What’s your theme tune?

Photo by Namroud Gorguis on Unsplash

Do you sometimes find yourself with a theme tune stuck in your head? Going round and round, with no end in sight? Last week this happened to me. For the whole day, every time I concentrated, when I was making some notes, filling in my diary, stirring the dinner, I found myself humming the Murder She Wrote theme! I knew straight away which show it belonged to. Just the opening few notes had me picturing Jessica Fletcher dashing around, solving mysteries.

That instant recognition is one of the many reasons we use music in media. It’s a great tool in establishing your brand through the media you put out. So it’s worth spending some time to get it right.

If you’re making a podcast, for instance, at the very least, you’ll want some music for the beginning and end of the show. Maybe you’ll also want a couple of other tracks to act as ‘beds’ playing underneath regular features or segments, like a radio show? Perhaps you’re going for a more atmospheric production, and you need a score throughout each episode?
However much music you need, you must make sure that the music you include in your show is cleared for your use. Tempting though it may be, you can’t just add a song that you like by a recording artist, without having their permission.

The most bespoke option is to commission a musician to create a track specially for you. This gives you the most control over the style and tone, and it guarantees that no-one else will have the same music as you! If you’re lucky, you’ll have a talented friend that you can commission for a fee.

Of course, this option isn’t for everyone. There are lots of websites where you can find royalty-free music already created for use on podcasts, videos and websites. Most allow you to buy the number of tracks you require for a small cost, which you can then download. Melody Loops for example, lets you search by instrument, style, mood and many other filters.

Whichever option you choose to find your music, take time to make sure that it reflects your personal style, that is sets the mood for your content and most importantly, that you love it!