Microsoft famously used Lenka’s
Everything At Once music for their Windows 8 launch, and we still vividly remember it.
So you see, there’s something familiar happening in these music videos, apart from, well, they’re music videos.
The commonality is: the music isn’t used just for sake; instead, they’re implicitly adding to the appeal of the product, in every beat, every lyric. These collabs are giving a subtle brand message to the viewers through the music rhyming with the visuals.
That is precisely why you want to add music to video – to extend the appeal and generate a lasting impression on the brand.
In the article today, we will share nine prominent hacks and tricks you can use to, or before you add relevant and impactful music to videos.
Things to Consider Before you Add Music to Video
But, before you add music to your video, pause and consider the following:
1) Copyright
Firstly, you need to recognize and respect copyright. It is both ethical and critical per the global law. Before going into the creative part, you should understand regulations around copyright content in India.
Why do you need to check copyright?
- Online platforms (and creators/repositories of copyrighted videos) run through advanced algorithms and tools. They can easily detect copyright infringements.
- It could result in copyright strikes and video blocking at least, and lawsuits at the worst.
So, it is a wise decision to follow the legal method.
How to use music without copyright violations?
You can use royalty-free music for videos. The term generally extends and includes Creative Commons (CC), music in public domains, etc. It means you don’t have to pay or take permission from the owner of the music for use in your video, personal or commercial.
Several platforms offer royalty-free music, Soundstripe, Audio, Ben Sound, etc.
2) Convey the right message through music
Music should be relevant and deliver the intended brand/product message. To do so, understand the target audience and video content. Have a clear understanding of the mood and brand message you want to uphold.
The music should not be distracting or improper. For example: if the video is about a sports shoe brand, music should be energetic and youth-oriented. As a video editor, you must find the balance between product or service and music to communicate with target customers.
3) Consider the target audience
The audience is the king, and you need to please them with relevant audio & visuals. First, research the niche market according to your product or service.
Next, analyze your customer base with analytics and AI-based applications like Google Analytics, Alexa, and SimilarWeb. Finally, browse and select music specifically for the target audience.
The viewers should relate to the music genre. It will attract them to spend more time on the video and result in higher watch times, traffic and call-to-action.
Trick
Use social media platforms to interact with end-users. For example, start a poll like “What kind of music do you prefer?” Or “Express your mood with your favorite number?” etc., and note the responses.
Interaction with end-users will help in additional benefits: better decision-making, resulting in better engagement and brand awareness.
4) Customise the tempo
The pace is a crucial determiner to add music to video, and its prospect to be a hit or miss! The tempo should complement the theme of the video. Imagine a piece of rock music on a somber video of funeral services! It is bound to fail on its goals; worse, it will draw flak from the viewers.
Therefore, the right combination of image frames and tempo helps viewers follow the video thoroughly. When viewers understand the message better, they interact with your desired goal.
5) Lyrics matters
If your video has texts and captions, avoid using songs with lyrics.
For instance, videos with texts, voices, and music together risk becoming overwhelming and hard to follow. This is because it could confuse the brain to understand the messages behind the text, voice, music, in one video.
When viewers find the video intent hard to follow, they may skip the video. Therefore, apply lyrics only to retain the soul of the video and if the other parameters (including video texts, captions, voice-overs) permit.
Finally, it’s time to add music to the video.
6) Add music to the video
Depending on the platform, follow the guidelines to choose a suitable audio file and add the selected music to your videos.
There are several video editor software available on the web for this purpose. However, you might need some practice, in the beginning, to understand various options on the dashboard.
Once you are accustomed to the audio library, the process of downloading and adding music to the videos will be a cakewalk for you. Platforms like online video editors are easy-to-use, and you don’t need technical expertise to manage them.
We have gone through a significant part of the process. After adding the music, you need to give some final touches before videos are all set to publish with the brand-specific music.
7) Volume adjustment
The volume level in your music video should be optimum: neither too high nor too low.
Consider the following situations:
- Keep the volume high when the content is purely visual.
- Use neutral volume level if there are verbal components in videos.
- Adjust volume settings to match the different parts of the storytelling or corporate videos.
8) Select the best part of the music
Boost the quality of your music and videos by trimming the unwanted parts and embedding the best portion of the audio file. You can crop from the beginning, end, or in-between with a multi-functional video editor. Think of TikTok and YouTube Shorts videos you’re drawn to; they almost always have the best parts of some popular music embedded.
9) Encourage viewers to unmute videos
Insert an unmute sign for people who like to watch videos on mute. Some people unintentionally watch a few seconds of a video in mute before watching it with audio. So, a nudge to unmute always works for your goals.
You can also consider adding emojis or call to unmute in the description or title on YouTube.
You’re now sorted with powerful hacks and tips to create stunning videos with the right music. So go ahead and select a royalty-free music file and spread your brand message with a perfectly made AV.
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