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where to get free music score/soundtrack

M

melstone

Im just a beginner in film making and I've made some short films, thing is that thing is that Im a no budgeter so can anyone help where can I get some free scores soundtrack and ambience would be a great help for me

thanks!
 
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melstone said:
Im just a beginner in film making and I've made some short films, thing is that thing is that Im a no budgeter so can anyone help where can I get some free scores soundtrack and ambience would be a great help for me

thanks!
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There's a small amount of free music on our site, and a whole lot more royalty-free and for a low price for non-commercial projects. Wherever you get music from, just make sure you obtain a license to use it. If you use a reputable website from which to download your music, you should automatically get a usage license so you shouldn't run into copyright issue problems.

http://rocksuresoundz.com
 
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rocksure said:
There's a small amount of free music on our site, and a whole lot more royalty-free and for a low price for non-commercial projects. Wherever you get music from, just make sure you obtain a license to use it. If you use a reputable website from which to download your music, you should automatically get a usage license so you shouldn't run into copyright issue problems.

http://rocksuresoundz.com
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So do you mean if I get a soundtrack for free, its already licensed? and by the way how do you get soundtrack license

thanks again!
 
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melstone said:
So do you mean if I get a soundtrack for free, its already licensed? and by the way how do you get soundtrack license

thanks again!
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When you download music from a Royalty-free music website, generally you tick a box or something similar saying you agree to the terms and conditions of the license agreement that the particular site has. You will get a receipt of some sort for the track purchsed, and a copy of the license is available also. Then you can use the music subject to whatever conditions that particular website library has set out in the license. These conditions vary from site to site.
The same sort of idea is likely to apply to music that is freely downloadble. There will be some sort of clause as to where, or how you can, or cannot use that music. Again the conditions will vary from site to site, dependent on where you obtain the music.
 
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JewelBeat also has a lot of affordable royalty-free tracks, at 99c apiece.

You definitely want to source your music from a place that gives you a copy of the actual permissions. There are many "free" outlets that rely on user-submitted audio tracks, that may not be properly vetted, with no certainty of being clear of infringements.
 
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Also, Sound Forge includes 1,001 free sound effects and several free royalty free music clips included with the audio editing software bundle. I also have tons of music, sound effects, video clips, and fonts from Video Explosion from Nova Logic. They later got swallowed up by Sony.

Everyone here is giving you valuable information as well.
 
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Zensteve said:
JewelBeat also has a lot of affordable royalty-free tracks, at 99c apiece.

You definitely want to source your music from a place that gives you a copy of the actual permissions. There are many "free" outlets that rely on user-submitted audio tracks, that may not be properly vetted, with no certainty of being clear of infringements.
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It may be fine for film makers to get music for cheap like that. But it's sites like that one that I believe are the ones that are killing things for composers and musicians in the big scheme of things: big money for the guys that own the business..peanuts for musicians/composers, and a degradation of the industry in general. But I guess I stated my case on this in another thread.
 
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So my personal opinion as a composer, musician is to support website music libraries that are in keeping with the model that allows the reportage of broadcast use through cue sheets etc, so the creators of the music actually have a chance to get fair compensation if their music makes national or international broadcasts. There are plenty of such sites round, and on that basis here are a few I would suggest as worth looking at:

http://rocksuresoundz.com
www.soundrangers.com
www.productiontrax.com
http://www.neosounds.com/
 
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True point.

There is a big difference between a trailer, teaser, or film that is sound scored as opposed to stuff using stock royalty free music. Custom scores cannot be replaced by stock music.

I've said that to my impatient cast on why they have to wait for the trailer and final cut. A great sound score creates a whole new dimension to a film.
 
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I have turned down quite a few composers in all of my productions who want me to work their music into my productions.

One of my actors in IC2 is a drummer in a band and wants me to use his group's music in the production. I told him there is no place for music not composed for the production.

The end credit music can come from a band and not made for the production. Or, background music in a scene like club music or party music.

But, as I said in some thread here, someone offered to make a custom song about IC2 and its' characters. So, I will consider that for an end credit song, if it comes out good. If not, I know fairly well-known composers with hit songs I can ask to give it another try.
 
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I think what composer, crew people, post houses, matt painters, and 3D animators really need to concern themselves with is to work on ways to become affordable to the small filmmaker with empty pockets.

I like the pro post audio house in my area, because they keep small filmmakers in mind and have ways of making themselves affordable for us. We don't pay what a major studio would pay because we simply can't afford the same rate .
 
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If you look at the ladies in my profile picture, I could pay $800 per body suit, if I had them made in the USA, Europe, and even Canada. I get them made in China for $40 each. When I need 20 of them for a cast for a production, that becomes a big savings. The post audio house in my area and I have a business relationship. They have discounted their services to me as low as 1/10 their professional rate. That's how I survive and can make a sci-fi film. One of my crew guys worked on a production where the producers spent the $800 for a body suit like my actresses are wearing. I don't have their budget. And, neither do a lot of small filmmakers.

