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Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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, you can credit as "(name of the piece 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.

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

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