Have you ever heard about 'Royalty Free Music'? Royalty Free Music refers to a type of music licensing that allows the purchaser to pay for the music license only once and to use the music for as long as they desired.
There are a lot of inaccurate ideas circulating about “Royalty Free Music”. This article will attempt to explain exactly what Royalty Free Music is and dismiss some of the most common misinterpretations.
For an example, you purchase a Royalty Free Music for business. You pay one single price whether you play the song once a week or 50 times a day, for 5 months or 10 years at a different location. You just pay once and you can use it for as long as you want.
The term “Royalty Free” is confusing for more reasons than one. In fact it simply means “Free of Royalty”. The term is in opposition to “rights managed” licensing where the purchaser pays fees (royalties) according to the number of times it will be used as well as the size of the territory. With Rights Managed licensing you would need to pay a fee every time the music is used or as the old term expressed every time the “needle is dropped” on the record.
We are listing here the frequently asked question about Royalty Free Music.
1. Free or not.
There is both free and paid royalty-free music. There is a misconception that music that is royalty free means that it is automatically free. It is “Free of Royalty” not cost free. Just like a “tax free” product is not free, it is just free of taxes. Some people may be offering their music for free, whether it is Royalty Free or not! In return, the buyer is expected to credit the artist in return. This is a mutually benefiting situation because the buyer can get suitable music while the artist gets promotion through the credit attribution.
2. Is the Music Copyrighted?
The person who creates music is the automatic copyright owner, which ultimately means there is no such things as copyright-free music. In cases where the owner allows it to be used of any purpose, the final user is given the ‘right to copy’. So, in this case the music is free but it is not devoid of copyright.
3. What is the Quality of Royalty Free Music?
Basically any kind of music can be licensed in the category of royalty-free music. The quality of music is ultimately determined by the musician. However, it is important to note that many music producers and singers take the time to craft quality compositions even if they eventually license them as royalty-free. This kind of music does not necessarily have to be of a lower standard.
4. Royalty free music pricing
No standard rate for royalty-free music. It usually determined by the owner of the copyrighted material. The royalty-free music could range anywhere from RM 1 to thousands of Ringgits. The price is settled on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis. This being said most of the time music licensed with a Royalty Free model is inexpensive and affordable for most people.
5. Why is Royalty Free Music so Important?
Royalty free music encourages the use of legal and affordable music for everyone especially for businesses - i.e, retail shop, supermarket, restaurant just to name a few. Meaning to say, you can still have access to a range of affordable and good musical content legally instead of using expensive copyrighted music illegally. Using music illegally could lead to banning of content and even legal prosecution.
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