Music for Video : A Portal For Producers

Vicki Bennett has been making audio and visual collage since 1991, when the internet was a fetus and you probably didn't own a computer. She creates her work with the nom de plume People Like Us. It's a moniker that speaks to the role of the collective and popular culture in her work, and a need to belong. Using collage as her medium, she creates audio recordings, films and radio shows that mix and manipulate original sources from both experimental and popular media. Her work has been shown at Tate Modern, The Barbican, Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Centre, Maxxi in Rome and Sonar, and she's hosted the WFMU radio program Do or DIY since 2003.

Plus, she's a judge for our Past Re-Imagined As the Future remix contest. In our Q&A, Bennett shares that she's hoping to see works that are engaging and transformative. As you comb through the materials in the Prelinger Archives, she reminds us that these videos aren't just about the past, but also about the present, the future, and something timeless.

What first drew you to the practice of AV collage art?

This contest is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tracks to Sync is here with a new bushel of songs that video producers will find delicious. These are songs we drove out to the apple orchard to harvest, picked fresh off the trees, and brought home in a basket. They're crisp, cool, and want you to coat them in production caramel.

We think a lot of these tracks might work especially well as you prepare your entries for our video contest with the Prelinger Archives. That's because contest entries require that at least half the music you use come from the video-friendly materials in the Free Music Archive. To make sure the materials you use want to be shared, one trick is to use our "sync to video" search filter. 

Before using any Creative Commons music for a project, you need to make sure you follow the track's license in order to avoid copyright infringement. You can read more about the various Creative Commons lisence combinations here, and check out our help and faq for more information. If you're not sure whether your use is pre-cleared by a particular license, it's always a good idea to reach out to the artist directly. Click the "i" button below to view the license along with a URL or email address where you can secure 'more permissions.'

Tracks to Sync is a monthly mix of music curated with the video producer in mind.

As more and more people begin to create video in the digital era, they are faced with the music licensing hurdles that have hindered many a film project. This series aims to unite independent video producers with independent musicians; creating videos that want to be seen with music that wants to be shared.

More than half of the 50,000+ tracks at the FMA are available under Creative Commons licenses that allow for "derivative works," (like a video) while retaining the parts of copyright that the rightsholders wish to keep. You can search through all of these tracks by using our "sync to video" search filter, or check out our list of featured tracks. You can read more about the various CC combos here, and check out FMA's HELP & FAQ for more resources.

Before using any Creative Commons music for a project, you need to make sure you follow the track's license in order to avoid copyright infringement. If you're not sure whether your use is pre-cleared by a particular license, it's always a good idea to reach out to the artist directly. Click the "i" button below to view the license along with a URL or email address where you can secure 'more permissions.'

We always love to hear about collaborations inspired by FMA music, so if you use one of these tracks, please post a link on the track page as well as to our Video Showcase. Here's one of our favorite videos made using last month's tracks! We'll feature another video next month that uses tracks from this month's playlist.

1. Fhernando [www] is a mexican DJ/Producer putting out some very nice Disco-Funk tunes. Throw this track underneath some dialogue to keep the sonic backdrop pulsing, or use it to bring some energy to your visuals. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

2. This Björn & Gorden [www] track is bit more down-tempo and meditative. There's a lot of room in the mix if you want to focus in on the bass or mids, and when those guitars come in you've got yourself a nice dreamy electronic track to fit many moods. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

3. This CHLLNGR [soundcloud] remix has a bit more of a house vibe, while still keeping that ethereal chill-out ambiance. Great as an unobtrusive music bed for your urban scenes. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

4. Another selection from a very similar palette of sounds. Risey puts the bass up front and keeps it pulsing all the way through. Another house track that would be great for slideshows or how-to videos. Find more on this  compilaton of house sounds from Toucan Music. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial]

5. Ghostandthesong's [soundcloud] poppy synth sounds make for a great chilled track. With a solid, catchy baseline, interesting samples, and super smooth production - snag this if you need some hip music to go with your indie film. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

6. This single from Isle [facebook] made quite an impression when it first landed here at the FMA. We normally don't put too many tracks with vocals in the Tracks to Sync feature, but this song would make a stellar addition to any soundtrack. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

One of the coolest things about having our music on FMA is not only people downloading and listening to it, it's also when it gets used in videos and short films.  Thanks to FMA partnering with Vimeo's music store, our music is being currently used in over 150 videos on Vimeo.

