Using music in AS and A2 projects

AS
As you all know by now, you're not allowed to use copyrighted music in your opening sequence. This, unfortunately, is most music, especially music released by record companies.

There are people who make non copyrighted music, usually specifically for people to use in films. They are then uploaded to a website that you can download the track from. Sometimes the composer asks for a donation to be paid but mostly they just want to be credited. So, when you find a track you want to use in your film make sure you wright down the name of the track, the person who wrote it and the website you found it on. Then make sure you include all these details in the credits of your film.

Another way to have non copyrighted music in your film is to use Garageband. This is a program used to record and edit music, so basically the music version of iMovie. Go to the 'How To' page to find out how to use Garageband. Using this program you can either create your own track using the loops or use the loops to edit an existing song to make it sound slightly different.

Or you could write your own song. If you or a friend can write and play music you could compose your own song, record it (which you can do using Garageband) and use that. Make sure you credit it though so everyone knows it's your own song!


A2
Because you're making a music video, you are allowed to use copyrighted music. But you need to have a copy of an email on your blog that you sent to the owner of the song asking permission to use it. It doesn't matter if they have replied or not, as long as you have proof that you have asked. Check the track information to see who owns the rights to the song. It's usually the record company but sometimes it's owned by the artist, or both so it's best to check.

When you're ready to upload your music video, you might find that because of the copyright on the music uploading it to YouTube doesn't work. Sometimes they will remove the music, so you will be left with a silent video, or sometimes they remove the video entirely. This isn't very good when you're making a music video. Unfortunately there isn't a way around this on YouTube, but what you can do is upload your video to Vimeo instead. Vimeo is a similar website to YouTube but they're not as strict on music licensing so you'll get to keep your video intact. Go to the 'How To' page to find out how to upload your video to Vimeo.