I’ve always been a believer that even a semi-professional production requires a copyrighted music score – under a single condition: If it is aired, played, or shown in any fashion – outside of the comfort of your own home.

I can entirely understand why someone would want to pick their favorite band or a fitting track as a soundtrack for any “home” videos, for private, eclectic and controlled screenings.

Armed with that principle and a pretty good website for finding Royalty Free Music ( for a small fee of $29.00 ) I’ve purchased a non-exclusive right to use a track for a promotional video I was working on. The track felt good and created an energetic and full of potential feeling that I was shooting for. In a way it made that short promo video have it’s own feel, I started associating the music and the promoted event together and I bet other people did the same thing after seeing it.

Funding FF 2011 Main Event from 34Beats on Vimeo.

That was until yesterday – when I was reading Dave McClure’s posts from an EU’s edition of SeedCamp in London. I jumped quickly to watch a highlight video synopsis of the first day and for a while I wasn’t sure if I might have clicked on a wrong link! I knew that video, no wait – I didn’t, I knew the track they used. It must have fit the tempo and the feel they were going for as well. It was the same track: Momentum BY: PETER MCISAAC MUSIC that earlier I made my own.

This has not changed a thing for either of the promotional videos, but similarity in the look and feel of both – as they were shot for a similar purpose and edited to the same music, makes me question if I had made the right choice picking the track. Under a small budget, royalty free music is the best and only choice, but I wish Premium Beat and similar sites had a function where one can pick, reserve or at least – check who and how have used the track already.