must be hosted on YouTube
• Videos must contain (only) Ginny Culp or Erin Culp Royalty-Free Music
• With OR without a voice over (any language)
• Nothing illegal or offensive to most people
• Rated PG at the most
• Maximum two entries per category but you can enter all three categories.

Judging:

Judging will be conducted by Erin on Tuesday, and prizes will be handed out on Wednesday May 9, 2012.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE.  As soon as you’re ready come back here and past your URL into the comments section below.

And that’s it.  Simple straight forward … enter now and YOU could be one of our three winners in just a few days from now.

What is royalty free, and is it the same as free music?

Watch this video for details:

First of all … “my bad”. Almost a week has gone by since first posting a video to YouTube explaining “what is royalty free”, only to discover today the horror that the video actually has a typo.

(Correction now made … and voila … new video now up!)

There are a lot of misunderstandings floating around today about the term royalty-free, in particular when it applies to music.  In this quick video, I’ll explain in layman’s terms, what is royalty free.

What is Royalty Free Music?

For some quick background, music royalties are micro payments that are pay per use charges that are paid to copyright holders and the owners of master recordings.

When music is royalty-free, these micro payments are waved … not for a limited time … but forever.

Generally speaking a royalty-free music license cannot be requested … it’s something that the copyright holder determines whether they want to offer.  And to be clear … MOST music cannot be licensed and used as royalty-free.

For example, you heard a song on the radio and you’d like to add it to your video.  To do that you need to acquire licensing, and for most commercial recordings this will cost in the tens of thousands of dollars … IF it’s available at all.  More often than not, the music publisher will NOT grant that type of license, since they depend on royalties revenue for their livelihood.

Royalty free isn’t synonymous with free.  It simply means that there is a one-time upfront fee to license the music.  Yes you still have to follow the terms of the license, and use the music accordingly.

There are those who misunderstand and think that royalty free means free.

Additional reading on what is royalty free music:

• What is Royalty Free
• What is Fair Use
• Royalty-Free Music Collections

What is Stock Music?

Stock music is understood in opposition to custom made (music that is created for a specific project) – an online video, a presentation, a film, a commercial, or a television show. Many stock music libraries offer their music on a Royalty Free basis, but other libraries prefer to offer their music with a Rights Managed license or “pay per use” based on the frequency of use & type of use as well as the size of the territory. This is why it’s important to check the music licensing before making your purchase, to make sure that the licensing fits your needs.

The advantages of Stock Music

Producers of video have never before had so much music designed specifically for media. And the need for well-crafted music has exploded too in recent years.  Listen to the music and pick the option that is right for your production requirements. Stock Music gives you the chance to have any type of music and orchestration you need and you can use it in creative, innovative and unexpected ways. There are two advantages of stock music.  (1) Save time – pick the music that’s ready to go, and you can insert it into your video masterpiece immediately after download.  (2) Cost.  Stock music is always less expensive than custom music because you’re sharing the cost with other music buyers who are adding the same background music in their production.

The disadvantages of Stock Music

Since the music is also used by others, your production won’t have a UNIQUE soundtrack.  But when you balance the cost savings and time savings, stock music is often an excellent choice for many amateur video producers and small production houses.

Stock music isn’t always royalty free.  Be sure to clearly understand the terms of the license before ordering.  Many stock music producers DO in fact charge royalties, which means that there is a “pay per use” charge for adding the music into your project.

Additional reading on the subject of what is stock music:

• Music for YouTube videos royalty free
• What is Royalty Free?

A common question is what is the difference between FREE MUSIC, and ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC.

For the most part, musicians, composers and record companies are paid through sales, downloads, live performances and airplay, through a series of micro payments to the owner of the music, and the owner of the master. Royalties are paid by the user of the music which can be the company that produces the CD and radio stations just to cite a few examples. When you purchase music, the consumer is purchasing a license to USE the music personally which might include playing it at home or in their car, on a music playback device such as an iPod, iPad, iPhone, MP3 player, computer or a CD.

