Key Tips On Choosing The Correct Music For Your Next Branded Video

A key aspect of video creation that is often relegated to the least-priority segment is the choice of background music. The background score, however, is a crucial aspect that enhances content quality, evokes the right emotion in viewers, and creates an impact.

Choosing the right music score can be overwhelming for marketers. Thankfully, there are a few tips that can help you make the right choice:

Be Clear on the Brand Message you Want to Deliver

You may be creating a video for marketing purposes, announce a product launch, or spread awareness about your brand’s community initiatives. Whatever the purpose, it is important that you are clear on the message you want to deliver. The mood of your background music depends on the brand message you want to deliver.

For example, if you are creating a behind-the-scenes video to convey your employee culture, then a lively upbeat score works best. If your video is about a product launch, then you may want to consider a score that is energetic yet smooth without being overbearing.

Given that the tone of your message can alter the background score completely, it is crucial to achieve clarity regarding your brand message before choosing a background.

Use Background Score that Sets the Right Mood

You obviously want your viewers engaged and in the right spirits to receive your brand message. Your background score must be so chosen that it succeeds in creating such a mood for your audience. A cheery positive mood works best for brand videos.

There are several technical music aspects such as score genre, tempo, and instrumentation type, to decide whether a background score can set the required mood. But, the most important of them all is how the score “feels”. If you feel your spirits lifted after listening to a background score, then it is setting the right mood.

Even when using cheery scores, ensure that the music does not distract your viewers from the main message of the video. For example, if you choose a heavy instrumental score, then your audiences are more likely to be distracted by the score. The brand message, in such cases, fails to reach your audience.

You can use a dark background score, but you need to be absolutely sure that your video demands such music. For most branded videos, a gentle yet lively score that blends with the content, is the right choice.

Choose a Music Genre that Best fits the Brand and the Business

Soft, gentle scores may work great for a legal brand. But, using the same score for a casino would be a recipe for disaster. Choice of your music genre should depend on your business.

Going for a genre that delivers a fine balance of melodic and rapid scores can work best for your brand. An alternate genre may work if your business is off-beat and demands something that is totally unconventional.

Avoid picking genres that can dominate your video. A background score needs to be subtly present, elevating your content from behind the scenes but not dominating the stage. Ask yourself if your viewers will remember your brand message or the music when they move on from the video. If the answer is music, then you need to rethink your choice of background.

Monitor the Flow of your Score

It is not uncommon to view brand videos with a lack of sync between content and the score. The background score starts suddenly, stops intermittently, only to make a jarring appearance at the end. Such content experiences leave viewers dissatisfied and angry. Such scores spoil the content mood and damage brand reputation as well.

Your background score must flow with the content to create the best impact on viewers. You can begin, end and continue the score at any point of the video. But such addition and removal must be subtle and totally “unfelt” by the viewer.

For example, you may want to mute the music at some places in the video, but doing so immediately can create a jarring effect. The editing must be proficient and performed meticulously. With editing expertise, fading begins at a precise point and continues till obscurity, only to re-emerge at another precise point and continue till the end.

Such meticulous music manoeuvres require professional expertise. Unless your team has excellent editing techniques, hire professional video creators to strike the right pause and push.

Choose Between Copyrighted and Royalty-Free Music

If you are planning to use an already popular score or one from a popular artist, then take the time to research the copyrights associated with the score. You need to know about the music label, artist, and their copyright requirements.

Artists need credits, and they are also keen to know how their music will be used. So, it is important to talk to them, or to companies managing their royalties, to know about their fees and copyright requirements.

You may choose to go with royalty-free music if you do not want to get entangled with copyrighted music. This type of music requires a one-time fee called a licensing fee. But you need to understand the licensing requirements as these terms can differ from provider to provider.

If you are looking for a cost-effective way of obtaining and using music for your branded videos, then royalty-free music may be your best option.

Whether you go for copyrighted or royalty-free music, ensure that you adhere to all laws surrounding the creation to avoid disrepute to the brand over violations.

Avoid Repeating a Background in Multiple Videos

If you are using a specific score in one video, then avoid using the same for different videos. Such use will sound repetitive for viewers. It will also discourage viewers from heeding to the main message you want to convey through your video. Repetition destroys the uniqueness of your brand message.

In Conclusion

A background score for brand videos can elevate or diminish viewer experience. When integrated in the right way, with the above tips in mind, background music helps create the right impact on viewers.

The best background scores add the right energy to your video, evoke desired emotions, and influence viewers to take the intended action. Do not lose the opportunity to create a strong connection with your viewers through branded videos with the right background music.

Team up with Crafted to create powerful brand videos that use the right background score to speak to audiences.