I've just started doing short films on a more professional level, I guess you could say. And for now, I've been using copyrighted music as well, but I'm already working on the soundtrack of my next short film on my own. If you're a broke filmmaker like myself, then I suggest you try that. Try doing everything on your own, making up original stuff. And if that doesn't work, there are always people willing to help out... For instance, university students usually offer to work for free, just for the sake of being part of a short film, and for the experience ?;)?

Musicians often post on this board with offers to do music for free in order for them to get some credits. Look through some posts and contact the folks. Since they'd be creating music specifically for your film it should be better than nearly any stuff you can buy and shoe-horn in. Unless your movie is about a radio station or something.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I'm sure both of you looked through the "Offered ? Services/Crew etc" section
right here on the forums.

Did you contact any of the musicians offing to score movies for free?

If you are looking for songs ( and not a score) have you checked MySpace? That
site was set up for bands to connect with people - including filmmakers.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

yup i recently contacted a band from sweeden for music for my next short film!
i dont know how they will react yet, but i'm sure bands like free publicity!
😕

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But a film? Well, thats worth a thousand pictures."

-(Own3d Studios)-

www.own3dstudios.com

Actually, if your film is going to be a festival piece, or a university piece (student film), festival licenses and single use licenses are pretty affordable. If you know the record label that the artist is represented under, you can contact their sync licensing department and find out how much the specific artist costs to license.

Of course, the bigger the artist, the more the sync license fee. But I had some Capitol Artists on a short film of mine that were sync licensed for free (single festival use). Oh, I should also mention the length of the music used will also effect the amount of the sync license. Use 5 seconds of a song as a car passes and the license fee will be cheaper than a full length "music video montage" sequence in the film.

David

David Schatanoff
D Studios Productions

great information. Thanks I will try finding students. Sounds like a great (and cheap) way.

"There's no point in living if you can't feel alive"

arent there some songs which the copyright has ran out?
maybe some classical music for example?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Solomon224

arent there some songs which the copyright has ran out?
maybe some classical music for example?

---

I wish I could say yes but, alas, I'm afraid I can't.

Although Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is public domain, what you can't use is a 1986 recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in a rendition of Beethoven's Fifth. This recording will not be public domain for about 50 years. You can purchase ($3) the sheet music for Beethoven's Fifth, rent a music hall ($10,000+), hire an orchestra ($20,000-$100,000/day) and a conductor ($10,000-$30,000), project the work print ($2,000+), and have the conductor with the $3 sheet music, conduct the orchestra. But, unless you're making the next 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' sequel, you're gonna end up spending an awful lot of bucks there.

So, I'm afraid classical music is out as well.

what about if we were to make our own recording of Beethoven's 5th using Keyboard and Piano and put it onto our computer?

Classical music is not out. Classical music is no longer under copyright. You can use it.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

You can also try royaltyfree.com. You'll pay for a cd or download of the music, but the sync license is free. The music is generic but it's a good way to start building a library of music that you have at your fingertips that you don't need to clear licenses for.

If that's too much to pay for, you can also try looking for a post audio guy that has royalty free music in their sound collection.

David

David Schatanoff
D Studios Productions

Myspace is a great way to find bands who are looking to provide music for filmmakers.
The band I manage for example Strawberry Nightmares make electronica without vocals so its perfect to fit into the back of various scenes.
There really should be a website devoted to hooking filmmakers with musicians, if there is one already please tell me what it is.
?:o)?

If your looking for music check out our myspace.
?url?www.myspace.com/strawberrynightmares?/url?

Myspace is definitely a great place to look. You can post on their filmmakers forum or in the classified section. Also, we've got tons of great tracks at http://www.sfxsource.com/Royalty-Free-Music/ for tight budgets

SFXsource.com Sound Effects and Royalty Free Music
http://www.sfxsource.com
http://www.freesoundeffectsandlooops.com

Classical music IS out, because the recordings themselves are copyrighted. The pieces themselves MIGHT be public domain, but every recording of those pieces is unique and individually copyrighted. This copyright is, of course, just as strong as any other copyrighted music you might want to use.

You can look into royalty-free music libraries, things like Cinescore or Soundtrack Pro, or DIY programs like Garage Band.

Ideally, though, you should find a composer who is willing to work with you. If you can work with a pro, you'll likely learn tons from him or her. If you work with another amateur/beginner/early-career pro, then you'll learn from each other.

Alex Beard, composer
www.composeralex.com
www.myspace.com/composeralex