We wanted to take a moment to discuss one of our most commonly asked questions.
“Why do I need to license music for my wedding video?”
First and most importantly, its the law! Music is an art form and there are many laws that stand for protecting its usage. With the continuing popularity of social media platforms and the viral-world we live in, the music industry has been working hard to educate the public about these laws. Using music without proper permission can mean TROUBLE!
It’s not like the 70’s and 80’s, where you sat once a year and watched Mom’s wedding ceremony on VHS. In this day and age, couples rarely keep their wedding videos private. They get passed around in emails, uploaded to social media and posted on wedding blogs across the internet- including ours! (Then shared and re-posted by friends, family and vendors!)
Video hosting sites like Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook and Instagram use complex scanning softwares that recognize the music in all its uploaded content. Any content with recognized music is immediately blocked. BUT, if you have the proper licensing, you can do a simple dispute (using your licensing certificate) and they will allow your post!
On a more serious note, not complying with music copyright laws can lead to major legal complications like being fined or sued. We wouldn’t want to put ourselves or couples at risk of these problems.
For these reasons, contractually we require all music used in our products to be licensed.
Luckily, there are several great websites that specialize in providing affordable and free music licensing for weddings. We’ve found that the sites listed below have the best, most up-to-date options:
MUSICBED.COM
SONGFREEDOM.COM
TRACKSMUSIC.COM
ARTLIST.IO
Know that their music selections/options change regularly without notice. Songs available now may not be available later, yet new ones will be added. - Much like Netflix removes shows periodically and adds new ones.
We hope this information has been helpful and appreciate your understanding in following these policies.
-Thank you!
Dana Lynn & Team