Still looking for cheap music

I mentioned this quite a while back, but I still haven't found an acceptable answer. I'm recording a series of audio tracks for CDs. I intend to sell the CDs. I've been looking for free or cheap music to use as an intro and exit. Sort of a theme song type thing. I've checked all the royalty-free web sites and listened to dozens of songs. The big problem is, though the music is royalty-free, it's not free. The license at some of the sites do not allow commercial use at all, and others charge hundreds of dollars for commercial applications. I'd love to find something I could use for all my recordings, and even as intro music for live speaking events. Sure am having a tough time finding it though. Money is tight right now and I need something reasonable.

The crazy thing is, I contacted a couple of sites about the specific uses allowed under their license and was told both times they could not give out legal advice. I told them I wasn't asking for legal advice, I was asking for clarification on their OWN license. I received the same reply- we can't give out legal advice.

Any suggestions, ideas, or help would be greatly appreciated... otherwise my theme song might end up being me whistling my own creation!

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Permalink Reply by Lynn Baker on October 15, 2012 at 12:36pm

Have you tried Fiverr.com ?

I went there a few weeks ago after seeing an article on Fox Business where the site was mentioned... I'm trying to be very frugal as I promote my iPhone app, and am amazed at some of the talent there. Do a search for music... look for musicians with high ratings... just a thought...

Here is a sample of what I've gotten if you're interested - this voice-over artist wrote and recorded this audio for me (which I've already run on a California radio station - also purchased on Fiverr). PLEASE ignore the video slideshow - I'm just now playing around with Windows Movie Maker and this was my first attempt at attaching audio to a slideshow - it's still a work in progress.

Audio/Radio spot - purchased on Fiverr (this links to the 'movie' on my facebook page; when I redo the slideshow, I'm putting it on youtube, but it's not ready yet....)

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Permalink Reply by Josh Rickard on October 16, 2012 at 7:39am

I have have luck with http://freemusicarchive.org/. Everything is under a creative commons license but you are free to contact the artist and work something out. Most are willing to let you use their music in a commercial production really cheap.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Morrison on October 16, 2012 at 9:02am

Thanks, but what I'm looking for is beyond the scope of Fiverr.com. I need an orchestral piece... way more than an individual and a guitar. Perhaps the server for Freemusicarchive is down right now- I can't get to them whether by the link, through Google, or otherwise. That may be one of the sites I've already checked- can't remember, but I'll recognize it if I can see it.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Miller on October 16, 2012 at 11:25pm

Larry,

I've used Music Bakery for all the intros and outtros on all my audio products. They have an amazing array of music selections - you can choose 15 sec, 30 sec, 60 sec and so on and typically we pay about $30 for what we use on a CD. Wonderful and easy site to use.