Hi folks,

I can't take it anymore!!!!

My brides keep requesting Celene and Rod Stewart!!!! Arrrgghhh....

Can someone recommend some nice cinematic scores or modern romantic music (hold the cheese)

I like E.S Posthumus, and the "Nothing else Matters" from Metallica (but sung by that chick).

Please please please help, or I'll quit....

Don't give them a choice. Pick the music that comes close to matching your video but yet reflects the style of music they like as best you can. They will end up loving what you do once you put it all together in a well presented piece.

Don't give them a choice. Pick the music that comes close to matching your video but yet reflects the style of music they like as best you can. They will end up loving what you do once you put it all together in a well presented piece.

umm how are you going to tell them what music they can or can't use?

Don't give them a choice. Pick the music that comes close to matching your video

Cheers Tom - that's SO crazy it just might work!!! ;)

Any suggestions to boost my library?

We ask them for 10 songs they like and we will use them where appropriate. One couple wanted Jimi Hendrix and the Jam. So went for Charlotte church and some others instead. They were most pleased with teh result.

The music gives us an idea for their style and tastes but it doesnt always suite. We also may select music they have never heared of.

Im just hoping no one ever chooses Robbie Williams and Angels. Hate it.

Add Shania Twain ( From this moment) and darn pray they don't want the extended version coz you ran out of footage even before Shania sings and one of the best sellers from last season Bon Jovi ( Thank you for loving me)

Wedding is a personal thing so I guess the paying client decides the music. LOL

umm how are you going to tell them what music they can or can't use?I see the rest of you are from outside the USA so I don't know how it works in your countries, but here we can't legally use any of that stuff. I just tell my clients "sorry, that's illegal." I use royalty free music only. BTW, I don't shoot many weddings anymore, and this is one of the reasons why.

Here in Canada, I believe banquet halls & hotels charges music licensing fees to the B & G as part of the contract. They can use any music they like for their weddings ( even Music score for their Wedding Videos and Music played by DJ)

Cheers Tom - that's SO crazy it just might work!!! ;)

Any suggestions to boost my library?

John, It works just fine.

Go to pandora.com for music library ideas.

I just tell my clients "sorry, that's illegal." I use royalty free music only. BTW, I don't shoot many weddings anymore, and this is one of the reasons why.

Yeah, that would pretty much kill any wedding videography business.

Here in Canada, I believe banquet halls & hotels charges music licensing fees to the B & G as part of the contract. They can use any music they like for their weddings ( even Music score for their Wedding Videos and Music played by DJ)Same in the USA, but that does not cover music added in post in a video.

I just thought of the interesting dillema that you had with copyright music in videos. I read a nice article about it. I'll post the link at the end . But the bottom line is that everyone does it and no one has ever got sued over it. The video is usually not seen by anyone other than some family members and this should be of no concern to you. The article gives some suggestions, none of which are useful, except for the only useful one saying:

"One way that some videographers have tried to shift or share liability is by explicitly stating in contracts that clients assume all responsibility for the use of copyrighted material. Since there haven't been any court decisions to set a precedent for the viability of this approach, "even if they question the validity of the contract," says event videographer Craig Seeman, "at least I've clearly specified in it that the use of any materials and their copyrights are the responsibility of the client." This approach should be considered essential when working with corporate entities that may take your work and distribute it externally, but it's unlikely that it would remove any legal culpability from the videographer. At best it may allow you to share, not necessarily limit, the blame in future litigation when capturing weddings, bar mitzvahs, and the like for individuals who insist on popular songs and don't plan on taking the videos further than grandma's living room."

So the bottom line is that you should not worry about this at all and use any song you want because the law is really not clear about this, and there is no clear way of getting licenses for the use of copyright music in wedding videos. The RIAA does not care about this.

This is the article...
EventDV.net (http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=8881)

sorry guys
this is the original link EventDV.net (http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=8881)

but it seems not to work anymore.

my replay was original sent to a friend regarding the same concern so i just copy paste it not realize that the article is not on the web anymore.

