In the first part, I explained how the theme music (jingle) of a podcast should sound and how it is used. Because I am absolutely in favor of using music in podcasts, as it gives every podcast a proper flow, ensures a better listening experience and subjectively increases the quality of the podcast. I took the following questions with me from the first part, which I would now like to answer specifically in the second part:
- How do I find the right music?
- What options are there?
- Does it make sense to commission recognition music or should I fall back on library music?
- Where can I get the right music?
- What does it all cost?
- How much budget do I need to plan for this?
- Should the music be GEMA-free or royalty-free?
Commissioned production or library music for music in the podcast?
Library Music would mean that you carry out a music search to find exactly the piece that matches your profile. To your podcast profile, but also to your profile as a podcast host. Because with a themed podcast, the track must of course fit thematically. However, if you have a podcast that is very strongly driven by the host, i.e. the host is in the foreground and many character traits such as language and dynamics are recognizable, then the title must of course not only match the topic, but also the podcast host. And this title needs to be found first 😊 .
Do you have a unique selling point with the Library Music title?
It's library music, which means it can definitely be used by others or in other productions. I think you should invest money in a commissioned production because a commissioned production for the jingle makes a lot of sense for the theme music. Why? With a good commissioned production, you create this unique selling point and can adapt the music perfectly to your own wishes and needs. This means you have music that is both thematically appropriate and tailored to your character. And believe me, it's hard to find music that is tailored to a character. Because you simply have to search for a long time. That means an investment of between 300 and 1000 euros. It's definitely money well spent, because you're also spending money on equipment and post-production for your podcast. The music in the form of the jingle should definitely be a unique selling point. You will see that this will have a huge impact on the quality of your podcast.
License costs for music in podcasts with Library Music & GEMA
You will also have to pay between 50 and 200 euros in license fees for library music if you choose a Royality Free provider. If you opt for a GEMA-liable track, the GEMA costs are manageable.
Depending on the production music library, there are additional license costs.
There are two variables to consider in GEMA's license fees for podcasts. Firstly, the average number of minutes of music used in an episode and secondly, the number of streams per month. With up to 10,000 streams, an unused minute of music (e.g. 30 seconds intro and 30 seconds outro) costs €64.20 per year. Now another factor comes into play: Overdubbed music minutes only count for half, i.e. you can also overdub 2 minutes of music for the same amount. Don't forget that these costs are independent of how many music tracks you use.
If you use library music, please make sure that you don't use anything that says podcast on it. Of course, the jingles are produced for the podcast, but then you lose any unique selling point. Because many people use this music and it wears out relatively quickly. So research widely, concentrate on the topic and your character and what you actually want to achieve with your theme music.
When using functional music, I would definitely use Library Music. Because that is exactly the use for which most of the library music was written in the first place. There you will find many pieces that are suitable for speakers as well as for a specific theme or emotion. And here, of course, the large selection of live music is once again the absolute strength. Remember the example with the History Podcast. Here you probably jump back and forth between different eras and need different music that can interpret these eras. Live music is a real treasure trove, even if you have different themes that correspond to current events and have a different dramaturgy. Sometimes it's about everyday life, sometimes about crime, so of course you need a wider range of music.
Music requirements determine the right music partner
I would actually make the decision as to whether GEMA-liable or GEMA-free very much dependent on the music requirements. If you know in advance that you have a high rotation and you need a lot of music, then the catalog, no matter what business model it has, must of course be able to reflect that. But, and this is the crucial point, if you decide on a business model, i.e. royalty-free music or GEMA, then stick with it. A subscription model only pays off if download volumes increase. Discounts are always possible and GEMA costs increase with the number of music minutes, but not with the number of tracks. That is decisive. By the way, if you license music minutes from GEMA, the overdubbed music minutes only count for half. This means that two overdubbed minutes of music are one free minute of music. As a concrete example: you have 30 seconds of recognition music, then you still have up to one minute of spoken music to use all the music in the same tariff.
We are talking about average values here. If you only use 30 seconds of spoken music in the episode, then you can use 90 seconds in the next episode, because we have an average rate here that you determine yourself.
However, it is important to note that it is always a matter of minutes of music started. This means that if you average over this minute, you should rather use two minutes, because 61 seconds and 120 seconds cost the same. The next stream category is up to 240,000 streams per year. The costs then double accordingly.
ARD and ZDF podcasts in the new broadcasting law
For podcast makers of the public broadcasters in Germany. GEMA's new framework agreement with the ARD broadcasters and the ZDF broadcasting group means that there are no additional costs. Neither GEMA costs nor costs for the production right(synchright), of course this only applies if the corresponding music title is represented by GEMA. Incidentally, this is the case for the entire RipCue catalog. So you can use our music in your podcast projects without any problems.
If you decide to use Library Music as recognition music, but also as functional music, here is some more information for you: From 01.01.2023, all podcast uses of RipCue Music will be included in our new Content Creator package. If you are interested, you are welcome to contact me via the usual channels such as Facebook, Insta or simply by email.
Keep ripping,
Your Patrick
