Music playlists for filmmakers

Music enhances storytelling by creating emotional depth, building atmosphere, and guiding the audience's feelings. A well-chosen track can establish a scene's mood, create tension or suspense, signify a character's theme, and control the pacing of the narrative, making it one of the most powerful tools a filmmaker has to immerse viewers in the story.

Filmmakers have three main options for sourcing music: they can commission a composer to create an original score, license well-known commercial songs, or use a royalty-free music library. For most independent and commercial projects, a royalty-free service like Epidemic Sound offers the most balanced solution, providing vast creative options at a predictable cost without complex legal hurdles.

Yes, you absolutely need permission to use a song in a movie, as this requires a specific "synchronization license." There is no legal grace period, such as a "30-second rule," that allows for free use of copyrighted material. Using a pre-cleared catalog from a subscription service is the safest way to avoid copyright infringement and ensure your film can be distributed without issues.

The cost can range from nearly zero to millions of dollars. Licensing a single popular song can cost tens of thousands, while hiring a composer for an original score is also a significant investment. In contrast, royalty-free music subscriptions provide an affordable and predictable alternative, offering unlimited access to entire catalogs for a low monthly fee.

The best way to find the right music is to first define the emotional tone, pace, and genre of your scene. Use these keywords to search a music library, filtering by mood, genre, and tempo (BPM) to narrow your options. Listen to how a track interacts with your visuals; the right choice will feel like it was made for the scene, elevating the final cut without distracting from it.

This is one of the most-asked questions we get! There is no real limit in seconds before which a song is not copyrighted! This means that you will most likely need to pay for the right to use a specific song.

For short films, the easiest and most cost-effective method is to use a subscription-based royalty-free music library. These platforms provide immediate access to a massive catalog of high-quality music that is already cleared for use in festivals and online, solving the challenges of budget constraints and complex licensing that independent filmmakers often face.