EventDV.net (http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=8881)

I don't know why but i am not able to enter the entire link.
So just take my word that the link does not work anymore.

This is my justification for using whatever music I want as long as it meets the criteria below:


This is a pull quote from MediaLaw in response to a question posed by a videographer

Music usage for wedding videos
By: MediaLaw Lawyer
Date: 5/22/2007 10:56:35 PM Member Since: 6/1/2006
State: NY
You obviously haven't found the "Romantic Legislative Protocol and Marriage Enhancement and Promotion" provision of the Copyright Act. In an effort to promote marriage, Congress enacted a little known exception to the Copyright Act, called the Fair Use. So long as the music is romantic in nature and not acid rock, heavy metal, surf music, anti-war, etc. videographers are okay in synchronizing sappy love songs and "our song" recordings. Nora Jones, Avril Lavigne and other performers who have changed their name are automatically covered. I'd add Bobby Vinton but I'd be showing my age.

I like E.S Posthumus, and the "Nothing else Matters" from Metallica (but sung by that chick)

The big question is; is the video for you or for your client? :)
I always ask my clients to give me some songs they like which I can choose from. There are many times I don't like their taste at all and often find that it's difficult to find a music piece that fits a certain mood but hey, it's their video, not mine, if they like chopin or death metal, I will try to make the best of it, which is what they pay me for.

OK, thread going off track here. Copyright and music has been discussed to death for 20 years. Basically in New Zealand, I pay a very small fee (around NZ$200 p/a) to the NZ Phonographic Performances Society, and also the Australasian Performing Right Association. This enables us to use many artists songs (Sony, BMG, Warner etc) in non-commercial, non-broadcast videos... with a special clearance for wedding videographers.

So that's not the issue for us. We're lucky here. We don't even have terrorists! :)

So..... back bringing this thread back on track, what's YOUR few favorite non-cheesy songs at the moment?

The big question is; is the video for you or for your client? :)
I always ask my clients to give me some songs they like which I can choose from. There are many times I don't like their taste at all and often find that it's difficult to find a music piece that fits a certain mood but hey, it's their video, not mine, if they like chopin or death metal, I will try to make the best of it, which is what they pay me for.

Hi Noa, yes me too. Unfortunately, they seem to have zero taste and just fall back on making choices off my standard library list of 100 most cheesy songs. Now, if I could flush out this list and renew it with some classy stuff like I see posted on VU forums, and some of the other top videographer demos I often see... they would surely appreciate this and my job would be more enjoyable, no? That's why I need to get song suggestions from what others have found good - people tend not to share their good songs though....

John,
Here is a clip I used. The first minute or so is from the movie sound track of Bridges of Madison County (Doe Eyes) with another song From Howie Day "Collide" in a wedding day highlight reel.

Other artists like Sia "Breathe Me" and Michelle Tumes "Lovely" are great if they match the video. This is usually how I determine the music is by the footage I capture. This takes a while to come up with music because I have to watch the clips a few times and then think about what I have just seen. You have to visuallize the video and music together...sometimes this stuff comes to me while I'm sleeping and then it wakes me up and then I have to go and right this sh*t down...I hate that when that happens.

www.bluestarvideo.com/files/video/gweday.wmv

Tom - beautiful!! That's the kind of suggestions I'm after! Very nice, classy, non-intrusive, uplifting tracks. The music can either make (or kill) a video. Those tracks rock. Cheers.

one of the most hated song at the reception for videographer or dj for that matter is

grease lightning , this car is automatic by john trovalta LOL

To make it in this business, it's not necessary to ask the client for music. I'm pretty much thinking about omitting that step all together. I guess it just depends on your style and what you are comfortable with doing.

For music, I go on to itunes and starting listing to music samples in the "soundtrack" department. I don't bother with the ones that say 'various artists' I instead go to the ones done by just one composer.

It doesn't hurt to think out of the box. I used a song last year by switchfoot "We are one tonight" It's not a wedding song in the least. But it worked for my video.