When setting the tone for your vlogs, background music plays a pivotal role in engaging your audience and setting the right atmosphere. Choosing the best background music involves striking a balance between your content, branding, and the viewing experience. Let's delve into the world of vlogging music with a comprehensive guide on selecting the perfect soundtrack for your videos.
First and foremost, consider the mood and genre of your vlog. Are you sharing a makeup tutorial, a travel adventure, or discussing tech reviews? Different content calls for different musical styles. Upbeat, energetic tracks work well for upbeat content, while calm, soothing melodies suit more relaxation-focused topics.
Understanding Music Licensing and Copyright
Before delving into track suggestions, it's crucial to understand music licensing and copyright. Using copyrighted music without proper permission can lead to copyright infringement. To avoid potential issues, consider royalty-free music or use tracks governed by the Creative Commons license.
Additionally, familiarize yourself with the YouTube Audio Library (YTAL) and Facebook's Music Guidelines to ensure compliance with their policies. YTAL offers a vast collection of free-to-use, copyright-free music, while Facebook's guidelines provide clarity on the use of music in videos uploaded to their platform.
Royalty-Free Music Platforms
Royalty-free music platforms provide an affordable and legal alternative to commercial tracks. After purchasing a license, you can use the track without paying ongoing royalties. Some popular royalty-free music platforms include:
- Epidemic Sound: Offers high-quality, production-ready tracks across various genres.
- Artlist: A subscription-based service providing unlimited downloads from their extensive library.
- Bensound: Known for its high-quality, diverse tracks and customizable licenses.
Creative Commons Music
Creative Commons (CC) allows creators to license their work for free, provided that users adhere to the specified terms. Common CC licenses include:
- Attribution (CC BY): Users can distribute, remix, and build upon the work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the creator.
- Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA): Users can distribute and build upon the work, even for commercial purposes, but must license their resulting creative work under identical terms.
Genre-Specific Recommendations
Now that we've covered licensing and platforms, let's explore some genre-specific recommendations to enhance your vlogging adventures.
For lifestyle, fashion, and beauty vlogs, consider upbeat pop, electronic, or instrumental tracks. These can help maintain energy and keep viewers engaged throughout your videos. On the other hand, calmer genres like ambient, chillout, or lo-fi can create a soothing atmosphere for relaxation-based content.
Upbeat Genres
- Pop: Artists like Alex F[ind], Bensound, and Vibe Mountain offer upbeat pop tracks perfect for vlogs.
- Electronic/Dance: Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and Bensound provide a vast collection of electronic and dance tracks that can add a dynamic beat to your videos.
Calming Genres
- Ambient: Artists like Bonobo, Flase, and Tycho create ambient tracks that complement relaxation, study, or unwind vlogs.
- Chillout: Moods, Electronic Tree, and The 126 provide chillout tracks that help maintain a calm atmosphere while keeping viewers engaged.
Aesthetic and Niche Genres
To add a unique touch to your vlogs, explore aesthetic and niche genres. Retro-inspired or vinyl-sampling tracks can evoke nostalgic feelings, while indie and folk genres can add a touch of authenticity to your content.
- Retro: Artists like New Gammon, Tropicalø, and Selectracks provide retro-inspired tracks that can transport your viewers to another era.
- Indie/Folk: The Featherstone Sound, Scott Holmes, and Ilan Eshkeri offer indie and folk tracks that can add depth and character to your vlogs.
Mixing and Mastering for Vlogging
To ensure your background music complements your vlogging audio, consider mixing and mastering techniques. Proper mixing allows the music to blend with your voiceover and dialogue, while mastering enhances the overall audio quality of your videos.
Mixing
When mixing, ensure that your music isn't too loud or too quiet in relation to your voice. A common approach is to lower the music's volume by -12 to -15 dB compared to your voice. This allows the music to support your voice without overpowering it.
Mastering
Mastering enhances the overall audio quality of your video by balancing the volume, EQ, and dynamic range. Consider uploading your mastered videos to YouTube or other platforms to ensure that your audience enjoys smooth, balanced audio.
As you embark on your vlogging journey, remember that finding the perfect background music is a continuous process of experimentation and refinement. Prioritize your content and audience's needs, and don't shy away from exploring different styles and platforms to uncover the ideal soundtrack for your vlogs.
Now that you're equipped with this comprehensive guide, go forth and curate the perfect playlist to enhance your vlogging adventures. Happy vlogging, and may your videos forever thrive with the perfect backdrop of sound!