So, make yourselves affordable for small filmmakers. That's how you can get more business.
 
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Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC said:
I think what composer, crew people, post houses, matt painters, and 3D animators really need to concern themselves with is to work on ways to become affordable to the small filmmaker with empty pockets.

I like the pro post audio house in my area, because they keep small filmmakers in mind and have ways of making themselves affordable for us. We don't pay what a major studio would pay because we simply can't afford the same rate .
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All very good points you have made. The thing is for us who make music and do sound work professionally for a living is finding the balance between being affordable for clients, while still making enough to live on. It's not an easy balancing act in these uncertain economic times.
For filmmakers who perhaps don't have the budget to afford to get good quality composers to score a whole film, maybe a combination of library music in some parts, and music specifically made for the film in places where it really counts the most, may be an answer.
I guess for me the point I try to stress is that I believe the "99c no cue sheet, no potential returns for the time spent" kind of libraries" are undermining the industry as a whole. They can make big bucks for their owners, but not for composers/musicians who actually make the music.
 
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rocksure said:
For filmmakers who perhaps don't have the budget to afford to get good quality composers to score a whole film, maybe a combination of library music in some parts, and music specifically made for the film in places where it really counts the most, may be an answer.
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Definitely agreed (on all points), and I'll take that even a step further. Just starting out, making videos for youtube? Go right ahead and use library music. When you get your chops down and get to the point where you're sending to festivals, or going to try selling dvds of your films, THEN get a composer (or as mentioned, a combination of the two).

Using a composer is definitely a good idea. Filmmaking is a collaborative art, after all! AS a composer, I agree with MDM's comments. But if you're just starting out, there's no shame in working with what you can get for free/on the cheap. You've got a lot to learn, and you should consider your first few shorts as learning experiences/experiments. When you are ready, there are lots of composers out there who are affordable and eager to work! Treat them well and they'll do well by you!
 
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With my present production, everyone from cast to crew committed to making an excellent pilot with the hopes that a cable TV network will pay to air this production on their network. We hope the payout will be enough where we can all get a good payout in the form of industry standard pay for a bigger budget film than the last where we not only make some good wages together, there is enough money to raise the production values as well. And, to give my friend all of the equipment and support she is used to as a Hollywood stunt professional to help our cast to do outstanding stunts. That's why I am concern about getting the audio to a higher level of excellence. We have to impress people already at that higher level.

There are people in the industry with hearts of gold, willing to help out people on their way up. My friend is just one of a number of good people in the industry. You never know who you may be working with and where they may be a few years from now too.

As a friend of mine who was one of the editors of The Matrix explained to me, "Action is a dance for film. That's why it is choreographed. Because it is a non-standard dance, a composer has to watch it to create music that works with it. Music helps to add mood and feeling to what we see on the screen. As a composer works with a style of music, so must the editor to create a rhythm to the film to make it interesting to watch."

Hopefully, that will help people starting out.
 
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rocksure said:
I guess for me the point I try to stress is that I believe the "99c no cue sheet, no potential returns for the time spent" kind of libraries" are undermining the industry as a whole.
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No, they're not. They're filling a market niche that professional composers aren't.

The people who want free/cheap/crap music will always be looking for it. The people who want their music to be an integral part of their soundscape that carries meaning unique to their film will continue to find composers.

If the dude's got no money for real music, then he gets to pick from the generic crap that he can afford, staying within his budget. It's either work within one's means, or steal what you want... and that's an option that noone should be considering.
 
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Well Steve, when I had my production office in Times Square next to the editors on the same floor as me and video game designers on the same floor, I saw multitudes of starving artists looking for a break any which way they can get it.

I knew film composers who visited the editing suite. They would sound score a feature for almost anything a producer would offer them. They would bring their portable electronic keyboards, plug them into the AVIDs, and score a feature within a couple of hours.

They would take what some may only consider a tip just for the chance of getting a screen credit to get their names out there with hopes that what they scored would find distribution and become hits to get their names out there.

As one of my actresses put it, "We have to pay our dues to get a break so that hopefully a studio will notice us."

There are some people in the independent market who are so delusional with false versions of reality that they have some big fan base somewhere. No one can talk sense to them about having to work they way there. So, in a few years, they will vanish off the face of the Earth. I've seen this happen already with people blinded with false self-glory.

The actors in my present production that are returning for the pickup footage and some from outside the USA and local tri-state area as well understand they need to take a chance and try for a break and have no false visions of a fan base. Hope in the real world keeps us all going. Why would a popular actress in Serbia work in an Ultra-Low Budget Sci-Fi Film? She remembers where she came from. So do my friends in Hollywood who advise me and offer to help out. It all starts with taking a chance with a small production, yes working for peanuts with hopes the film may blossom.
 
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