Use Artlist to Improve Your Work With Better Music

As someone who produces videos for YouTube, one of the things I've struggled with is the music. Buying individual songs from people to use in projects can be very costly and impractical. Fortunately, platforms like Artlist.io make it extremely easy to find the right piece. 

I'm assuming that most of us have watched a horror movie at some point in our lives. My wife, for some ill-begotten reason, absolutely loves horror movies. I, on the other hand, would much rather watch a comedy. I don't care if I'm a wimp; I just don't need that kind of negativity in my life. There are unfortunately some occasions when my wife will somehow persuade me to watch a particular horror movie. The thing that I've noticed is that it's not the actual visuals that get me instead, it's the score. The tense music builds an atmosphere that's difficult to escape. That atmosphere building through the use of music and sound is what truly makes the impact. You may have heard how you should close your ears and not your eyes if you're feeling scared while watching a horror movie, and I completely agree. Music plays such a huge part in building atmosphere. It's incredible how much of an impact it can have on your work. A high-quality and well-shot video clip that's accompanied with bad sound is more than likely going to be terrible. Video quality in many situations can become secondary. For this reason, it's incredibly important that you select the right kind of music for your projects. 

The problem is trying to source that music. If you have a large enough budget, sure, you can commission pieces for your projects; I'm assuming this isn't really feasible for many of us. Fortunately, a company called Artlist may have the perfect solution for you. 

If you're a YouTuber or a filmmaker, I assume you already know how much of an impact music can have on your videos. In the last few years, the kind of videos being produced for YouTube has significantly improved. Many of the larger channels on YouTube consistently produce videos that are not only shot really well, but the quality of music they use sets them apart from their competition. Some channels now shoot with ridiculously high-end cameras and film and upload videos that are 8K in resolution. Here's the thing, though: how many people are actually seeing the benefits of the 8K resolution versus the quality of music that's being used in the video? More and more people, now watch content on their smartphones with headphones. This is where the audio makes the biggest impact, because for many, the 8K resolution accounts for very little. 

Who Is Artlist

Artlist is a platform that offers a vast amount of music across a huge number of genres and styles. The company was founded by filmmakers, and their insights into and appreciation of how fellow creatives work can be seen in their platform. In fact, you can actually view some of the work done by Ira Belsky (company co-founder) via their Vimeo page. The platform can be accessed via a yearly plan, and this gives you unlimited access. For a long time, many creatives and filmmakers didn't have a great deal of choice when it came to music. Sure, we've had stock music for some time now; however, most of the music is rather generic and overused. Trying to make your project sound unique while using stock music is really rather difficult. For this reason, Artlist has worked extremely hard to develop an intuitive and highly developed platform where fellow creatives can get access to high-quality music at a very reasonable price. 

The Platform

Personally, ease of use and practicalities mean so much to me now. I just don't have the time to be messing about with anything that's going to take longer than I want it to. This is why I think Artlist is incredible. The first time I went on the website, everything just made sense. For one, I really like the dark theme that Artlist has opted for. It's easier on the eyes and it reminds me of video editing software like Premiere Pro. It's a minor point, but it does make a difference, especially considering the time that I'm normally working or editing footage. 

Going back to my point about ease of use, this is an area where Artlist does an incredible job. I absolutely love how simple and intuitive the website is. You can search for music based on a number of different genres, styles, and moods. When you have a huge database of unique music, the name of the piece is mostly useless, because generally, you may not know the name of what you're searching for. Instead, you'll more than likely be after a certain type of song or a certain feeling that you want to instill into your project. Once again, this comes down to the kind of atmosphere you want to build or portray. The way that Artlist has catalogued all of the music is something I love so much. It's so incredibly easy to find the exact type or kind of music you want. Let's say, for example, you're producing a horror movie: you can search by mood, which is super useful. 

Of course, it doesn't have to be horror, as you can see all of the different moods you can pick from. You have a number of categories available from "Video Theme" down to individual instruments. This is extremely useful, because on occasion, you may just want to add in a little piano section, and searching by instrument can really narrow down exactly what you're looking for. 

Finally, you also have the option to create lists of your favorite music. You can access this from anywhere via the website, and this can be extremely useful if you're working away. 

Simple and Flexible

One of the things I've noticed with many other platforms is that the licensing agreement you get doesn't actually allow you to use the music in many particular cases. For example, if you're a growing filmmaker and require music for commercial use, then you may not have the license required for that. To get a commercial license with many other platforms requires you to pay significantly more, and this may not be feasible for everyone. Artlist has decided to keep things extremely simple: there's only one plan which costs $16.60 per month that is billed annually and that covers you for all kinds of uses, including commercial requirements. Artlist grows with you, and no matter how big your projects become, the price doesn't suddenly increase. There's no need to "upgrade" your subscription, because you already have all the permissions required. This means you're not having to spend time reading terms and conditions about what's covered and what isn't and whether or not you need to upgrade. 

Even if you're just planning on using the music for YouTube videos, all of the music has been pre-checked to ensure you're not suddenly going to be de-monetized. I'm guessing the last thing you'd want is to have your videos unjustly claimed because of the music. 

Not Just for YouTubers and Filmmakers 

There are so many different kinds of photographers that now need music to accompany their work. Wedding photographers, for example, now not only produce albums for their clients but on many occasions, images are provided in a slideshow too. The kind of music you pick really makes a difference in the final product, and this is where you can wow clients by selecting something that specifically fits them. The huge selection of music available on Artlist means that it's easy to find music that fits your brand really well. 

Many photographers now also produce really high-quality time-lapses, and these are almost always accompanied by music. Artlist has such a wide range of different kinds of music that you can be extremely creative in how you build your videos and create an atmosphere.

Final Thoughts

It can be quite difficult to find the exact piece of music that's going to work with your project, and this is something I struggled with too. Fortunately, Artlist really makes this so much easier. The simple design of the website makes such a difference. My absolute favorite thing about the website is the way you can search for new music. Instead of just going through music by genre, you can find something based on the mood and feel of what you're working with. I think this is one the best features of the platform. Finally, the licensing you receive from Artlist is one of the best and most comprehensive. It's one less major thing to be worried about, and it means you can just go out and shoot. 

Get two months extra with Artlist by using this link. 

Lead image by averie woodard on Unsplash