Apr 30, 2019
Royalty free music and gaming videos. They're a match made in heaven — except when you choose the wrong genre to go with your video.
We're pretty confident that at some point you were watching someone's gaming video or live stream and couldn't help but think to yourself, "Dude, the music is terrible."
Or maybe you found comments like that on your own gaming video. We're not judging. Mistakes happen pretty often when it comes to pairing royalty free music with gaming videos and livestreams, but we're here to help you out.
Not only are we going to give you a rundown on the ifs and whens of incorporating music into your gaming videos, but we'll also outline the top 4 royalty free music genres for every type of gaming video.
We're pretty confident that by the end of this post, you're going to be ready to pick out some awesome royalty free music tracks for your gaming videos. So let's get into it!
Match Your Royalty Free Music to Your Game and Play Style
Production value matters, whether we're talking about the latest MCU movie, Netflix series, or big Twitch stream. But while filmmakers invest in green screen lighting, expensive CGI work, an a custom music score, Twitch streamers need to create a big-budget feel on a much smaller budget. And that includes your camera, mic, and also your music choices.
If you're finding viewer comments about the music in your videos, you're probably doing something wrong. When it comes to royalty free music for games, there are two very common mistakes:
- The gamer is using music at the wrong time.
- The gamer is using the wrong kind of music.
Using music at the wrong time tends to happen more often than using the wrong kind of music, although these issues can coincide with each other too.
Playing loud music during a first-time playthrough of a game isn't a great idea since viewers probably want to hear the game and your commentary.
You can also ruin the vibe of intense games, especially horror games, if you're playing music in the background that throws off the sound effects in the game itself. Royalty free music for games should complement your videos, not serve as a distraction.
We've talked before about how important choosing music for video games is, but this time around we want to give you our top 4 music genre picks and ideas for which ones should be used when.
Pro tip: If you're curious about how to play music on Twitch or how to handle music licensing on YouTube, we've got you covered.
Pick #1: Chill Electronic For Casual Playthroughs
The Chill Electronic or simply "Chill" genre is trending hard right now as relaxing background music that's fairly neutral and easy to listen to. You can also find a wide range of moods within the Chill background music genre, from energized and quirky to sleepy and relaxing.
This music is perfect for casual playthroughs of puzzle, exploration, or strategy games that don't have a lot of action. The Chill genre is also great for casual livestreams where you want a little background music but also want to be able to easily talk with your audience.
Our Playlist Pick: Vlog & Social Media: Electronic Chill
Pick #2: Rock For Grinds And Action Games
If you're grinding through an action-packed game or doing a no-talk playthrough, then something in the Rock genre might be perfect. You can find royalty free rock music in every category of the rock genre, from metal to punk.
Our library is stocked with Rock music that has vocals as well as instrumental tracks. Most gamers choose to go with no-vocals since it makes it a bit easier for viewers to focus on the game rather than listening to the song.
A track in the Rock genre is also a great way to get or keep viewers excited during live streams as an into and during breaks.
Our Playlist Pick: Rock Rock Rock
Pick #3: Hip-Hop For Something Different
Hip hop is starting to become more popular as an alternative to Rock. It's definitely a different style, but the energy and mood tend to be fairly close to Rock so it makes for a great substitution.
You can find hip-hop tracks with or without vocals and in a huge range of different moods. If you want a more urban chill feeling to your gaming videos, you can get that easily with hip-hop.
As far as royalty free music for games goes, Hip-hop can suit more intense games, including first-person shooters, horror, and more.
Our Playlist Pick: Hip Hop Staff Picks
Pick #4: Instrumentals For Adventure Games And Ambiance
Instrumental is a huge genre that is really popular in the gaming world. It's easy to listen to and complements most game genres. It works particularly well in Let's Plays or walkthroughs of adventure and open-world games where you spend time exploring.
We'd say that Instrumentals as background music create a different ambiance than Electronic Chill — more on the classical side of things. You can also use Instrumentals to purposely change the ambiance of your game.
If you want royalty free music for games to ramp up the intensity of an epic battle, Instrumentals will do that for you.
Don't be afraid to ask your audience what they think of music in the background of your videos or livestreams. After all, they are the ones who really counts when it comes to the success of your channel.
You might be surprised at what genre your listeners prefer. You might even find out that they prefer music only during intros, breaks, or casual chats versus actual gameplay.
With that being said, don't be afraid to experiment with your music choices. Start off with tracks that are easy to listen to, keep the volume low, and see how your viewers like it.
Why Royalty Free Music For Games Is The Only Way To Go
We've talked before about why royalty free music for games is the way to go, but if you missed out and want a quick summary, here's what you need to know.
Gamers can't legally use just any old music for their videos or live streams.
In order to be 100% legal and not violate Terms of Service agreements on platforms like YouTube or Twitch, you must own the licensing rights to the music you include in your videos or play in the background during streams.
The world of music licensing can be confusing, but a sure-fire way of knowing you're in the clear is to use royalty free music for games or other forms of content you’re publishing.
Royalty free music is a category of music licensing that allows you to purchase a license to a music track to use however you like. Some royalty free music sources charge a small fee per music track while some of the best sources charge a monthly or annual subscription fee which covers all of your license downloads.
As a gamer, you have more important things to worry about than whether your video is going to get flagged for music copyright infringement or not.
Using royalty free music for games solves the issues so you can focus on what you do best — gaming and giving your audience great content.
Soundstripe Has The Hookup On Royalty Free Music For Gaming Videos
Soundstripe is the all-inclusive, go-to source for royalty free music for games. Like we mentioned above, we aren't about the tedious life. Once subscribed you get instant access to our entire library of royalty free music, which has thousands of tracks.
We even upload about 300 new tracks every month on top of that.
But don't worry. We're a pretty organized team, so we categorize the heck out of our library. You can search by filters including Mood, Genre, Pace, Duration, and Instruments. Yep, we're that thorough.
You can also find premade Playlists on our site, which makes browsing for new music in a specific genre or mood super easy. You might have noticed that our top 4 suggestions all link to amazing playlists made by our staff.
Don't forget that as you start gathering up your favorite tracks, you can add them to your own playlists so you don't lose them!
When you're ready to try out some Electro Chill in your next playthrough or ramp up the energy with some Rock in your upcoming grind, our Music Library is waiting for you. All you need to do is visit our website and Sign Up.
