Music can make a huge difference in your media content. Discover how music plays a role in your brand and other guidelines you should consider.

Most people can forgive a poor-quality video, but not a distorted or low-quality sound. The same rule applies to music background, which should be of high quality and must reflect the media content, lest the viewers bombard you with dislikes on YouTube or other video-sharing websites.

Music can make a huge difference in your video; the right one can make it more exciting and dynamic, while the wrong one can stick like a sore thumb. The general recommendation is to use a sound effect that reflects the video content’s overall message. 

With the right music, your video content can deliver the desired customer experience, which plays a critical role in your brand awareness.

Music Plays a Role in Brand Awareness

You may not be aware of this, but music and other sound effects play an essential role in brand awareness. In fact, some companies with strong brands have jingles that consumers can easily recognize.

Nowadays, a growing number of companies are using music as part of their marketing tool instead of just treating this as an afterthought. But to make sure that it works in their favor, the sound effect should reflect the business’s core values. To put this in perspective, a tech startup will need a jingle or tune different from a food company or a clothing line. 

Make sure that you pick a genre that is “appropriate” for your video. “Appropriate” means that it reflects the overall message of the video, as well as its mood and tone. Is it friendly and upbeat? Somber and professional? Relax but creative? These are the questions you have to keep in mind. 

During an interview with Forbes, Next Big Sound CEO Alex White said that when brands “find the right music and sound” they can “drastically improve their results” since “music is a universal language.”

Music Conveys Feelings

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a complete message–provided that it is accompanied by the right sound effects. 

Music can elicit emotions, allowing the video to convey a memorable message. This is why with the right sound effects, a video can make us happy, cheerful, anxious, and depressed; and make the visual story feel “romantic,” “intense,” or “relaxed.

And with “mood technique,” which is a combination of harmony, volume, and tempo, the soundtrack can further help highlight the message of the media content.

Music Sends Effective Messages

While it may sound counterintuitive, when choosing a music background for your video, the key is to “think” like someone from a showbiz industry instead of a marketing/advertising specialist.  

Occasionally, using sound effects that are a bit “unexpected” can help the video appear more memorable. You may also want to consider using interesting musical interventions or song lyrics that reflect your product or brand. 

But if budget permits, another option is to commission a song. 

Despite the proliferation of free and affordable stock soundtracks, you may want to work with an audio/music expert if you’re serious about making professional-looking and sounding videos.

Music Is Memorable

Just as your video follows a style guide in line with your brand, the same thing also applies to your music and other sound effects. The goal here is to create a “consistent” brand and experience. 

Some companies have become a household name thanks to the success of their jingles and other branding awareness efforts. This is demonstrated by some popular tv and radio stations and mobile phone companies like the now-defunct Nokia whose iconic ringtone–aptly referred to as Nokia Tune–still remains recognizable by the older millennials.

Music Represents Brand Identity

Whether it is a grand orchestral composition, a nature-derived sound, or an instrumental song, the music represents your brand identity. To put this in perspective, a company that targets seniors may want to use iconic pop songs during their younger years, while a business that targets yuppies may consider using indie songs with upbeat rhythm and tempo. 

Copyright Infringement in the Music Industry

Copyright infringement in the music industry is a serious offense that can get your business into trouble. Thus, you have to be aware of the copyright laws and the best industry standards. 

In a nutshell, copyright gives a composer legal ownership of his musical composition or audio recording, granting him exclusive rights to distribute and reproduce his creation, as well as licensing rights to receive royalties.

There are two types of music copyright:

• Composition – This copyright, which covers the arrangement of notes, melodies, and chords in a particular order, belongs to songwriters, lyricists, and composers. It is managed by their music publishers who have partial ownership of copyright.

• Master Recording – This copyright covers a sound recording containing a particular expression of the musical composition. Performing and recording artists and their labels hold his copyright. 

It is not uncommon for a song to have multiple collaborators. For instance, it might have two songwriters and sung by a three-member girl band. In this scenario, it is important to put into writing the role of each artist.

Facebook Music Guidelines

Being the most popular social media platform to date, Facebook is flooded with hundreds of thousands of videos every day. As a result, it has laid out its guidelines to protect the copyrights of composers, label companies, and other stakeholders. 

Companies and individuals who fail to adhere to these guidelines will either have their videos taken down or muted. 

• Music in Stories and recordings of live performances are not limited.

• The more full-length recorded tracks are included in a video, the greater the possibility of it becoming limited (partially muted, unavailable in certain regions, etc.)

• Shorter clips of audio tracks are encouraged.

• The primary purpose of the video must be its visual component, not the recorded audio.

To learn more about Facebook guidelines on the use of music in your media content, visit this link.

Tips for Positioning in Facebook and Instagram through Music

• Find the right mood. When planning your video, consider the appropriate music that supports your media content. The general rule of thumb is to pick one or two of these moods (funny, playful, entertaining, mysterious, edgy, and dramatic) to develop a strategy. 

• Limit your choice to a few music styles. Mixing too many different music styles can make your content feel ambiguous or the “message” appear weak. When it comes to music, less is more. The general recommendation is to use one song or stick to one genre. 

• Coordinate music and content. The music must work together with the video, particularly the scene where it is being played. Thus, it helps if you watch your video multiple times to make sure that the sound effects are appropriate for the scene. You may also want to experiment with different songs to see what fits best.

• Use music that resonates with your audience. For example, if you want to tap the global market, you may want to consider instrumental songs that are “relatable” across different cultures.

• Consider your budget and schedule. For bootstrapping entrepreneurs, there are free and affordable stock video and musical compositions online. But for those with a bigger budget to spare, they may want to get exclusive rights or commission a song. 

When used correctly, music can enhance the experience of the audience who mostly prefers short video content due to their shrinking attention span. Conversely, the use of wrong sound effects can ruin even the videos with the best quality and content.