Book Video Workshop Day #4: Creating the Soundtrack

by Jeannie Ruesch

Welcome back to the Book Video Workshop. If you’re just joining us, please be sure to visit the previous discussions:  Day 1: Deconstructing A Book VideoDay 2: Writing the Book Video Script; and Day 3: Imagery to Tell The Story.  (This post was updated on 3/4/10.)

Music plays a vital role in commercials.  The point of music in a commercial – and a book video is a commercial – is to make it memorable. To stand out.  In the book Television Commercials, Charles Wainwright writes, “Advertising execs say ‘of the three elements going into most television commercials — picture, voice, and music — certainly the most important, emotionally and from the point of view of setting the mood, is the music.’”

In this workshop, I’ve probably said at one point or another that each element is the most important.  But in truth, they are equally important because it’s the combined creation that elevates it to an emotional connection with your viewer.  (And you don’t want that emotion to be boredom.)

But before discussing what to choose and what to focus on, we need to explain where to find your music and what all those licenses mean.

What does royalty-free mean?

As writers, you’re well aware of what royalties on your books are: the percentage of proceeds from a sale paid to the author.  This works the same in music – royalties are paid to the composer or artist depending on how the work is used.  When you purchase a license, you are purchasing permission to use the music in a specific format.   There are two contrasting forms of licensing music – rights managed and royalty free.

A rights-managed license is purchased to use content (i.e. a song) for a specific purpose.  For example, let’s say a television commercial producer wanted to use a Brad Paisley song for their 30 second commercial.  They would purchase a rights-managed license that gave them the permission to use that song (at a hefty cost) specifically for that commercial.  If they wanted to use the song for any other purpose, they would need to purchase additional permission, or additional rights.  The higher value placed on the implied endorsement from the artist, the higher the costs and the more restrictive the license.  If you used a Brad Paisley song in your video, you would be in essence capitalizing on his reputation and connection to fans to better serve your product.  It’s why popular songs are not available for just “any” purpose – they preserve the right to protect their name, their image and their brand as much as anyone does.

This brings us to the royalty-free side of licensing. If that same TV commercial producer acquired a royalty-free license for Brad’s song (not likely), they would have the permission and rights to use that song in any way covered by that license.  Royalty-free doesn’t imply every usage is possible–it is still a license sold within a specific set of guidelines, but those guidelines are usually fairly broad and it does give the buyer the ability to use the song for a variety of uses without having to pay additional costs.

What you can and can’t do with royalty-free music

Royalty-free music is music licensed for commercial or private usage under a certain set of guidelines.  In rights-managed copyrights, those guidelines are extremely strict.  One of the easiest elements of working with royalty-free music is that the different elements of rights are included in the cost (or guidelines of usage).

Just as an author’s royalties might differ whether the format is hardcover, mass market, or an e-book, the rights for audio work are separated as well.  There are mechanical rights, synchronization rights and performance rights.   Mechanical rights give you the right to manufacture, record or distribute the copyright holder’s music.   Adam Taylor, President of APM Music, defines synchronization rights as “the rights to synchronizing or editing the music in time to moving footage or audio.”  And last, there is the right to perform, or broadcast, known as performance rights.

Now what you get within those categories depends on where you purchase your music.  For example, for the video I did for my book SOMETHING ABOUT HER, I purchased a license to use the song, Serenade by Schubert as performed by Olive Musique at Premiumbeat.com.  The license for all songs on PremiumBeat states:

With your purchase from Premiumbeat.com, you get a permanent, non-exclusive license to utilize the music for television and radio programs (excluding TV and radio advertising) and in any type of New Media Project such as Flash animations, website background music, Podcasts, online tutorials, e-learning tools, slide shows, corporate training videos, Power-point presentations, telephone music-on-hold, multimedia CD-rom, promotional DVDs, software demos, video blogs, web-based online video games, etc. You are also welcome to use it for television advertising, radio advertising and commercial movies provided you obtain an expanded license required for this type of commercial use. Please see the license agreement for complete details and terms of use.

This license covers the elements of mechanical (distribution), synchronization (new media, animations, etc) and performance/broadcast rights (television or radio programs).  The license does not cover advertising or commercial TV/radio usage though.

Music downloaded for free. Some royalty-free libraries offer music at no cost, but they still have guidelines that must be followed.  Most often, this includes attribution – a credit link on the media in a place where people can easily find it.  If you are making a book video, you have to take into consideration the fact that others can easily grab your embed code and place your video on other sites.  So the attribution should be included on one of the frames in your video, usually the last one.  With purchased licenses, you are not usually required to show attribution unless specifically stated.  You need to read the license carefully to see what is required.

Added 3/4: Since most authors will post their video to YouTube, here is a great explanation of how performance rights work with videos posted on YouTube.  It also lists a great point: when using someone else’s music, be sure to also include the credits of that song in your description field, not just in your video.