The song "Eileen" from the Music For MOBA album is getting the most amount of exposure now, and it's interesting to see all the many ways that people use the track.  One of the latest instances appears in an entry for Seattle's 48-Hour Film Festival, "Turn", directed by Fred Sprinkle & Josh Burdick.

Turn (48HFP Seattle 2012) from Veritas Media Productions on Vimeo.

Tracks to Sync is a monthly mix of music curated with the video producer in mind.

As more and more people begin to create video in the digital era, they are faced with the music licensing hurdles that have hindered many a film project. This series aims to unite independent video producers with independent musicians; creating videos that want to be seen with music that wants to be shared.

Recently the Free Music Archive hit a major milestone of 50,000 tracks. Of these, more than half are available under Creative Commons licenses that allow for "derivative works," (like a video) while retaining the parts of copyright that the rightsholders wish to keep. You can search through all of these tracks by using our "sync to video" search filter, or check out our list of featured tracks. You can read more about the various CC combos here, and check out FMA's HELP & FAQ for more resources.

Before using any Creative Commons music for a project, you need to make sure you follow the track's license in order to avoid copyright infringement. If you're not sure whether your use is pre-cleared by a particular license, it's always a good idea to reach out to the artist directly. Click the "i" button below to view the license along with a URL or email address where you can secure 'more permissions.'

We always love to hear about collaborations inspired by FMA music, so if you use one of these tracks, please post a link on the track page as well as to our Video Showcase. Here's one of our favorite videos made using last month's tracks! We'll feature another video next month that uses tracks from this month's playlist.

1. Tyrannic Toy [Los Emes Del Oso] is a French experimental outfit. This track is notable for a number of reasons, but I really like the transition from the delayed electric guitar intro into the meaty rock groove. The excellent production on this track could give your project the extra aural polish you're looking for. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

2. Jiony [soundcloud] makes blissed electronica from his home base in Mexico City. This track has a great unobtrusive groove that could work as a bed for a variety of scenes and applications. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike]  

3. Dexter Britain has released two volumes of Creative Commons music on the FMA. Each one is filled with a diverse array of genres and moods, so dig into his repertoire and find something for your film. If you don't find something here, be sure to check his well-designed website that offers individual licenses for a multitude of uses. It also has a great browsing feature where you can filter his music by instrumentation, mood, and genre. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike]  

4. Ant Neely [webiste] is a writer, producer, and composer. This track may well be the whistle anthem of the Summer, and you know those only come around once in a blue moon. Upbeat and smiling. Also, check out this interview with Ant. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike]  

5. Super Flower is one half of infamous New Jersey industrial duo Smersh. I'm getting a real fashion avenue feel from these Vogue beats and runway breaks; this might be just what you need to strut your stuff on film. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike] 

6. This track is from the third release from Sacramento born visual artist David Mohr, who moonlights as electro-pop band FAVORS in addition to running a small imprint called Future Push. Expect bright electro sounds and a subtle beat. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial]

Tracks to Sync is a monthly mix of music curated with the video producer in mind.

As more and more people turn to video in the digital era, they are faced with the music licensing hurdles that have hindered many a film. At the same time, the increase in video production offers new opportunities for multimedia collaboration. This series aims to unite producers with musicians who have music to share for these purposes.

The tracks is this mix are available under Creative Commons licenses that allow for "derivative works," like a video (some CC licenses specify "NoDerivatives"), while retaining the parts of copyright that the rightsholders wish to keep. Creative Commons offers a few custom license combinations, and each is hyperlinked to a human-readable license + legal code, i.e. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, aka "BY-NC-SA". You can read more about the various CC combos here, and check out FMA's HELP & FAQ for more resources.

Before using any Creative Commons music for a project, you need to make sure you follow the track's license in order to avoid copyright infringement. If you're not sure whether your use is pre-cleared by a particular license, it's always a good idea to reach out to the artist directly. Click the "i" button below to view the license along with a URL or email address where you can secure 'more permissions.'

