We’re taking our every once in a while look at music libraries for Tribute Video producers and documentarians. They all have strengths and weaknesses, from diversity of selection to economy of pricing. Let’s start.
Envato Elements
Envato Elements is an “all you can eat” plan for royalty free music, video, photos and illustrations. It’s catalog is immense, with a somewhat documentary approach to it’s music offerings– from guitar riffs to lush orchestrations. The cost is a monthly charge, in the $20 range. I use this source regularly.
Jamendo Licensing
Jamendo has a vast library, mirroring contemporary sounds as well as corporate sounding instrumentals. It offers also a free library of independent artists who have written songs in the pop vein. The monthly price for all this is $49. This is month-to-month, so you can cancel anytime.
MusicBed
Musicbed prides itself on the way you can search songs, with a diverse offering for filmmakers, youtubers, and wedding videographers. Pricing at its lowest is for youtubers, at. $29.99 monthly, with rates going up for publicly distributed works. MusicBed is especially embraced by advertisers and broadcast television shows, which is a testament to their quality.
ABC Royalty Free
ABC Royalty Free uses a per license / annual subscription model. They currently offer 366 tracks with decent diversity. They are promoting a “Pay what you want” deal, where you can undercut ther $125 / annual price.
SoundStripe
Soundstripe os a large music library with great options in their selection process. Right off the bat, they offer collections of songs within the same categories, or you can select via searching or simply auditioning one-by-one. It’s monthly plan for “pro’s” is only $19.99 and this includes allowing monetization for up to five channels on YouTube.
Artiist Music Licensing for Video
Artiist offers a wide range of contemporary selections, including vocals. It has a pro plan for $16.60/ mo, billed annually. It is the hippest outlet we’ve seen, if you really want a contemporary sound, but there are traditional instrumentals as well. I like the pricing and offerings on this one.
Conclusions
There are dozens upon dozens of music libraries out there. The ones we chose to review all had their own strengths. Any one would make a good choice, but I believe the more diverse music you can get for your investment, the better off you will be as you produce your videos. Happy hunting!