Where to Find It

Royalty-free libraries are a valuable resource to anyone intending to produce their own videos, and there are plenty of them out there.  They aren’t all free, you pay for the license, but the costs range from a few dollars up to $40.   If that seems like a hefty price to pay for a song, remember it’s not the song you’re paying for: it is a license to use the artist’s work to benefit your own.

You’re also paying for something that is more unique among your competitors.  Certainly, the price tag of the free option is unbeatable and many of the sources, such as Kevin MacLeod’s Incompetech.com, provide high quality songs.   But also remember as the book video space grows more crowded, those same sources are being used by a greater number of authors just like you, creating book videos just like yours, from the same sources you are using.  The song you downloaded for free might also be on ten other book videos in your genre.  Weigh your options and choose the best path for your goals and budget.

Websites to find music:

Free:

http://www.incompetech.com

http://www.musopen.com

http://www.publicdomain4u.com/

Places you purchase music to use:

http://www.istockmusic.com

http://audiojungle.net

http://www.premiumbeat.com

http://www.neosounds.com

http://www.royaltyfreemusiclibrary.com/

http://opuzz.com/

http://freeplaymusic.com/

http://www.royalty-free.tv/rftv/frameset.htm

http://www.shockwave-sound.com/

Do a google search for “royalty-free music” and you will come up with more options if these don’t suit your needs.

Selecting The Right Song

Now that you know what you can do with the song and where to go to find them, you have to choose.  That’s the most difficult part – deciding what music to select (as well as working your way through the different sites and listening to dozens of them.)

Think of the music you love.  When you’re in certain moods, you’re drawn to certain artists, certain songs.  Each of those connect to a mood within you. The music you select for your video should work to create the mood in your viewer you want them to feel. A fast, upbeat song makes people feel light-hearted.  Music heavy on soft, melancholy violin strings will make someone feel sad, perhaps wistful.  What is the emotional punch you’ve aimed for with your script and your images? How can you impact that even more?

Music has the ability to take someone deeper.  Different songs, used with the same video and script, will leave a different impression. The music you choose should add another emotional layer, on top of the script, on top of the imagery you’ve chosen – an extra punch.  Don’t think in generic terms like “funny”, “romantic” – go deeper than that.  If you need to show the humor in your writing, do you want quirky, silent-movie type of humor, or slapstick?  Each of those creates a different sound.  Get specific, because the more specifically you are focused, the easier it will be to find a piece that speaks exactly to you.

Also consider your genre. Romantic suspense is a fairly broad term, it covers a variety of books from edge-of-your-seat thrillers to adventure stories to spy stories and everything beyond.   The music you choose can also more firmly set your book video within your niche.  If you write about a serial killer, there should be a strong thread of tension, a dark overtone, an ominous feeling to your music.  However, if you are writing about a government spy, the music would change accordingly — something with a beat that drives a little faster, a little harder, more action oriented.   Find the specifics of the genre you write in and some specifics about your books or your characters and search for music that compounds those ideas.

When I chose the music for the video for my book SOMETHING ABOUT HER, I knew I wanted something sad, almost melancholy.  My book is historical romance, so it needed to fit within that, but I wanted to go deeper.   I’d chosen to focus the script on the emotions and situations that motivated my characters, and I’d kept my imagery simplistic, so I knew the music had to tip over the edges.

There were a number of choices and songs I loved.  I searched on premiumbeat.com for quite a long time under words such as romantic, passionate, sad, melancholy…whatever combination I could think of.  I knew in my head the “feel” I wanted…it was just a matter of finding the right tone.  From the first note of this song, it matched what I envisioned.

One advantage to most music libraries is the search function by emotion/mood.   Experiment a bit on the music library sites. Visit a few and test different elements of music, click on different keywords or genres,  sample the songs.  On the flipside, go back to YouTube and click on some random book videos.  Then close your eyes and listen.  That’s right, don’t watch the video — just listen to the song.  How does it make you feel?  Once you’ve done then, go back and then watch the video with the music.  Do they match?  Get a feel for what’s out there before you select a song.

In Summary

Every thing we’ve touched on in this series has focused in on emotion.  You have to imagine that each person watching the book has buttons somewhere you can push – one that tugs a heartstring, one that makes their body tense, one that pulls a smile or a laugh.  Those buttons are your goal – that is what you need to achieve with the video.

The elements of your video, when picked correctly, will come together like a jigsaw puzzle.  They will provide an emotional cheat sheet and give the potential reader clues what to expect from you and your book.

Our next workshop will talk about the final product — taking all the elements and putting it together, what programs are available, some tips and tricks, and building a finished product.

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6 comments

djmills March 2, 2010 - 3:13 am

So, if I own the sheet music and play it on my guitar or keyboard then make a MP3 and add it to a book review, I still have to pay royalties back to the estate of the deceased writer of that music? That is, if I even know who the estate of the deceased writer is?

