Finding the right music for your marketing video can be tricky.
Your content may feel quiet and boring without music, while the wrong choice could be intrusive and distracting.
It’s easy to underestimate how much the right music can help perfect your video and generate more engagement.
In this article, we’ll explain how to source and select music for a commercial or other marketing video.
We’ll also take a look at a few examples of music in ads to illustrate the way music can support your brand image.
There are plenty of memorable ads that don’t rely on music, so you don’t necessarily have to include music to create great video content.
With that being said, the perfect music track combined with careful video editing will cultivate the perfect emotional response in your viewers.
It’s much more difficult to develop a strong style if your ad doesn’t include any music.
There will be a complete lack of sound during any pauses, which may make it harder to keep an audience’s attention.
Music doesn’t need to be the centerpiece — some light background music can help maintain an upbeat tone and fill any gaps in the voice recording.
Of course, this isn’t to say that you should include music just to avoid awkward pauses.
While the right music will supplement your ad, music that doesn’t fit will only distract from your content and clash with the tone you’re trying to develop.
It’s critical to keep looking until you find the perfect match for your video.
Planning to use music in an upcoming video?
You’re probably wondering how to start looking for songs.
With such a large volume of music out there, it can be overwhelming to even begin narrowing it down.
There are also a variety of platforms offering different music at a wide range of price points.
Here are a few of the most important factors to consider as you begin your search.
First, consider your goals for the video—in other words, what you want viewers to take away from your content.
An explainer video, for example, may benefit from very different music than an entertaining TV ad.
Similarly, ads for products and services typically contain a different music selection compared to ads for nonprofits and other charitable causes.
Think about how you want viewers to react after watching your video.
You might want them to visit your website, buy products, donate to a cause, tell their friends and family, follow you on social media, or something else entirely.
These goals will give you a foundation for the entire development process.
Once you have a clear direction, you can start looking for music to match.
Selling fitness products?
You’ll probably want to use fast, upbeat music rather than something slow or overly emotional.
The interplay between music and content is one good reason to consider the music selection at the early stages of development.
Before looking at specific songs, consider which genre is most likely to fit your ad.
There should be a close connection between the visual content, the overall message, and the music selection.
Rock is an easy default option for background music.
It typically focuses more on rhythm than melody or harmony, and you can find instrumental and vocal selections depending on your needs.
A simple rock beat will add some pacing and drive the ad forward to its conclusion.
This may also be a good choice if your commercial involves content that’s intended to be motivating.
The Wienerschnitzel ad below is a great example of a mild rock beat that makes the ad seem more lighthearted and fun.
Luke B’s friendly, upbeat voice over goes perfectly with the background music as well as the visual content.
Orchestral music is a common background choice in all kinds of content.
You might go with classical music like Mozart if you need something serene and elegant for a luxury product.
On the other hand, a more modern, intense track could be more impactful and engaging.
These are often used in TV shows and movies to build suspense and tension in exciting scenes.
This category could cover vocal tracks as well, but marketers generally prefer instrumentals when it comes to background music.
Whatever the mood of your content, you’ll be able to find an orchestral music track to fit your needs.
You can even use classical music ironically to contrast with the humor and silliness viewers are seeing onscreen.
This Purina ad is a great illustration, juxtaposing intense vocal music with dramatic videos of a dog who’s dreaming of swimming while actually laying on the couch.
Most recognizable classical music is in the public domain, so you won’t have to pay royalties or secure a license.
This makes it a good option for smaller companies that want to create promotional videos on a limited budget.
Finally, jazz shares some common ground with classical while offering a totally unique field of rhythms and melodies.
It’s typically more chaotic and free-form than classical music, but some classical composers were strongly influenced by jazz conventions.
Like classical music, jazz is an incredibly diverse genre that uses a wide range of instruments and musical influences.
Jazz also carries some helpful associations that make it a good fit for some brands.
In the Grey Goose commercial below, for example, the music takes center stage rather than acting as background for an actor or voice over artist.
