Using Music On Your Wedding Business Website

To use music, or not to use music?  That is the first question.  The second question is: how to use it legally?

To use music or not to use music?

I’m of the opinion that you should NOT have music on your website – UNLESS you are a musician.  I also think that in very rare circumstances if the music is tied really closely to your brand then it is OK.  But for the most part, people should NOT use music on their wedding business websites.  Here’s why:

• I, like many other people, are typically listening to their own music.  This is music I LIKE.  This is music I chose for myself.  This is music that fits my current mood.  When I come to a website that is playing music, I feel like someone else’s musical preferences are being pushed on me.  I chose to listen to Bebel Gilberto to start my day.  Now, Frank Sinatra’s pompous croons are now overlapping with Bebel’s mellow beats.  Nothing against Frank.  I just didn’t want to listen to him right now.
• Many of your clients are planning weddings and surfing websites while at work.  The music from a site can often times blare out of her work area.  Your lovely music has now caused them office embarrassment.  I don’t know about you… but that would make me associate your brand with a negative experience.
• The invisible little mute button on a website is nearly impossible to find.  In the instant that I stumble on a site with music a lot happens within a few seconds:  Stumble onto a site with music.  ACK!  BLARING WEDDING MUSIC!  Where is that mute button?  UGH.  It’s just quicker to shut down this whole website.  Close SCREEN NOW. And, if you think it’s just me that does this, you’re mistaken.  Your potential client is doing this too.
• You aren’t only missing out on potential clients, you’re missing out on relationships with vendors.  I’ve heard of numerous professionals that will avoid a vendor’s website if it has music on it.  For some, it’s just too much hassle.
• It’s often illegal.  Which brings me to my next point…

Much of the music being used on small business websites is being used illegally…

There is so much talk in our industry these days about giving proper credit to everyone involved in producing a wedding.  There’s a lot of talk about copyright infringement: businesses that use photographer’s photos without permission, bloggers that use other bloggers’ content without giving credit.  How is using music that you did not compose, or that you do not have permission to use, any different from stealing?

The following explains why you need a license for music.  It is from the music publisher BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.):

“Musical compositions, like other intellectual property, belong to their creators. U.S. Copyright Law grants certain exclusive rights to copyright owners, including the right to publicly perform and the right to authorize others to publicly perform the work. Web Sites that publicly perform music must obtain a license from the copyright owner or their representative. Songwriters and publishers affiliate with a performing rights organization like BMI which, on behalf of these affiliated writers and publishers, provides license agreements for all types of businesses.”

When I stumble on another professional’s site that I know is illegally using music, it makes me think twice about that business-owner.  It makes me think twice as to whether that person is honest, ethical, and trustworthy… and whether I want to do business with them.

Using music legally…

If you do feel that music is REALLY important to your brand and the tone you set for your customers, and you feel that it does not turn away business, then there are a number of ways to do this legally.  I implore you to do this the right way!

• Get a license from one of the music publishing companies.  Companies like BMI and ASCAP have licenses specific to website use.  These are often affordable and allow you to use much of the music from their extensive publishing libraries.
• Use a service such as Audio Jungle where you can download royalty-free audio files for as low as $1.
• Support a friend or a local musician.  I often here that people put music on their sites to “support the musician”.  Frank Sinatra does not need your support and I’m sure his estate would not approve of it.  Find a burgeoning musician (possibly one that is also a wedding vendor) and ask if you could use his or her music on your site.

Like with all things in business, you need to ask yourself, “What does this say about my brand?  What does this say about the kind of business person that I am?”  If you do decide to have music on your site, make sure it perfectly reflects your brand and that you are doing it legally.