We always love to hear about collaborations inspired by FMA music, so if you use one of these tracks, please post a link on the track page as well as to our Video Showcase. Here's one of our favorite videos made using last month's tracks! We'll feature another video next month that uses tracks from this month's playlist.

Solo Instrumentals

1. Gillicuddy [gillicuddy.net] is Andi Rhoden, whose newest album of solo accoustic guitar instrumentals are chock full of simple harmonies and gentle sincerity. Gillicuddy has been releasing Creative Commons music online for quite some time now, so be sure to check his website for more. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial]

2. We've already covered Kimiko Ishizaka's groundbreaking public domain recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations here, so if you are looking for a recognizable classical piano composition for your project look no further. [Open Goldberg Variations] [Creative Commons Zero (Public Domain)]

3. Mark Lejeune records under the name Circus Marcus [circusmarcus.net] and is buiding quite a catalogue of contemporary classical compositions and improvisations for piano.  Perfect soundtrack for your rainy day contemplations. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial]

4. Stephen Siebert's piano compositions have a jazzy elegance that could pair well with a foggy film-noir or pensive character study. His diverse selections offer a wide emotional pallette, so give them all a listen to find something that compliments your project. [myspace] [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike] 

5. One last solo piano instrumental, this one from Russian composer Peter Rudenko [website]. Sparse and beautiful compositions with a strikingly cinematic quality, 15 Etudes has something for everyone. [Creative Commons Attribution] 

Alt. Instrumentals

6. The Paniks [myspace] cover a wide range of mostly vocal works informed heavily by traditional Balkan folk music. The instrumental starts with a wonderfully meandering fiddle passage, but this long-player covers a lot of ground once the ensemble comes in. [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike]   

7. This track from Pajaro [Happy Place Records] screams Spaghetti Western. Tremolo-heavy electric guitar makes way for a scorching trumpet, with a great rhthym section to back it all up - courtesty of the Budabeats label and Breitband. [Creative Commons Attribution] 

Tracks to Sync is a monthly mix of music curated with the online video producer in mind.

As more and more people turn to video in the digital era, they are faced with the music licensing hurdles that have hindered many a film. At the same time, the increase in video production offers new opportunities for multimedia collaboration. This series aims to unite producers with musicians who have music to share for these purposes.

The tracks is this mix are available under Creative Commons licenses that allow for "derivative works," like a video (some CC licenses specify "NoDerivatives"), while retaining the parts of copyright that the rightsholders wish to keep. Creative Commons offers a few custom license combinations, and each is hyperlinked to a human-readable license + legal code, i.e. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, aka "BY-NC-SA". You can read more about the various CC combos here, and check out FMA's HELP & FAQ for more resources.

Before using any Creative Commons music for a project, you need to make sure you follow the track's license in order to avoid copyright infringement. If you're not sure whether your use is pre-cleared by a particular license, it's always a good idea to reach out to the artist directly. Click the "i" button below to view the license along with a URL or email address where you can secure 'more permissions.'

We always love to hear about collaborations inspired by FMA music, so if you use one of these tracks, please post a link to the track page as well as to our Video Showcase. We'll feature our favorite video made using this month's tracks in the next Tracks to Sync!

5. Denmark's Quantum Jazz [quantumjazz.net] released End of Line, their second and final album, via Jamendo under a CC Attribution-ShareAlike license. Jamendo PRO offers a cool way to secure more permissions directly from the group.

6. GaBlé's 2003 netaudio release le sac de l enfer 1 is a recent add from France's Los Emes De Oso netlabel. It's chock full of intriguing lofi folk-hop beats. More music available at gableboulga.com. "humm ok" is CC BY-NC-SA.

7. CBC Radio's technology program Spark first introduced us to Bulgaria's Antony Raijekov (tony.cult.bg). "By the Coast" can be found on Jazz U, a 2003-2006 retrospective [CC BY-NC]

In September of 2011, I started editing the first season of my web series "8 for Vegas," a mockumetary about the NYC pool team Show Your Balls. I had a ton of footage, enough for 9 episodes... but was missing one crucial element: Music!

