Table of contents
Music is a small line in a corporate film budget and a large factor in whether the film can stay on the website and the trade show screen. The usual problem is not taste. It is licence scope: two years later a copyright notice arrives and the film has to be re-cut with new music.
1. What the Score Does
Three jobs: set the emotional register, mark sections, and support the narration. The opening tells viewers whether this is a serious industrial film or a light consumer piece. A change of rhythm signals the next section. Where narration is dense, music steps back.
Decide these three before auditioning tracks; an hour of random listening solves less than ten minutes of thinking.
2. Four Sources, Four Licence Models
| Source | Licence model | Cost range | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial library subscription | Account subscription with commercial cover | A few thousand per year | Scope limited to platform use; check offline screenings |
| Single track buyout | One-off, limited use and term | Hundreds to thousands per track | Term expiry; trade show use often omitted |
| Commissioned original | Custom composition, ownership negotiable | From a few thousand | Longer lead time; revision rounds must be written |
| Free music sites | Attribution or no attribution per site | Zero | Terms change; commercial boundaries unclear |
Music bundled with stock footage is not automatically cleared. The test is simple: if you cannot find an explicit licence statement, you do not have a licence.
3. Four Selection Criteria
Match the industry register: heavy industry takes weight and low end, consumer goods take lightness. Mismatch makes footage look staged.
Match the runtime: a complex three-minute piece fights a three-minute edit at every section change.
Match the narration: instrumental only where voiceover carries the message.
Match the licence term: films live longer than expected.
4. Three Sync Moves
Align musical accents with cut points, within a frame or two. Viewers cannot explain it but it feels smooth.
Duck the music where information is dense, typically to about thirty percent of the narration level.
Leave a half second of silence before a key conclusion. It lands harder than adding a sound effect.
5. What to Hand Over
Deliver the licence document, track title and composer, and a one-page statement of permitted use. This file is needed for trade show filing, platform disputes and later re-edits.
6. FAQ
Can we use a popular song?
It needs both composition and master recording licences, which is slow and costly. Most corporate films use library music instead.
What if the budget is a few hundred?
Prefer a monthly library plan and confirm commercial terms cover offline screenings. Do not save money with unclear sources.
Does a re-cut need a new licence?
Check the original terms. Licences tied to one finished film treat a re-cut as a new work; project-based licences usually cover multiple versions.
See also
- Corporate film: script to delivery
- Brief writing before you compare quotes
- Voiceover casting standards
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