Generally speaking, music purchased for that purpose isn’t licensed for becoming the background music soundtrack to your video – even if you have paid for the music.

FREE MUSIC comes in three forms:

1. Illegally obtained free music

Examples of illegally obtained music include copying it from a friend, recording it from the radio, recording live performances (such as concerts) and downloaded from illegal pirate music sites.

When you obtain music in this manner there’s no way for the creator of the music to be paid.

2.  Free but not free of royalties

In this case the music can APPEAR TO BE FREE, but in adherence to the license, you cannot actually use the music in your videos without paying music royalties.  This structure gets messy so it should be avoided, especially if there are renewals down the road.

3.  Free music and royaltyfree

Ever heard the phrase you get what you pay for?  More often than not, amateur musicians make their music available in this way because for them it’s just a hobby.

Good quality music isn’t normally free, so be very careful about licensing if you find some quality music that you like, that APPEARS TO BE both free and royaltyfree.  Sometimes it is being provided illegally, in particular if it is a commercially available recording.  However, on occasion sample packs can be downloaded to give you chance to try out the music and see if you like the composer by putting some of their works to video.  If you’re able to obtain a license in this situation you should always credit the author of the song and when possible link back to the source.

ROYALTY-FREE but not free

This is the type of license that most video producers are seeking.  For a small one-time fee you purchase a license to use the music in your videos.  Once you have created your video, you can continue to use that video and its soundtrack, forever.

Licensing is straight-forward and easy to manage.

Music for youtube videos royalty free

It is particularly important when purchasing music licensing for YouTube that your soundtrack is royaltyfree.  This is because quarterly or annual renewals for licensing can cause the removal of your popular video from video sharing sites (for example YouTube.)

About Ginny Culp

Ginny is a music composer specializing in the music needs of the online marketer and has produced over 1,000 background instrumental music tracks for internet marketers.

Common Questions:

What is royalty free?

Collections and volumes of distinctive royalty free music in our Infomercial and Corporate Background Music Categories.

Use any of these collections as presentation music, background music, infomerical music or PowerPoint music and grab your listeners’ attention. These background instrumental contemporary pieces use a variety of instruments and will add pizazz to your video project. In our Corporate Pack series there are five volumes you can download and add to your presentations. Piano music, guitar music, and a variety of instrumentations and genres in each collection.

Infomercial Background Music is used in your online videos, DVDs, promo videos, and for audio books.  When you need a piece of music that sits in the background, use infomercial music so that YOUR MESSAGE takes center stage.

Preview these videos of infomercial background music and corporate background music:

Corporate Pack Volume 1:

ORDER

Corporate Pack Volume 2:

ORDER

Corporate Pack Volume 3:

ORDER

Corporate Pack Volume 4:

ORDER

Corporate Pack Volume 5:

ORDER

Corporate and Infomercial background music are similar.  But what is the difference?

Corporate music has slightly more impact than infomercial background music.  More impacts, effects and audio transitions. Use infomercial background music when your background music needs to be invisible.  Each of these five volumes contains both genres of music.

Add background music to your message to set the mood and tone in your video. This youtube is an example of how music assists in connecting the audience to the message on the screen.

If you have a youtube video with Ginny Culp music where you have added music to your background message, leave a comment below with your link and we’ll add it to this page.

Another great use for video marketing is to promote an event. An event promo video sometimes has a voice over, but more often than not, it simply contains a series of images to help the viewer visualize themselves in attendance. Includes all your details (date location and how to register) in text overlays, and include a call to action at the end with a link to the URL where they can register for your event.

Here’s an example:

If you would like to share your event video where you have added background music from Ginny Culp, please leave a link in the comments below and we will add it to this page.

Music in your youtube videos can be used to create interest and connect with the viewer’s emotions. Here is a client video that contains a voice over and the music is used to set the tone and mood.

Background music in a promo video:

Do you have Ginny Culp background music in a promo video? Leave a comment below with a link to your video and we’ll add it to this page for increased exposure.