March 14th, 2006

Musicians and music lovers are starting to openly protest the quality and type of production music used in many high profile commercials. Guitar-maker Scott Baxendale made news recently when he spoke out about his annoyance over a cellular phone commercial that used a rendition of Paul McCartney's "Got to Get You into My Life" to push its products. Baxendale at first was irritated by the poor quality of that particular version of the song as background music on the commercial, but then began to think about the song's implications, as it was originally admittedly written by McCartney as a tribute to drugs.

It's known that Michael Jackson owns rights to the entire Beatles collection, and is within his rights under Copyright Law to sell parts or all of the rights to any songs for any purposes. Baxendale was so angered, particularly in the wake of all the very reprehensible legal issues Jackson has faced in the past few years, by the idea that the singer might have sold off some of the rights to the Beatles songs he owns to pay off some expenses that he actually called the cell phone company to ask for details about the background music and production music he felt they were abusing in their commercial.

Baxendale and other music lovers and musicians feel that many popular and important songs used as background music for commercials are being exploited; even though technically the use of covers, both bad and good, of these songs as production music abides by Copyright Law, many believe that ethically their use is a criminal act. McCartney's song is a good example of this concept because the Beatles were very clear that they did not want their music used to promote products or services in commercials. The use of popular classical music as background music and production music in commercials is more understandable to many, because so many interpretations of pieces have been played and recorded throughout the centuries by musicians other than the composers - certainly there is no recording of Mozart playing one of his piano sonatas or conducting one of his operas. But music that has its root in the recording industry many feel is a different story.

The cell phone company spoke out in their decision to use the Paul McCartney song by saying that they weren't thinking about any implications of the song or its writer; they simply thought it was an upbeat song that illuminated the attitude of its company.

There are other less expensive and great options for producers and directors of commercials looking to add background music to their important projects while still abiding by Copyright Law. High quality royalty free music companies such as Royalty Free Music.com offer extensive libraries of production music in every style to fit all different moods. The music is all original and abides by all applicable Copyright Law, so professionals can be assured never to have to pay again after an initial minimal fee for unlimited use of the music. And because it is unique and instrumental, the royalty free music can be implemented into a product's or service's entire advertising campaign as a memorable theme not attached to anything but that product! Many busy musicians and commercial producers and directors conscious of the complexities of Copyright Law are enjoying the lack of hassle associated with using royalty free music as background music and production music.

NEW! -   Music Tutorials