The visual content, black and white style, and short voice over combine with the jazz to display the brand image that Grey Goose is going for.
At this point, you should be ready to narrow down your choices to align with your target audience.
Videos targeting seniors shouldn’t have the same music as videos targeting millennials or members of Gen Z.
Along with age, you might also consider other factors such as gender, location, income, or occupation.
Today’s digital ad platforms include powerful tools to target specific audiences that are likely to be interested in your content.
Google even enables marketers to select audiences based on specific life events.
For example, you can have your commercial be displayed to viewers who are graduating college, getting married, having a baby, or retiring.
It goes without saying that these four groups will have very different preferences with respect to music (and the other elements of your ad content).
Creating commercials is all about making the most of the time you have.
You should keep timing in mind as you look for the right audio track.
For example, you might want something that includes an intro or outro to fit the beginning and end of your ad.
Some commercials also align pauses in music with pauses in a voice over to provide a rest before key moments of the ad.
Fortunately, many royalty-free music services offer tools to splice different sections of a track to fit your needs.
You could pull ten seconds each from the beginning, middle, and end of a song to match the ad’s pacing.
Lining up audio elements with your visual content will add an extra level of professionalism and help you catch your audience’s attention.
Next, decide whether you want the music to play in the background or act as the main audio.
The Grand Marnier ad below shows background music playing underneath a great voice over from James G.:
The same music might feel too simple or repetitive if used prominently, but it works perfectly as a subtle background.
It’s played at a low volume to avoid distracting from the voice over or making the audio less clear.
On the other hand, this Adidas ad relies on simple piano music in the foreground and doesn’t include another audio track.
This allows them to tell a story through the acting alone while the music emphasizes the uplifting story.
Since there’s no specific product or offer being sold, the video doesn’t need a voice over to communicate its message.
Instead, the music and video simply create an association between Adidas and the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of exercise represented in the “break free” slogan which appears at the end of the video.
There’s no right marketing strategy here—both ways can work, but your approach will also have an effect on your music selection.
While both instrumental and vocal music can work well in the right setting, remember that overly lyrical music can be distracting if it’s playing behind a voice over.
Your audience shouldn’t have to follow two sets of words at the same time, so instrumentals tend to play better than vocals in the context of background music.
These considerations might sound obvious, but those three steps will go a long way toward narrowing down your choices.
From there, you’ll be ready to start reducing the field to specific songs and workshopping ideas until you’re able to identify the perfect option.
Let’s move from the general to the specific.
Whether you want royalty-free or licensed music, there are a few great places to start your search.
In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the best ways to find music for video marketing.
Keep in mind that these are just five of many, many outstanding options.
Leave a comment if you know of any other good music platforms.
In terms of free music, it’s tough to beat the YouTube Audio Library.
Everything on the channel is free to use as long as you credit the original creator and ask for permission before publishing your video outside of YouTube.
This platform is specifically designed for content creators, making it ideally suited to marketing and corporate projects.
It also contains music for almost any tone, so it’s an excellent starting point.
You can always move on to the other sources below if you don’t find what you’re looking for.
The Audio Library breaks content out into helpful playlists that make your search even simpler.
As you can see in the image below, there are playlists for every mood including happy, inspirational, calm, bright, dark, and more.
Some playlists are selected by genre instead of mood, making it easy to find exactly what you need.
Still, this isn’t to say that the YouTube Audio Library is the perfect resource for every project.
Some paid platforms offer an even wider music library.
Since everything here is free, you’re not going to find any popular contemporary music that would require a paid license.
It’s a good selection of background music, but it may not hold up as well if you need a foreground track.
PremiumBeat is another popular option for royalty-free music.
While you’ll have to pay to access the PremiumBeat library, that cost may be a good investment for some creators.
Individual licenses cost $49 each, or $199 for premium licenses that cover additional applications such as TV, radio, movies, and video games.
