Use of music in films

[Colin Zhang]

So I will be making a (very) short documentary for broadcast on national television. I understand that I cannot use any copyrighted music without prior permission, etc. but are there any un-costly solutions to use the music or should I just skip to royalty-free music (or is that also "illegal")? Lastly, if that fails, could I use software like Mixcraft or FL Studio to compose my own music. Sounds obvious, but I noticed even the loop tracks are specifically composed by other people. I'm not sure about the rules on this. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[Jay Gladwell]

This has been answered many, many, many, many times in this very sub-forum. Simply browse the threads.

If it's not yours, you can't use it. Unless you have a ship load of money, you won't be able to afford to license it.

That's exactly what royalty free is for. The other option would be something like http://www.versusmedia.com/ where you can get original music for a very reasonable price.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Colin Zhang

So I will be making a (very) short documentary for broadcast on national television. I understand that I cannot use any copyrighted music without prior permission, etc. but are there any un-costly solutions to use the music or should I just skip to royalty-free music (or is that also "illegal")? Lastly, if that fails, could I use software like Mixcraft or FL Studio to compose my own music. Sounds obvious, but I noticed even the loop tracks are specifically composed by other people. I'm not sure about the rules on this. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Popular music may well be too expensive but it never hurts to ask - if you are doing something for a charity or good cause perhaps it'll strike a chord.

Royalty free music isn't necessarily free - you purchase it from a production music library and the license allows you to use it in your productions without additional fees or royalty payments. In the same vein, programs like Sony Cinescore and Smartsound's Sonicfire also grant you the license to use their materials in your own productions as part of the purchase price of the library disks.

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Colin Zhang

Lastly, if that fails, could I use software like Mixcraft or FL Studio to compose my own music. Sounds obvious, but I noticed even the loop tracks are specifically composed by other people. I'm not sure about the rules on this.

The rules should be stated officially in the license agreement for such software. I don't have the software you mentioned, but I know that for Apple Loops, for example, when you purchase them you obtain the right to purchase music that contains their building blocks (samples).

- Martin

[Colin Zhang]

Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately, the software I use strangely did not show any type of license agreement on install (nor could I find one with google search). What do you think I should do?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Colin Zhang

Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately, the software I use strangely did not show any type of license agreement on install (nor could I find one with google search). What do you think I should do?

The copyrights in question are not associated with the software you use on your workstation but instead with the loops and samples you're using with it. Checked the websites of the software you mentioned and they both say the loops they bundle with their software or that you purchase from them are royalty-free, meaning you're clear to use them to make your own compositions for whatever purpose you wish. If you're using loop libraries from other vendors, you'll need to check the licenses that come with them.