How To Choose the Right Sports Hype Music for Your Project

Sports hype music. If you’ve been to a sports game or watched one on TV, you’ve heard it before. This kind of blood-pumping, adrenaline-rushing music blasts in the stadium before every game. Most sporting events feature a hype playlist to get the athletes ready to compete and get the fans in the mood before the showdown starts. 

There’s no one genre for hype sports music: Hard rock, hip hop, or even dramatic scores. It'll be on the hype playlist if it’s upbeat and carries the soaring sensational quality that inspired athletes to greatness. 

So, the hard work is already done if you want to make your one sports hype video. All you have to do to find inspiration is look toward the music already playing in some of the world’s biggest arenas, from the NFL to the Olympic Games.

In fact, you can tap into some of the music athletes listen to when they need to get hyped. Whether you want to capture the confidence and power of a football team bursting onto the field or showcase an underdog wrestler’s inspirational comeback, there’s no better place to find the music you need. And the best news is, we’ve got that music. 

Below, we’ll break down everything you need to know about how to choose the perfect hype music for sports projects. 

How To Choose the Best Music for Your Sports Video Projects

How do you get hyped up for a game? There’s a simple answer: Hype music. 

It doesn’t matter what kind of project you’re shooting: A highlight reel, motivational promo, or past event coverage. The right choice of music can make or break the experience for viewers. From head-bobbing beats to heart-stirring lyrics, the right songs can get everyone dialed into the game and screaming their hearts out for their team. 

If you’re gearing up to shoot or edit a sports video project, you might wonder: How do I match my music to a video? Background music is just as diverse and varied as the sports themselves — each video needs the right music to complement it. 

There's a lot to consider from the type of video to the sports music genre. In this part of the guide, we’ll explore all the factors you need to consider before choosing the best hype music for sports. 

Consider the Type of Video 

Instrumental, rock, or pop — what background music works best for your music video, highlight reel, or other video projects? It all depends on the kind of hype video you’re shooting. 

Covering the Latest Sports News 

Let’s say you’re putting together a presentation-style video covering the latest sports news. Whether it’s a video short or a full-length production, you might wonder: How do I choose the right background music? 

Sports news demands a feeling of authority. Unlike other sports-related video projects, you might need to lean more toward a serious and commanding tone — without feeling too stuffy or boring. 

While you need a powerful piece of music for the intro to capture the audience's attention, most of the music during your segment needs to be more low-key. If the background music in your audio editing is too intense, it could overpower your announcer or the voiceover. 

Bringing the Best Moments to Life 

When putting together a highlight reel, you’ll want to consider the question: What song is played the most at sporting events? That’s because a highlight reel is meant to feel like the viewer is actually there — reliving the game as it happens. 

Finding the right music for a highlight reel is all about capturing the right tone, at the right time. For example, use slow and emotional music when showing a team at its lowest, like after a big loss or tumultuous season. Inspirational music that slowly builds to a crescendo can capture the rollercoaster of a hard-fought win, from heartbreaking setbacks to triumphant victories.

Getting the Crowd Pumped 

When you’re making motivational videos, it’s all about one thing: How can you get fired up before a game? With the right music, a video can get both the athletes and the fans primed for a powerful showdown. 

A great place to take inspiration from is the athletes themselves. What songs do athletes listen to before games? This can even be specific to the type of game you're covering, like what music Olympic athletes listen to. From the swagger of rap music to the confidence of hard rock, these songs are guaranteed to make your viewers feel just as adrenaline-fueled as the players themselves. 

Of course, great sports music doesn’t begin and end with athlete playlists. There’s a lot of other music you can work with, like dramatic orchestra music or guttural instrumentals. 

Define the Mood 

To choose the right type of music, you must first pin down the emotion you’re trying to capture. Creative commons stock music can span a wide range of moods, like anxious, angry, dreamy, sad, and inspiring, just to name a few. 

Think about what mood would help you tell the best story for your hype music. From playful and confident to inspiring and emotional, there are many ways music can shape your narrative, helping you bring out the best of whatever game you’re filming. The right music should enhance the action happening on-screen. 

Speak to Your Audience 

The choice of creative commons background music depends greatly on who will be watching it. Think about what genre will speak to the desires of your video’s intended audience. 

For example, a video aimed at a younger audience might need trendy, upbeat hip-hop music or clean, hype music for sports. On the other hand, an older crowd might gravitate toward classic rock hits. 