If the answer is yes, then how would I go about finding who owns the royalities of songs written? Like a British Folk Song, or Hush Little Baby (lullaby) or a hymn sung in church or even a country & western song from one of my 78rpm or 33rpm records(vinyl).

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Garry M. Graves March 2, 2010 - 10:43 am

…Jeannie, again many thanks for creating a superb book trailer for my book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYfx69-SJm4 (for those of you who haven’t seen it yet). You’re right as always about the music and thank again your husband for matching my book trailer with surely the best music-match possible. It ‘makes’ the video exponentially better.

Your information is certainly complete; royalty-fee, what you can and can’t do with the music, where to find it, selecting appropriately to complement video theme, all incredible information and insight from you and your workshop, free! Wow.

Its possible writers today may think this ‘marketing’ side of things is another entire discipline they find indigestible. Typically writers think of themselves as the artsey-fartsey persuasion, avoiding anything that smells like having to ‘sell’ their book. Not me. But for the others, wouldn’t it be nice if designforchocolate had sort of a ‘menu’ of services for the writer choose from. Better yet, a flat dollar amount of just what a book trailer would cost the writer to have a Jeannie Ruesch made product. That would be fantastic. I know there must be several considerations given to each product, making a flat fee difficult. But as long as the writer knew going in…or surprised if the final video was not to there liking. Then the extra charges would begin to ‘alter’ the product to the writers liking. Candidly, I can’t imagine how anyone, particularly a writer, could begin to criticize ‘any’ work you produce. Who’s the expert here?

The video you made for my book furthered its credibility and enhanced the professional/classy look to the book. Guess you could tell…I’m pleased.

Thanks again for doing what you do, particularly this workshop. I’m learning a great deal. –gg

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Jeannie Ruesch March 2, 2010 - 11:35 am

@djmills — It depends on the copyright status. If the song is within the public domain, you would not need to pay to perform/broadcast it. A lot of classical music from greats like Mozart, etc, are within the public domain – so rerecording the music for any purpose is within your rights.

A few simple examples of copyright expiration: If it was published before 1923, it’s in the public domain. If it was published after 1963, the copyright has not expired. A more detailed explanation about knowing when a work was published is here:
http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/copyright-expiration.html

When you buy a piece of sheet music, you aren’t buying a license to record, perform or broadcast the song publicly. In order to record the song, you’d need a mechanical license. In order to set it to a video or images, you’d need a synchronization license, and in order to perform/broadcast it to the public, you’d need a performance license. It gets tricky (and expensive) to license music that isn’t royalty-free.

You would need to find out of those licenses are available, usually from the record company (who owns the sound recording) and/or the music publisher (who owns the lyrics/music).

On the sheet music you have, look for the copyright notice. It will usually contain either the record label or publisher, and you can start with them. Another option would be to contact a performing rights society like ASCAP or BMI and ask.

When bars or clubs hire DJs to play music or bands who play cover songs, the venue itself is paying the performance rights fees directly to the performance rights society so the band or DJ is not responsible for it. It’s a part of the overhead for a venue that includes live entertainment.

For reference, songs sung in worship at a church are exempt from these rules, as long as the singing is not broadcast beyond where it takes place.

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Jeannie Ruesch March 2, 2010 - 12:03 pm

@Garry — I’m glad you’re enjoying the video. 🙂

As for services, I have a complete listing of services and base costs at my design website: http://www.willdesignforchocolate.com/pricing.shtml

Beyond that, spending money on marketing dollars can be a tough sell for a lot of authors or writers. But the bottom line factor is that writing a good book isn’t enough. Getting it published, though a huge step, isn’t enough. I know NY Times bestselling authors who spend a their own money on marketing, who pour a lot of effort into marketing themselves. Especially in today’s market, where the publisher might not have the marketing budgets they once had for their stable of authors.

One way to truly look at your marketing dollars isn’t just about selling your book. Book sales are a goal but if you plan to build a career out of your writing, another more long-term goal is building your brand, your name.

Every thing you do that’s out there for public consumption builds your brand, good or bad. People will make assumptions and decisions based on the different ways they interact with you — your website, your communications, your book videos, all of it is a piece of the bigger puzzle. If you want them to take you as a professional, take you seriously, then put your best foot forward. It doesn’t mean everything you do has to be created by a professional, but if you’re doing it yourself, take the time to do it right and research the best options. (Like this video workshop. 🙂

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Martin May 31, 2010 - 3:05 pm

There’s one great site I use… it’s new but very pro.
http://www.royaltyfreeheaven.com

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Chris June 10, 2010 - 12:16 pm

I recommend Soundimage if you need 100% royalty free music, check this site. They got about 4000 music tracks, sound effects and roytalty free cd compilations, the library is updated quite often.

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