Vail Fucci 
, Jan 18, 2012; 03:10 p.m.
So I was getting a bit tired of the free MP3s provided by zenfolio through triple scoop music for my highlight reel slide shows. They are ok, but I've just used them out the wassou. I looked into other online collections, but I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to do things correctly and not upload songs that I don't have rights to.
Then it hit me, there are all these ceremony musicians that have music pre-recorded and they would like to get their name out there. So I just went to the knot and looked up ceremony musicians in my city. I contacted a bunch of them via email, and I already have had 2 positive responses within an hour of my email. They are providing me with MP3s as long as I just mention their name on the page with the slide show and do a hotlink back to them. And now when clients ask me about music, I have people I can actually suggest to them. =) Hooray for networking.
So if you are looking for a source of legal free music, this might be an option for you. Hope it helps!
-Vail
Hector Javkin 
, Jan 18, 2012; 04:24 p.m.
That's a wonderful deal. I also like to get free images from photographers just for mentioning their names. The same goes for free meals from our favorite restaurants, and free cars from our local car dealer. (I'd mention the kind of car, since he's the only dealer for that make in our area, but I actually haven't made the arrangement yet.) You might check with your local bank or credit union whether they will accept endorsements in lieu of mortgage payments. Good luck.
Josh Laronge , Jan 18, 2012; 05:29 p.m.
Hector, you totally missed what Vail was saying. It's very common for photographers to share their work with other vendors who may be able to give referrals. It's not the same as doing photography for free, it's marketing.
Vail, your idea is great. Just make sure that the music you're using is original and not covers of copyrighted songs. Otherwise, you may be opening yourself up to potential problems.
Vail Fucci , Jan 18, 2012; 06:21 p.m.
Hector, I actually originally offered to pay for it, but they all said the link back to them was enough. And Josh is right, I have given copies of my work to other vendors for free. I find it is less likely to result in them getting work for me, and usually the other way around because after the venue, the next thing to get booked is usually the photographer. But I don't mind, because I like having the names of good vendors to give to my clients. Also, I think just building good working relationships is important. So far each group I contacted about this has responded positively.
Josh, I was wondering about covers of copyrighted songs. I'm trying to get original work and classical pieces mostly. It got me thinking about what are the rules and laws for cover bands, etc in general. Thanks for the heads up!
Vail Fucci , Jan 18, 2012; 08:17 p.m.
Josh, do you think instrumental versions of copyrighted songs are ok?
Nadine Ohara - SF Bay Area/CA 
, Jan 18, 2012; 08:50 p.m.
Well I'm no expert, but I think I've heard the answer to your question before, Vail. The answer is no--instrumentals of copyrighted songs aren't OK. In any case, why take chances?
Jeff Spirer 
, Jan 18, 2012; 10:08 p.m.
All original music is copyrighted, just like photographs. There is a lot of music in the public domain, but the performances are typically covered by copyright. If you want to get music that isn't, look for classical recordings from the 1950s and back.
Hector, where's your site? You seem to have strong feelings about this subject, so I assume you have a site somewhere that shows us why.
Vail Fucci , Jan 18, 2012; 10:21 p.m.
Nadine, I am not a fan of taking chances :) gonna go the classical music route or original piece route ;)
Hector Javkin , Jan 19, 2012; 01:59 a.m.
Jeff,
I don't have a site, but I worked for many years in research and development, and in the process created intellectual property. It is odd that some kinds of intellectual property are protected so much better than others. One company I worked for spent a lot in applying for U.S. patents for my work, besides paying me and my R&D group.
I do feel strongly about people being able to make a living from what they create. It's fine to give things away if you want to and can afford it, but to encourage all of us to try to get music for free seems destructive, just as destructive as encouraging everyone to try to get photographic images for free. I believe many photographers feel that giving their work away in return for getting credit does them little good. Finally, I know many musicians, some of whom have to make a living at something else despite tremendous talent and hard work.
Rab L , Jan 19, 2012; 05:40 a.m.
This whole area seems to be a bit of a mess at the moment. I recently did a advertising shoot for a client, and we shot a short video, a sort of behind the scenes of the shoot type of thing. We wanted to use it on a smaller section of the web site which has about 10,000 hits a month, so at a guess maybe 30% might see the video.
So we contact the record label and the fee comes back as £5000 per year, which for the use is just silly money, we'd have paid £400-£500, but not 5 grand. So we went with plan B, $40 it cost us to buy a track online.
Yet I often hear quite well known artists used on wedding sites that I can't imagine risk using the music illegally, but at the same time I don't believe they can be paying the sort of money we were quoted. Am I missing something, is there a more reasonable way of doing this, any advise appreciated.
