Royalty Free Music

[2WDH.com]

My business, at least partially, is based on using copyrighted music in the service I provide for my customers. Click here to link to my introduction thread that says a little more in depth what I do. To keep a long story short, in case it gets to the point where I can or should no longer use copyrighted music, I will need to obtain a fairly decently-sized collection of royalty free music. I've done some searching on the internet, and there seems to be quite a lot of royalty free music out there, and it varies greatly in price (and in quality, I'm sure). I would like to get a variety off collections so I am able to offer customers a wide range of musical choices. Any ideas where to start? Anyone purchased royalty free music in the past? I just don't want to get collections, pay $250 for a dozen CDs, only to find out the music is crap, or is not full songs, or there are some sort of hidden royalty fees... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[shugotenshi]

I did some quick research and I really didn't find much to help you. I remember seeing a few episodes of Tech TV's Screen Savers that talked about free legal music downloads. Here are the show notes:

Show Notes #1
Show Notes #2 - Check out Magnatune

These links have some real good information, but there is a reason I say it probably won't help. This music is free to download, free to use, free to change and remix --> AS LONG AS YOU DON'T PROFIT FROM IT! Ugh! Talk about a buzz-kill!

I figure you have three options:
(1) Bite the bullet and buy a collection (might be worth the money)
(2) Use the copyrighted music illegally (maybe no one will catch you)
(3) Create your own music (it might be worth giving it a try)

The guy that did our wedding video used Natalie Merchant's "These are days". I really doubt he had her permission or paid royalties to use the song. Unless you are really raking in the money, I doubt anyone will come after you. I encourage you to do the right thing, but ultimately you have to weigh risk vs. reward.

Best of Luck,
OhioDave