Music for Movies online

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 00:07:50 -0400
Newsgroups: rec.video.desktop
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http://internetvideomag.com/articles2003/Music_Indie_Film.htm
Music for your Independent Film
by Peter John Ross www.sonnyboo.com
One of the things that can make or break a movie is the music. Can you
imagine JAWS without the John Williams music? What about the techno music in
THE MATRIX? As no-budget filmmakers, we often times forget that sound is 50%
of the experience of seeing a movie, whether it be a :30 second joke, or a
4 hour Lord of the Rings DVD. And, thanks to technology, we can easily add
any music we can get our hands on into our movies. Since we can take an
audio CD from any musician, put it in a CD-Rom and quickly load that
digitally mastered song on to a timeline of our handy editing program,
temptation has an all new meaning. It's like having a piece of forbidden
dessert on every tray at a buffet. Let's talk about why you should NOT do this. First and foremost - it's
illegal, as in against federal law. Maybe you've heard of this - COPYRIGHT.
Everyone already knows this, but dirt poor, no budget filmmakers think this
law doesn't apply to them. Popular music costs a lot of money to use in your
movies. That's probably why most people steal music & use it without
permission. Secondly, here's where you have to consider another point of view (other
than our own selfish, "I'm the filmmaker" view). If you can take their music
without paying for it, then why should anyone ever pay for any aspect of
your movie? Music is intellectual property, just like your movie will be. If
you can steal their music without paying, then someone at a TV station or a
website should have equal rights to steal your movie & never have to pay for
it.
On a moral & ethical level, it's wrong to use music without permission. I am
quite sure if you saw someone selling copies of your movie without paying
you, it'd be like restraining Chris Farley at an all-you-can-eat lunch
special. What is the difference between stealing your movie or stealing
someone else's music? NOTHING. What kind of arrogance makes us think we are
more important than musicians? I remember being on a filmmaker's panel at a Sci Fi convention in May of
2002 and an audience member asked all of us what our opinion was on using
copyrighted music. I said I was against it. However, 7M Pictures, another no
budget company (one I co-founded no less) piped in with a speech about how
it's okay to steal copyrighted music. They even said, and I hope to preserve
the accuracy in quotes "If someone catches you using copyrighted music in
your movies - that's a good thing. That means someone important saw your
movie." That is another perspective, and they have the right to think that
{{It's important to note however, that they recently lost over half of their
100 movies online for copyright violations!}} Who am I to preach? Have I ever put copyrighted music into my projects? Of
course. Virtually every first-time filmmaker puts music that's copyrighted
into their movies. I did it a lot when I first started. Since then I have
made every effort to get original music into my projects or actually make
arrangements for obtaining the rights and pay the necessary royalties. THE SOLUTIONS There are as many struggling musicians and songwriters as indie filmmakers.
Make a connection. Help EACH OTHER out. You can get their music exposed in
venues previously unavailable to them, and you can have original music that
doesn't make you nervous to play at every film festival. It's also much
classier to have your own "original" music. It differentiates your movie
from the dozens of others using the same songs. You can also get cheap "loop" programs like FRUITY LOOPS or Sonic Foundry's
ACID. These enable you to quickly and cheaply create music from loops and to
customize the speed, tempo, pitch and many aspects to make the music fit
your exact needs. It's better than a "cease & desist" letter from an
attorney and it's legal to use once you BUY the program (illegally copying
programs is whole OTHER article). Stock Music libraries are also an option to consider. These cost money, but
in the end it's much cheaper than popular music. Music ranges from El Cheapo
type stuff where you can buy a CD of music for $250, then use it anytime for
free (also known as "Royalty Free" music because you buy it once & own the
right to use it anytime). Then there is the top of the line EXTREME MUSIC
which is very expensive, but incredibly good. They charge "per needle drop",
meaning you pay for each usage of the music, if you use it online - there's
one fee, and if you use it on television, there is a different price, etc.
Before buying any stock music collection, read the fine print and understand
exactly how you can use it and when. If you are dead set on obtaining a popular song, SECURE THE RIGHTS. Go to
ASCAP or BMI and find out how to get the proper licensing. "Internet Only
rights" are cheap, and they invented something for no-budget filmmakers with
the "Festival Only Rights" to songs to make this more affordable to Indie
Filmmakers like us. Try to do it legally, because if the RIAA is going after
individual users that download a John Mayer song on KAZAA, then what do you
think they'll do to a filmmaker trying to make money from using a song in
their movie? It's not a slap on the wrist anymore. It's a lawsuit. SUM UP Will you get caught? Probably not, but lately, the risk is going up. I
recently got a letter from an attorney for music I used in a movie I did
from February 2000 that still lingered on a short film website, not even a
popular site. I have since removed the movie from their site & I am
re-editing to add original music. And because I am a former musician myself, let me say that I am not
unsympathetic to the plight of indie filmmakers. Resist the temptation to
steal music. I am giving away 9 songs for free to be used by any Indie Filmmaker
completely free with full rights. These aren't the best songs, but they're
free. http://sonnyboo.com/music/music.htm Here are other completely free music resources online for Indie Film :
http://www.freeplaymusic.com
http://www.compositeur-arrangeur.com
I hope this helps
Peter John Ross
www.sonnyboo.com