Best Royalty Free Music: Understanding the True Meaning of ?Royalty-Free?

Posted by John Farnadiz on May 17th, 2017

Royalty free music, a business idea that helps many artists and producers in making quality work, is often misunderstood by people in general. One of the most common misinterpretations around the term ‘Royalty free’ is that it is a form of music that is freely available for use in productions.

These misinterpretations are often attributed to its misleading name and to eliminate popular false beliefs, it has been suggested to give it a different name, such as Pre-Licensed Production Music or Single Fee Music Licensing. But a truly apt replacement hasn’t been found yet. Therefore, it is essential to fully understand the subject and eradicate any misinterpretations that can lead to legal issues with it use and distribution.

What is royalty free music?

Royalty-free, or RF, refers to the right to use copyright material or intellectual property without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use or per volume sold, or some time period of use or sales. In simple terms, royalty free music is a type of music licensing where the purchaser pays for the music license only once and is free to use it for as long as desired. It is the license agreement that differentiates royalty free music from music for which one has to pay royalties.

Is royalty free music free?

Royalty free music is, for sure, more affordable as compared to rights managed licensing but it is not free of cost. The buyer has to pay a one time fee in exchange for the rights to use a particular music when offered with royalties pre-cleared.

Who owns the copyrights to royalty free music?

In most cases, royalty free music is composed by independent composers, bands and artists, and therefore, they control all of their own copyrights. It is not copyright free as the composer of a piece of music automatically becomes its owner. Many music websites offer best royalty free music on behalf of a composer or with a legal understanding between the composer and the website owners.

Is royalty free music genre-specific?

As royalty free music is a type of music licensing and not a music type, it is not restricted to any particular genre. It can be any type of music starting from hip hop to classical music. It is simply a form of commercial music licensing that is more affordable as one doesn’t pay royalties each time the music is used.

The best place to get royalty free music downloads are the stock music libraries that offer a wide range of music genres at amazingly lower prices. But before making its use, it is essential to understand the legal bindings.