Find the Right Genre 

A sports video isn’t complete without the right genre of music. Consider the kind of genre that would suit a sports video best. For most sports content, that means something with a fast tempo and upbeat energy. Dubstep, rock, hip hop, bass, or rap are common choices. 

But that doesn’t mean other genres won’t complement your work. Music with strong instrumentals, including classical music, can be just as intense, impactful, and uplifting. 

Where To Find the Best Royalty Free Hype Music

Even if you have everything figured out — the genre, tone, and target audience — for your video, there’s still one more step to take. How do you find good music for a video? And for those on a budget, how can you find low-cost or free music to use for a video? 

Before you pick out the perfect music track, sound effects, or background music for your sports hype video, you need to decide how you’re going to use it. More specifically, determine whether your project is personal or professional. 

Personal Use 

If it’s personal use, that means the project is for individual use only. It doesn’t represent a company, and you won’t make any money from it. In that case, you can turn to free music in the public domain. Or, you can use music under the famous Creative Commons licenses. Some websites allow free downloads of this kind of music, as long as it remains for personal use only. 

Under these personal use licenses, you still have to credit the artist in your project. For example, if you’re uploading a YouTube video, you should mention the artist in the description. 

However, not everybody making a video for personal use will use these free music sources. When you pay for royalty-free music from a music archive, you get access to a wide range of higher-quality tracks and a search engine that makes it easy to find what you need. 

Professional Use 

You have a few options if a video is part of a professional video production. 

You'd have to negotiate a licensing deal to get the rights to a piece of copyrighted music. However, this can be a challenge for most video editors and creators because it’s expensive. Especially for popular tracks, you could spend hundreds if not thousands for the rights to play this music. 

Instead, many creators turn to royalty-free music sites as a source for affordable, high-quality tracks. This music is legal to use on all your channels, without copyright claims or royalty fees.

Tips for Filming Hype Action Sports Videos

How do you shoot a sports hype video? Just showing up and filming the game isn’t enough. A lot goes into the art of the hype video, from camera movement to editing magic. Before you can start showing your creation to the world, you must ensure it's your best work, from filming to editing. 

Here are a few tips to help you master the hype action sports video. 

Shoot With a Video Camera 

While many DSLR cameras can shoot great video, you might want to steer away from these cameras for hype videos. Most DSLRs can only shoot up to 30 minutes continuously. This can become a problem when you’re keeping up with a sports game — the last thing you want is to miss a big play or an important goal. 

A camera like the Sony A6400 has features geared toward video. For example, it can shoot in higher resolution and keep the on-screen action as stable as possible. 

Follow the Action 

When people watch a game in the audience, their eyes always follow one thing: The ball. While there are a few exceptions, the action follows the ball in most sports. That means your viewers should always see the action as it unfolds, whether the ball is being passed across the field or knocked into left field. 

After big moments on the field, you can always cut away to different scenes. For example, the crowd roaring, a coach reacting to a call, or cheerleaders making noise for their team. But when big things happen on the court or field, ensure your camera stays glued to what matters most. 

Go Beyond the Game 

From highlight reels to promo videos, you want your viewers to feel right alongside the players in their fight for victory. That doesn’t mean they need to stay within the bounds of the game, however. 

To make your narrative more dynamic, think about ways to go beyond the court, field, or track. There’s more to winning a game than the actual showdown, so don’t be afraid to show a different side of the sport. For example, shots of the players training in the weight room or getting hyped up in the locker room add to the story.

Edit With Music in Mind 

When it’s time to start video editing, don’t touch your clips until you have the perfect music prepared. That’s because music and editing go hand-in-hand. 

To get the best impact out of your clips and music, ensure they’re working in harmony. The clip length should always match the beat of the music. If your music builds slowly, start out with longer clips. Once it speeds up and gets more dramatic, you can switch to quick, hard-hitting clips. 

The Perfect Hype Music For Your Next Project

With the magic of video, you can take big sporting events from the stadium to the screen. A great sports hype video lets anyone enjoy a big game's exciting, electrifying experience. 

But it takes the right sports hype video music to capture every emotion on the field or court. Anxiety, passion, fear, hope, victory — you can watch all of it play out through a perfectly cut highlight reel, promo shot, or pump-up video. Even if it’s only a few minutes long, the perfect music choice will make you feel right there, watching the original event. 

Need the perfect royalty-free music to make your hype video stand out? Our music library is packed with memorable music choices, all searchable by genre, tone, instrumentation, and mood. Check out our collection or sign up with us today.