You can also pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to get either five tracks per month of 60 per year.
Subscriptions run $64.95 per month (minimum three-month commitment) or $685 per year, which works out to $57.08 per month.
It’s worth noting that the annual option lets you use your 60 licenses at any time, while the monthly subscription restricts you to a maximum of five per month.
Keep in mind that the subscription fee only covers standard licenses — you’ll still need to pay extra for premium licenses.
Along with music, PremiumBeat also provides shorts and loops that are well-suited to a wide range of videos.
If you only want to play particular sections of a song, you can quickly set that up using the pre-set shorts that come with each license.
Like the YouTube Audio Library, PremiumBeat has audio to suit essentially any project, but it also offers a more robust search function.
Users can search by keyword or with filters for genre, mood, or collection — collections can be anything from “coffee house” or “sounds of Brazil” to “holiday party” or “corporate cool.”
Adobe Stock is a massive collection of stock assets — everything from video and audio files to photos, illustrations, 3D models, and more.
After a 30-day free trial with ten standard assets, Premium plans start at $29.99 per month paid annually for up to ten standard assets (or one video).
Prices go up as you add more licenses, and you’ll also have to pay more if you go month-to-month.
Alternatively, you can buy one-use credit packs that expire after one year.
Adobe Stock has an incredible collection of content, and its search function works similarly to PremiumBeat’s.
Files are tagged by genre and mood, and you can use multiple filters to narrow your focus.
Epidemic Sound offers royalty-free music and sound effects on a subscription basis.
Personal and commercial plans are available, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.
Personal plans cost $17.99/month (or $9.99/month paid annually) and allow users to post on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and podcasts on one page or channel per platform.
Commercial subscriptions expand support for other websites and online platforms while offering unlimited digital ads for $59.99/month ($24.99/month paid annually).
Finally, custom Enterprise solutions include a dedicated account manager, support for multiple users, and clearance for TV and streaming services.
Some music platforms don’t offer an Enterprise option at all, so this is a good choice if you’re looking for a more bespoke experience.
Subscribers have access to more than 90,000 sound effects and 40,000 music tracks with no limits on usage.
With that in mind, this is a great option for anyone who wants access to unlimited downloads.
Like its top competitors, Epidemic Sound has a long list of search filters: mood, genre, tempo, and length along with vocal/instrumental.
While they offer standalone licenses, the subscription option will likely be more affordable for those with ongoing audio needs.
Like Epidemic Sound, Audio Buzz offers standalone licenses as well as subscriptions with unlimited access.
Individual tracks cost $29 each compared to $189 for annual licenses, which works out to $15.75 per month.
You’ll have access to standard search filters like mood, genre, vocals, tempo, and length along with additional criteria including instrument, composer, and the presence of a buildup (instead of staying stable throughout the track).
Of course, these filters can all be overlaid on each other to help you find what you’re looking for.
Audio Buzz also provides a helpful video preview tool that displays exactly how your selected music will sound over an existing video file.
This removes the need to download a track, plug it into your video, and see whether it works — just preview on the website before downloading.
You can also continue to use your licenses even if your subscription lapses.
Audio Buzz bills yearly rather than monthly, so don’t forget to set a reminder for the end of your subscription.
The platforms above are all great choices, but don’t forget that you can also work directly with composers.
This will obviously be more expensive than licensing an existing track, but it’s the best way to get music that’s specifically tailored to your needs.
With a little research, you’ll be able to find the perfect composer for the tone and style you’re looking for.
These direct relationships are great for ongoing collaborations where the composer contributes a unique element to your brand voice.
Identifying the right music for a marketing video can be complicated, but it’s incredibly satisfying to find that perfect track.
The best ads have a strong synergy between music, visuals, and other audio.
Your final product should also match the brand style that you convey on other channels such as your website and social media profiles.
These tips will help you complete your search more quickly and develop a video that resonates with your target audience.
Did you like this article? Have any questions or ideas? Feel free to leave a comment below.
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