Frequently Asked Questions

YouTube

Attention YouTube: All use of music from my site is legal for use on YouTube with any attribution at all. People's credits formats have a wide variety, and ANY credit for my music is acceptable.

Can you write original music for my project?

Yes. That's what I do. Simple short scores cost less than complex long scores. Jan, 2010 Note: I am currently scoring a 24 episode TV series, so I can't accept new jobs until about May, 2010.

Is this music free to use?

Yes. An optional donation of $5 per piece used is suggested - and highly appreciated. You do NOT need a PayPal account to make a donation! Just a credit card.

What about the YouTube partner program?

Yes. Please use my music to make money on YouTube. Just make sure my name is either in the credits of the piece or in the "more info" section associated with your video. Simple, simple.

What about commercial use for a [whatever]?

Yes! Please do use my music in your commercial project.

Is my donation deductable at all?

I'm not a tax expert, but I seriously doubt it. I'm not a non-profit; I have no board.

How do I place a credit for this music in my project?

If your project has only one piece in it; you can credit it as "Music: Kevin MacLeod".
If your project has many pieces from different people, you can credit me as "(name of the pieces of music you are using) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)".
If you'd like to include the full license for legal reasons, you can do the following: "Title Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"

It is important that you replace the word Title with the Actual Title of the piece that you are using!

I have an all-audio program, do you have a sounder I could put in?

Yes! If you're putting together phone system or netcast, and want to just add a small voice-over - here you go. This was produced by S. L. Slaughter who has a brilliant tone for voice-overs with gravity. Why not get rid of those text-overs on your movie trailer and get something pro-quality? If you need a VO, email him!

Do I have to put the credit where people can see it?

Yes. Credits change from media to media - but in general a credit needs to be placed such that a person who wants to know where the music came from should have no difficulty in finding it. A resonable effort may be expended (e.g. clicking on a credits option) but the credit should not be obscured.

What if I cannot credit you?

If you are interested in using a piece in a television broadcast or radio commercial, or some other format where credits are impossible, obtain a Sans Attribution License.

Is this music in the Public Domain?

No. Though some of the baroque and classical compositions are in the public domain; these recordings are not.

Did you write all of these?

Yes. Exceptions are clearly marked (e.g. Beethoven). I did produce all of these.

Can I use this music in a Student Film? Commercial Film? Stage Production? Flash Animation? Instructional DVD? Relaxation CD? Slideshow?

Yes. Anything and everything - as long as I get a credit. The only thing you cannot do is sublicense or relicense. (That means you cannot sell or redistribute these as a royalty-free collection.)

Can I make an audio CD of music from this site - mass produce it and sell it?

Yes. Just make sure I'm credited.

Is there sheet music available?

No. Most everything on the site is recorded straight in, and was never in notation format. Many of the pieces are done impropmtu. Even if I scanned my notes... no one would recognize how to play them (I usually sketch on unlined paper). If you have transribed anything, please send me a copy, and I'll put it up for other people to download.

I am trying to open your mp3 files in Microsoft [something] - and is says they are corrupted. Any ideas?

Yes. It appears that the mp3 libraries that MS uses for its consumer apps don't like the 320kbps (vbs) files that I post. You can transcode the music to WAV using the instructions below.

How do I get files in other formats?

There are times when you need files at lower bitrates, or in other formats for editing compatibility issues... You can transcode them in iTunes.

Open up iTunes
Open the iTunes preferences
Select the "General" tab
Select the "Import Settings" button
Change the "Import Using" to your desired target file format
(set optional settings such as bit rate)
Click "Ok"
Load the song into iTunes
Right click on the song and select "Convert selection to ..."
Repeat steps 7 and 8 for all files you want to convert.

Will you score new original pieces for my project for free?

No. Sorry.

Why do you alllow people to use your music and don't charge for it?

There are many reasons. The cost for me to share music is low, and the benefits are high. There are a lot of schools with no money, and plenty of film makers who want to have music - but can't afford to clear copyrights from the existing systems that are set up. I believe that copyright is badly broken , so I chose a license that allows me to to give away the rights I wish to surrender. We really have no hope of overturning the existing copyright situation, but we can and are creating an alternate body of works that are able to compete with them. In time, I hope that Creative Commons (and similar alternatives to standard copyright) will be common and successful enough to be the dominant choice for artists' new creative works. If you hold tightly to your creative works, they become impossible to share. If your art isn't experienced by people, it serves no purpose in society.

Do you know of any other places I can get good music?

Yes. Try my friends...
Jimmy Gelhaar
Jon Roberts
Anthony Kozar
audionautix
Danosongs

Royalty Free Music Library

This document is part of Incompetech.com. kevin@incompetech.com. Also please visit my friends at: Kelly Howlett Illustrations, Craig Abrams, and TubaPants! Big chuncks of programming and a pile of behind-the-scenes things you can't see were done by The ninjas at Seppuku.net
This site uses elements available from www.MouseRunner.com, cooltext.com, and a couple bits from the silver lexus theme.

British Authors Bios, and The Movie Critic ©1996-2010 Laura MacLeod - Artist Bios ©1998-99 Steve Lange - Music, Photos, Renderings, Everything else ©1998-2010 Kevin MacLeod