Offer your students choices when it comes to adding music to their video productions.
As a dad, I have found, when I give my son a choice, we are able to get to a decision much faster than just asking him what he wants. If I say “Terry what do you want?” the discussion inevitably turns into a power struggle. The same holds true for your students. You’re in class. You’re ready to allow your students the opportunity to create a video. Of course, they want to use the popular music they listen to, right?
But you have discussed Copyright and the laws regulating the use of music owned by artists. This is not a post about Copyright. We have offered a few of those already. This is a post about choices.
So here are your students’ choices when it comes to music:
1. Produce a video with no music. (Which I highly recommend for a hard news story. Hard news doesn’t need music.)
2. Use popular music, but you can’t publish the video to the web. So all that hard work, blood, sweat and tears can only be witnessed in YOUR class (or illegally on YouTube.)
3. Offer a list of Royalty-Free websites, all genres, instrumental and lyrical, and incorporate those songs in the video. Then, publish online for the world to see!
When my students are ready to produce a commercial, promo, documentary, music video, short film or dramatic piece, they research the best royalty-free music options on the web.
The list below features independent sites and artists, who simply want their music heard, and most likely, some form of simple written credit for their work. Cool! We can do that. As you download music from these sites, make sure to review the TERMS OF USE for each. Enjoy, have fun, and block out a few hours to listen. There is some really great royalty-free music out there!
Legal Music for Videos – Creative Commons
Sea Breeze Computers – page of multiple links
Free Stock Music – 100% free video production music
Audio Nautix – All music in this online collection created by Jason Shaw. Released under Creative Commons license 3.0
Incompetech by Kevin MacLeod
AudioFarm – Upload your own music or download from independent artists.
ccMixter – Download, sample, cut-up or share
Partners in Rhyme – Royalty-Free music & sound effects
FreeSound – Collaborative database of Creative Commons Licensed sounds.
Free Music Archive – (I recommend searching by genre on this site.)
SoundBible– Free sound clips, sound bites, and sound effects
Brainy Betty – Hundreds of free PowerPoint templates, backgrounds, animations, music for presentations, royalty free photos, tutorials, flash and video introductions, & teacher resources.
Jamendo – Free music downloads for private use & royalty-free music for commercial purposes.
Youtube – Free music for use
Tobu – Free music to use as long as credit is given (Tobu use info).
What sites did I leave out? Please let me know what sites work for you. I would love to add to this list. Feel free to share in the comment section.
*Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include additional sites to the ones that originally appeared.
Written By: Don Goble