How to Choose Background Music for Your Corporate Video

Whenever you produce a video, you have to support it with a brilliant soundtrack. It doesn’t matter if it’s a slick corporate video designed to encourage multi-million dollar investment or a testimonial video for recruiting new employees; your background music is going to set the tone for the video. Very importantly, viewers will be much more tolerant of less-than-perfect images than they will of poor sound. It does pay to devote time and energy to your videos’ soundtracks. When you’re making a corporate video, you don’t want people switching off because the medium isn’t doing its job! Here’s a guide that will help you pick the right corporate video music.

Pick music to support the message

Whatever type of video you’re creating, its background music will need to support the message you’re trying to convey. Before your audience has even started to interpret the images in the video, the music that they hear will be giving them a clue about what to expect. It will help to communicate to your audience if this is a fun and vibrant look at a new product or a more serious training video that requires focus and concentration.

Don’t forget, the genre of music that you use will need to fit with a company’s image. Would hip-hop work for a family-owned business that makes tailored suits from handwoven fabrics? It might, but the chances are it won’t!

Taken from the story Business Firm on the stock footage site Artgrid

When it comes to a corporate video, maintaining a professional message – even when the content is more light-hearted – is very important. It’s a significant communication strategy by a company, so it must be on-brand and on-tone. At Artlist, we make it easy for you to select music that will signal to your audience just where you are going with a corporate video. Plus, you can be certain that your music choices will not conflict with any copyright laws, either.

You need to think about whether or not you want instrumental music or music that includes vocals. Remember that if a video includes on-camera interviews or voice-overs, music with vocals can interfere with the viewer’s focus (but not necessarily, as you will see). You might be best sticking with instrumental music.

Why do companies make corporate videos?

Companies choose to make corporate videos for a whole spread of reasons, but at the heart of it, it’s always about communicating something to a range of people. Sometimes these people are inside the company, and sometimes they are outside of it.

A brand video is something that a company might want to put on their website, explaining the story of the company, what it does, and what it stands for. It doesn’t need to be long, but it does need to be memorable. It will need to use music that matches the company’s brand. Is it solid and trustworthy, or does it offer something more fun and frivolous to its customers?

For a company trying to raise investment, a corporate video could well contain elements of a brand video. It will tell the company’s story, set out why someone might want to put their money into it, and show what the potential return on that investment is. Music-wise, you are looking for something confident and hopeful; you don’t want anything too fun or sad.

Videos frequently serve as training tools for staff, and these most definitely count as corporate videos. They need to be on-brand and company-specific. The music should help focus and concentration and not distract viewers.

Following on from internal training videos, you might find that some companies will make videos to assist their customers or clients using their products or services. These can range from short pieces that, for example, show a bank’s customers how to log on to their online accounts or more in-depth content that could be more creative, like a recipe video. Again, they need to help focus but be on-brand.

When a company launches a new product or initiative, it might well produce a video to launch it. It could be for internal purposes, to communicate with their staff and stakeholders, or it could be used externally as part of their marketing strategy.

Some companies will use videos for their internal communications. That’s especially helpful for large, multi-site businesses when announcing new policies and communicating financial reports and results.

The music you select for an internal communications video will depend on the video’s content. Positive news can be supported by upbeat music. But if the sales figures are down or the company needs to enter into a period of restructuring or change, the music choice needs to reflect this. Don’t be too miserable, but do be respectful.

Lots of companies use social media videos as part of their marketing campaigns. These could cover anything from new initiatives to quick event reminders. They are also essential to a company’s branding and its communication with the public.

Finally, companies very often choose to communicate how they are fulfilling their corporate social responsibility through video. It allows different people to get involved, chart the impact of a business’s policies, and make something that’s engaging and interesting. The music here needs to be positive and on-brand. Think about the initiatives that the company is undertaking and see if you can mesh music with it.

How to do it right

To help you out so that you get a feel for the corporate video music to accompany a look, we’ve put together a selection of different types of corporate videos that make excellent use of background music from Artlist’s catalog.

Product launch

For this product launch video from Adobe for its Creative Cloud, the background music was Verve by Assaf Ayalon. It has a strong, lively beat that doesn’t interfere with the voiceover. It is uplifting and focused, helping to convey a sense of hopefulness for the new product.

Internal communications

This internal communications video for Google, which covers an infographic on artificial intelligence, is backed by Gravity by Stanley Gurvich. Notice how the rhythm fits beautifully with the motion of the graphics, and the music pulls you into and through the video. That’s a perfect blend of movement and beat.

Promotional video

First Contact by Kevin Graham is the dramatic piece of music used to back Photoneo’s promotional video. Photoneo provides robotic vision and intelligence, with a focus on 3D technology. The music points to the exciting and pioneering nature of this business.

Recruitment video

By selecting a piece of music with a strong beat that gradually accelerates, the University of Hull has emphasized the process of education that is continually building. It is upbeat and hopeful but remains focused, giving the video the sense of forward-thinking that you want when encouraging people to enroll in a university.

Testimonial video

In this testimonial video for Jaguar Land Rover, the vocals in the track F.L.Y. by Dyna Edyne don’t interfere with the testimonial being offered by the heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua. Rather, they enhance the coolness of the brand (and the scenery in the video!) and complement the sound from the engine.

Event announcement

Without any voiceovers or pieces to camera, this vocal track by D Fine Me is the perfect backing track to promote the G1 Series 2020. It’s intense, playful, and dramatic. It also offers a sense of fun that comes with the G1 Series, but definitely drama, too!

A corporate video is an essential piece of communication media, both internally and externally, and a reflection of the company. Therefore, choosing the right background music for a corporate video isn’t something that you want to leave to chance.  However, if you’re confident in what you’re trying to convey, it will be much easier to find music that supports the video’s message. And whatever you’re looking for, we will have the music that you need at Artlist.

Wrapping up

Hope this article gave you some insight into how to choose your corporate video music. To avoid any legal issues, the best option is to pick royalty-free corporate music. Check out Artlist’s universal license and see why it’s your best choice, whether you’re looking for business background music or music for any other type of video.