No video is complete without a soundtrack. Excellent sound and SFX can make or break your production, which is why it is so important to get it right. If you’re looking for a royalty-free platform that offers a one-stop solution for audio, look no further than Artlist.
Film directors agree that it’s pointless to have good visuals with poor audio. At the same time, good audio can save a lot of bad photography. Having a good choice of music from various genres as well as SFX for almost any situation is therefore critical. Having them at the tip of your fingers for a reasonable price is even better. Artlist lets you have exactly that. Let’s dive in and see why audio matters and how you can make your videos better with Artlist.
Music for stage and screen is a genre. No matter what movie you’re watching, there is music in it, and that music is associated with something. If it’s a leitmotif, then it’s a particular melody that is associated with a character. To take things further, there are whole songs dedicated to characters. Just think Darth Vader’s theme or Klingon’s theme from Star Trek. Let’s move on before Star Wars and Star Trek fans rip me apart for using these titles in the same sentence. 
Sourcing music for movies was often a challenge. SFX had to be recorded, and tracks had to be composed to brief. Major productions commission music for particular scenes. Composers such as Hans Zimmer or John Williams work hard to write suitable pieces. Naturally, major productions have major budgets. One of the reasons indie films were hard to produce earlier was because music is available by commission only. You could in theory license a track, however, that would involve a tedious contracting process and probably would require a significant financial investment. Naturally, the idea behind indie and low-budget productions is to keep the cost to the minimum. I’ll safely assume that very few in the readership have the budgets to do hire composers or license directly from major composers. However, with the rise of the internet, music has become more accessible than ever. For the majority that don't, Artlist might just be the perfect solution.
Content produced by independent filmmakers and online creators is continually raising the bar for all of us. Where “back in the day,” you could get away with filming on an average camcorder with a built-in mic, now, you have to create a professional set and consider the sound design. Further, if there is anything that the rise of TikTok and Instagram have taught us, it is that smartphone video is king. Mobile users have become used to high-quality audio. This just goes to say, spend money on audio, not on a shiny new camera. 
Why Artlist?
With so many platforms to choose from, Artlist might just seem like yet another audio platform. Yet, Artlist is a touch more. Founded by filmmakers, it aims to solve a problem they had themselves. They believe that every filmmaker should have access to free music at an affordable rate, which is perhaps something the company's founders didn’t have at some point. 
An important aspect of Artlist is being fair to the artists. Unlike jingle factories that pump out thousands of pieces a day, Artlist is solely artist-based. Artists put their heart and soul into creating music, just like you put your heart and soul into creating video.
Speaking of the Artlist platform, it deserves a lot of praise as well. Getting to grips with Artlist is simple and fast. The website is built to be simple from the get-go. Music is divided into styles, genres, and moods. If you need an upbeat rock song for a killer sports promo, you can search “rock,” “upbeat,” or any other word that fits the mood. Another useful feature is the ability to search by instrument. If you’re shooting a romantic sequence, you may want to include a relaxed solo violin melody. 
Pricing
Let’s talk about the pricing on Artlist. Not only is it accessible, but also is transparent. Music licensing is a major industry, and of course, the price does vary with the intended use. For example, some platforms charge more for commercial use. The scale and audience of the project don’t play a role in Artlist’s pricing. Be it a short family video you want music for or a major social media production, Artlist is setting the same monthly rate of $14.99, or a yearly $9.99 per month ($119.88 billed annually). This includes all content, forever(as long as your subscription lasts). If you would like to go beyond what is on offer, feel free to try out the ultimate Unlimited plan, which covers virtually everything. The music that is listed on Artlist is authentic new work, which is royalty-free. That means no copyright strikes or demonetization. This is particularly useful for people who just started content creation and may not be familiar with copyright and licensing laws. Artlist's Personal Plan is targeted at social media creators, which will enable them to cover all social media channels, with one per platform. This restriction is removed the moment you start using the Unlimited Plan. It is the best way to purchase music for commercial work.
Can Photographers Also Use Artlist?
Absolutely! Photographers that work at events or perhaps even weddings often get asked to make a short slideshow. It would be rather boring to watch one without music, so you can use Artlist to add some. Additionally, if you’re shooting time-lapses or some other series of images, you will want to add music to up the production value of your work. 
Perhaps it is even silly to ask if photographers can use Artlist. With video growing in popularity every day, most photographers are already shooting both moving and still images. Most Vogue covers come in two forms: printed still and digital video.
Closing Thoughts
Adding good music to your video should be a no-brainer. With a platform as simple and affordable as Artlist, it is a joy to use. The ability to search based on a lot of keywords and have one simple license for the song makes it all that appealing. Artlist grows with you, which makes it a nice permanent solution for audio in your video (and photo) work. Overall, the simpler your tools are, the more creative you can be. Artlist is one heck of a simple tool.
While the pricing for Artlist is great, their website is horrendous. Not only is playback slow regardless of how fast your internet speed, it's infinite scroll, so as you keep going down the page to find the right song it eventually freezes up the browser and you have to relaunch and start all over again. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the search was better but it's nowhere near as good as other sites out there. I could deal with the poor search and performance if they would just change it to pages rather than infinite scroll. Especially cause I really do like a lot of the artists on there when you finally get to them.