MAY
13

Enhancing Your Non-Musical Stage Play with Music

By Jeremy Johnson, Project Editor, Pioneer Drama Service 

Jeremy Johnson has found theatre to be the perfect platform for visual storytelling — especially after coming from a more structured journalism background.  He joined the Pioneer Drama Service staff as a project editor in 2017 and published his first play with Pioneer Drama in May 2020. 

If you’re anything like me, some of your favorite movies or TV shows are the ones with the best soundtracks.  That’s because music serves both functionally and emotionally in storytelling, facilitating time and location changes, setting the tone for montages or pivotal scenes, and highlighting major plot points and dramatic moments.  Similarly, good music can add layers, depth, and ambiance to non-musical stage plays, enhancing scene changes, curtain calls, underscoring, and more.

But as tempting as it may be, even nonprofit organizations cannot use unlicensed music in their productions.  You might assume you can get away with it — especially if you’re “not even selling tickets” — but don’t count on it!  Performance-rights organizations (PROs) like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) have countless ways of finding and following up on infringement with a heavy hand.  And rightfully so — using copyrighted music without permission is stealing.  So, don’t do it!

Luckily, even without having a musician on staff, commissioning a local musician, or paying a fee to legally license music, you can find royalty-free music that comes with broad or even unlimited usage rights.

Royalty-free music from Pioneer Drama

Pioneer Drama has compiled three different themed collections of royalty-free music by best-selling composer Bill Francoeur.  Under $25 each (and even less if purchased as a set!), this small investment will keep your productions out of legal trouble and pay off for years to come!

Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Suspense/Spooky, and Western/Hillbilly themes include about 50 tracks each (delivered on CD, flash drive, or digitally) and can be purchased separately or discounted as a set.  The best part?  With your modest one-time purchase, you get unlimited rights both live and online for all theatre performances, contests, and film projects!

Support local artists

Your community might not have its own Bill Francoeur, but there is probably some musician eager for a chance to create and share their music with you.  And while you shouldn’t ask a musician to share their work for free, local artists may be more compelled to “lend” their music to your project for reasonable compensation, commission, or possibly even advertising in the program or on social media.  Just don’t assume that “exposure” means “compensation!”

Online audio libraries

This is a deep well that only gets deeper over time in this modern digital era, so I won’t overwhelm you with information and choices.  That said, this article was inspired by news last week that best-selling musician/producer/disc jockey Moby released 500 (yes, 500!)  royalty-free original compositions at mobygratis.com.

“I want you to just dive in, use the music, and see what happens,” Moby said in a video announcing mobygratis, which was “relaunched” with the intent of providing creators with high-quality tracks to use in a variety of projects.  The original mobygratis dates back to 2005, but this new iteration includes new tracks and improved search and filter functionality to better find the “vibe” you seek.

Besides being a relaunch, mobygratis is hardly a new concept, either.  YouTube offers a varied and vast audio library of songs and sound effects — albeit from lesser-known artists and composers.  And like mobygratis, it’s well-designed for easy filter functionality, allowing you to search by artist, genre, mood, and more.

Other quality online audio libraries include Incompetech, Production Crate, NCS (NoCopyrightSounds) , Soundimage.org, SoundClick, Envato, Upbeat, Scott Buckley, StreamBeats, Bensound, Purple Planet, Imuno, and many more!

While “royalty-free” can mean “cost-free,” some sites have a one-time charge or are subscription-based, and some music used for even small commercial projects can require monetary compensation or simply accreditation.  In some cases, music may also be limited for (or from) specific uses (i.e.  social media or film projects).

Most audio library sites also require login, and some may ask you to apply for a license.  Just because you’re asked to apply or subscribe, don’t assume you have to pay; many music libraries simply want to ensure their music is being properly accredited and isn’t being used for profit or politics.  Bottom line — every site requires users to agree to specific terms and conditions, so read the fine print and the licensing FAQs carefully!

Aim big!

Musicians and songwriters — including Pioneer Drama’s composers — depend on royalties to feed their families and put a roof over their heads.  And just because some very famous artists have more than one roof over their head, it doesn’t justify stealing.  You think enough of their music to want to include it, so get permission!  You might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable it is.

Of course, that’s not necessarily financially viable.  AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” is thought to be the most expensive song to license for TV or movies at a cool $500,000!  But even moderately mainstream songs can cost $15K-$50K to license!  Fortunately for you, it’s much more affordable to license mainstream music for theatres, karaoke bars, night clubs, and other small businesses. 

The aforementioned ASCAP has a nearly incomparable library of music and offers sliding fees based on intended use, size of venue, and more.  Unfortunately, even the cheapest subscriptions may be too costly for small schools with even smaller theatre budgets, so this option may only be of value to large districts where multiple schools might fall under the same subscription umbrella.

Watch for lawyers

Copyright rules aren’t just guidelines.  Rather, they are a set of strict enforceable laws intended to protect artists and their intellectual property.  And even if you’re not morally opposed to “borrowing” a song, the artist or copyright holder almost certainly is!  Just like modern technology has given us more music options than ever to choose from, it’s also given artists and PROs more ways than ever to find and fight infringement.  Is it worth sneaking “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” into one of Pioneer’s Wizard of Oz adaptations if it means heavy fines, possible litigation, and the almost certain end of your drama program as you know it?  Don’t risk it.  Instead, support small businesses and local composers, musicians, and artists to collaborate and create memorable, lasting — and legal — art together!