Finding the right music for your film can be a huge headache, and locating sources that allow you to get your hands on unique and original music for your films proves pretty difficult (though we did cover Marmoset back in September.) There are lots of royalty-free stock music sites out there -- even archival stuff you can get for free, but the selection and quality can often be pretty disappointing. The Music Bed, however, is one site that offers good music (seriously, actually good) at an affordable price, while providing a mutually beneficial platform for indie filmmakers and indie musicians to find their audience.
For those who have never heard of or used The Music Bed before, here's a brief description of what they're all about. The Music Bed licenses music to a wide range of creatives focused on different kinds of projects, like wedding videographers, non-profits, ad agencies, and independent filmmakers, for us in steaming videos, films, commercials, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
Here a video that explains things a little better:
The music on The Music Bed is hand-picked and categorized based on artist, song, project type, genre, mood, instruments, tempo, and lyrical only/instrumental only. So, if you're working on an independent film, and you're looking for some sad post rock music (because you love Sigur Rós, but you know you'll never be able to use one of their songs ever,) you can choose those specifications, and up pops a bunch of fitting songs.
And the thing that I personally admire about this site is that because it caters to musicians by providing them a unique platform on which to find their audience, the music selection for those wanting to license something for their project is broad. The quality and relevance of the music is definitely attractive. The Music Bed's service, as an entire package, is pretty inviting considering not only the quality of the selection, but also the streamlined licensing they offer.
Pricing for music licensing depends on your project as well as its budget. For example, if you're making a short film with a budget between $0-$50,000, a perpetual single use license will cost you $199. Each budget tier brings the cost up $100, with the top budget tier of $250K costing $499. The only drawback to choosing the "Independent Film" project type, is that a streaming license isn't available for it -- you'd need to get a custom license for that (more on that later.) However, if you're a small production company looking to license a film, you do have that option standard.
Currently, The Music Bed doesn't offer licensing for film or TV (I'm assuming "film" means "feature", since they do license music for shorts,) but for projects that aren't covered by their standard licensing, custom licensing is available. After you submit the form, they say they can typically get you a quote within 24 hours.
So, definitely check The Music Bed out and see if what they offer fits your needs, and be sure to read the licensing agreement found under "Quick Links" at the bottom of the page to be sure you know what you're paying for.
Have you ever used The Music Bed? Tell us about the pros and cons, or if you know of any similar services, in the comments below.
Link: The Music Bed