Earlier in the year, I shot video for a fundraising campaign and came across Kevin MacLeod's site of royalty-free music that is free to use commercially.

It was enormously helpful, and added a dimension to the series that only music can bring.

But I knew I was going to need a ton more music for the remaining episodes, and found myself at Soundcloud.com. Using their fantastic search feature, I was able to find a TON of music that was free to use commercially under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution license (the same license used by Kevin MacLeod).

We share all of our musical discoveries through a dedicated music page on our website. At the invitation of Jason from the FMA, we've also curated a mix of some selections for the Free Music Archive. I hope you enjoy it. There is not only fantastic music out there to use for your film and video projects, but also a bunch of great music to download and enjoy personally.

Thank you for reading!

John Painz

As tonight's Oscars ceremony longs for Hollywood's heyday with a conservative parade of nostalgia films, I've been watching some online videos and thinking about the future.

More and more independent filmmakers are raising funds and distributing their work outside of the traditional studio model. The bottlenecks for film have been shattered in the same way that they have for music, and there is much to be gained through collaborations. We've already seen some inspiring examples of independent producers and musicians joining forces. Since many FMA artists use video-friendly Creative Commons licenses, we started the Music for Video Portal to help build these connections and provide important resources.

The tracks below were all found in one of our featured videos, Retour aux Sources - Fontainebleau 2012. Check out these incredible shots of bouldering in Fontainebleau, France:

The CC BY-NC-SA tracks by Learning Music and Blue Ducks were already on the FMA.

The johnny_ripper album has just been added, and I love the title: "Soundtrack For a Film that Doesn't Exist." It's the third album by one man named Jean from Lille, France (pictured at right). His other albums are available at his site, and he describes this one as "audio content for visualizing scenes in your head," using a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license to help those ideas come into existence (contact him if you'd like to use his music in a commercial project, or in a project that is not also Creative Commons licensed!)

Tracks to Sync is series of mixes curated with the online video producer in mind. Along with a few new faces, this playlist features updates from artists who'll already be familar to FMA regulars. License and artist info below, and if you're new to the Creative Commons licenses that facilitate online sharing, we've gathered links to great resources in our Music for Video portal.

The Freak Fandango Orchestra is a multi-ethnic band from Barcelona who recently performed at Barbés Brooklyn and release music under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

Oddio Overplay first introduced the FMA to Lee Rosevere, a Canadian composer who approaches music informed by his professional broadcast experience. His latest album was imagined as a soundtrack to Isaac Asimov's science fiction stories (link). [CC BY-NC-SA]

Ending Satellites from Bayonne France mix music with photography in a journey between pictures and melodies. Be sure to get the free deluxe version of their new album for its accompanying artworks! [Creative Commons BY-NC-SA]

The OO-Ray took part in disquiet's Instagr/am/bient: 25 Sonic Postcards in which artists composed music to accompany each other's insagram photos, using sonic and visual filters to explore the intersection of technology, aesthetics, and artistic process. [Creative Commons BY-NC-SA]

junior85 aka Tony Higgins has struck up a very cool collaboration with filmmaker Danny Cooke, which began here at the FMA and we wrote about last year. Danny commissioned a new soundtrack for his latest film about letterpress and movable type. Junior85's soundtrack to Upside Down, Left To Right - A Letterpress Film is now available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license to inspire new works.

Blear Moon also inspired a Danny Cooke film, as featured in April's Tracks to Sync.  Now based in Prague, the Russia-born artist returns with another fantastic ambient release, Town of Two Houses. [Creative Commons BY-NC-SA]

Chris Zabriskie recently removed the NonCommercial clause from his work in favor of Attribution-only, and wrote an article, "Why I Went CC-BY," explaining his reasoning. His latest release, Undercover Vampire Policeman, is beautifully minimal and darkly cinematic, with excellent song titles to boot. [CC-BY]

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Most of these artists provide contact info if you'd like to reach out for more permissions than the CC license grants -- they'll be happy to hear from you, and it can lead to cool collaborations like this one between Tony Higgins and Danny Cooke: