BY JESS KELLER
Vocals. They are ubiquitous on the radio, in popular music, and on TV. It seems like vocals are everywhere. Therefore, it must be very easy to source vocals for your advertisement or radio spot. Think again.
It turns out, licensing music with vocals is extremely difficult, and can be expensive. If they are so hard to come by, how can you find amazing vocals for your media production?
The good news is it is possible to source quality vocals at an affordable price. There is lots of great stock music out there with wonderful, high quality vocals. Here are some tips to find some.
Good Vocals are Expensive
A talented singer has the ability to move and inspire millions of people. Finding a vocalist is so challenging, the process can captivate millions of people. Popular shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent are watched world wide, and replicated in different countries all over the world. The Custom Composition wizard on stockmusic.net doesn't even try to quote a price for vocalists, as the range and quality of any vocalist varies greatly and will significantly multiply the price. For example, the price of a 60 second custom track will average between $1,000 and $3,000. If vocals were added into the mix, the price will skyrocket, ranging from about $5000 on the low end to $15,000 and way beyond, depending on who records the vocal track.
Choose Royalty Free Music for the Best Value
So you have finally decided that vocals are required to back your ad spot or film score. You have a vision, now you must come up with that perfect track to complete your vision.
Instead of hiring artists to create a custom soundtrack, you can literately save thousands of dollars by searching for pre-recorded stock music. Stock music prices vary greatly, but will cost a fraction of hiring a professional vocalist. If you can find a track that matches your vision, and of course a license that will fit your distribution, value wont be beat anywhere. Make sure to carefully read the usage license and verify that it will work with your production. It can be that easy to find the song you need with vocals.
Unfortunately, most stock sites make it difficult to find music with vocals.
We recently did some market comparisons. After looking for high quality vocal backed tracks on the more popular stock sites, our first impression shows it is going to take some work. Usually searching for royalty free music is quick and simple. But about half the sites checked didn't even offer a way to search for vocals! Also, the ratio of tracks with vocals vs. without is very small. Our data shows, most libraries that have searchable vocals have about 1% vocals. Stockmusic.net was the clear winner with 6% of it's tracks containing vocals.
Tips for finding the Best Royalty Free Music with Vocals
- If you cannot find a way to search for vocals quickly, move on to another site. It's not worth the effort if the library doesn't make it easy for you.
- Make sure the site allows you to combine search specifics. Try to find, for example:
- Don't compromise! You have a vision. Ensure the music matches the feeling and mood you are seeking as closely as possible.
Your time is precious! Make sure you can find something to exactly fit your vision quickly.
The Largest Selection of Vocals
By sticking with stock music sites that have the largest selection combined with the best search experience you will save time and energy. With a little effort, you should be able to find the perfect music track in no time.
It's our opinion that sourcing music for your media project should be quick, painless and fun. Its our goal to help you save time by providing the best quality music library packaged in a very simple yet powerful interface. Don't take my word for it, come try it yourself! We hope you like it as much as we do.
Checkout some of our vocal gems:
Welsh Piano and Female Vocals by Daniel J. Schmidt
Earthly Matters by Alan Palanker
LM Globe – Loop 4 by Jean-Pascal Vielfaure
Evil Woman 2 by Richard Freeze
Color Me Out of the Blue by Steven Mesropian
