How to Make Your Own Intro Music For A Podcast

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You’ve just stumbled upon the perfect podcast music for your brand and want to turn it into your official soundtrack. The only problem is that the duration of the music far exceeds industry standards of five to fifteen seconds. Additionally, you want a short musical introduction with a definitive ending and certainly no fade-outs. After all, short intros have a way of quickly engaging unattentive audiences.

In this article, you will learn how to turn virtually any full length soundtrack into legitimate podcast music ideal for intros, outros and commercial breaks.

How to Create Podcast Music?

Before creating compelling podcast music, you will need to choose an audio editor software. Below is a short list of free audio editors to choose from. Audio editors allow you to record, edit and manipulate audio files. In this article, we will be using Ableton Live, a digital audio workstation dedicated to processing audio. Here’s a quick list of of other audio editors that will do the same.

Many of the aforementioned audio editors are free however some require licensing in order to use paid features. Nonetheless, the tools which are bundled in the free versions are enough for creating a short podcast intro theme song.

How to Create Podcast Intro and Outro Music (YouTube)

Tutorial for Creating Intro / Outro Podcast Music

In the video above we use a full length song (2:26) to create a brief 0:11 second theme song for a podcast. By splicing different sections of the music, we’re able to create a unique arrangement giving us enough time to introduce ourselves, our brand and message. For this video we'll be editing on Ableton Live, however you can achieve the same results using any audio editing software.

What Makes Great Podcast Music?

Your podcast music needs to stand out so be creative and use music that best represents your brand and reflects the content you’ll be sharing with your listeners. If you podcast about tech related content, consider choosing electronic sounding soundtracks. Conversely, if you express opinions about your passion for cooking, then acoustic-folk music might be a good fit. Of course, these are merely suggestions so feel free to pick whichever musical genre you think matches your style, content and message.

You can find podcast music here

Here’s a quick checklist of things to look for when choosing music for your podcast.

Choose music that is catchy and memorable
Is there a distinct melody? Something a listener could easily sing / hum along with?
Accurately represents your brand
Reflects your content
In line with your message
Podcast safe and cleared for publishing

Podcast music licensing (podcast music license)

You can license podcast music from reputable royalty free music libraries across the internet. Before licensing podcast music however, be sure to review their music licensing policy as not all soundtracks are podsafe. For instance, some stock music libraries prohibit soundtracks from being used in podcasts. Depending on how you plan on using the music, most royalty free music libraries will expect you to purchase a higher-tiered license, especially in the event of multiple uses. At GrooveDen, our standard license grants you the ability to use our soundtracks a multitude of times.

Is Podcast Music Royalty Free?

Generally speaking, podcast music is sourced a number of ways. For instance, you can ask a fellow musician or rely on stock music libraries for podcast music. As mentioned previously, be sure you have permission (license) to use the music in your production. Lastly, if you’re planning on generating income through monetization partner programs from your podcast, then you are strongly urged to license royalty free music as a precautionay measure.

Royalty free music simply means that you will not have to pay on-going royalties to use the music. That said, you must pay and upfront fee to obtain a license which grants you permission to include the music in a podcast.

For more quick tips on licensing royalty free music for your podcast, please read this article here

The Best Podcast Music for YouTube

Here are a few suggestions of soundtracks for a wide variety of subject matters.

Where and How to Publish My Podcast?

Today's podcasters are publishing to YouTube. Not only are they using traditional podcast platforms such as Apple Podcast, Podbean and Soundcloud, which have been around for years, YouTube is a great way of adding a visual element to your show. Social media Influencers, political pundits and commentators are finally able to foster a deeper bond with their audience by simply turning on their cameras.

YouTube
Podbean
Spreaker
Spotify
Apple Music
Soundcloud
Patreon
Subscribe Star
Twitch
Anchor

You can always publish your podcast on several hosting platforms. There's nothing preventing you from branching out to several mediums to reach a wider audience. Most podcast hosting companies do charge a fee so be sure to compare fees and features specific to your needs. If you're not in a hurry to publish your podcast, then sign up to their newsletter to be notified of discount offers. Lastly, before committing to a particular platform, read the terms and conditions.

How to use Copyrighted Music in Podcast?

Using copyrighted music in your podcast is never a good idea. You will only be putting yourself and your business in jeopardy in the event of a lawsuit of worse, account termination for terms of service violations. Again, we’ve seen many of our favorite podcasters get hit with copyright infringement violations for using copyrighted material. In one instance, a podcaster had been using a nine second music intro to kick off his podcasts. Sadly, a record label transmitted a cease and desist letter ordering her to remove the soundtrack from her already published podcasts. Needless to say, this act greatly hurt her business and resulted in a loss of income.

In the end, a simple music license from a royalty free music library could have prevented the damage.

For more info on licensing music for podcast, read The Ultimate Guide to Podcast Intro Music

Creative Commons Music for Podcasts

Another way of getting your hands on podcast music is through the Creative Commons license. Simply, run a search on Google for creative commons music for podcasts. Just be sure to familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions. That said, most creative commons license will require a credit or mention however, when this isn’t stipulated anywhere on the website, it’s still a good idea to get in touch with the copyright holders for clarification.

Conclusion

Carving out your very own niche in the podcast market is challenging. The trick is to add a little touch of you in every podcast your publish. Nowadays, coming up with a unique podcast intro as unique as your brand is, has become easier than ever. Simply use some of the techniques outlined in the video and feel free to experiment. The process is meant to be fun so remember to keep it enjoyable. Happy experimenting!