Is there a reason hardly anyone uses background music in pitch videos??

There's a thin line between effective and cheesey as far as music goes. I discovered this the hard way even with music which I assumed would sound good.

Daniel

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Cataclysm1987

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel Evans

There's a thin line between effective and cheesey as far as music goes. I discovered this the hard way even with music which I assumed would sound good.

Daniel

Totally true.

If in doubt, just don't use any music at all.

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Gail_Curran 14 years ago

Music is fine at the beginning and end of videos, but it can be highly distracting if it's in the background while someone is talking. It takes a good ear to use it properly.
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Bill_Z

14 years ago

I've always used it. Make sure the volume level is not too high, and pick music that goes with the general "feel" of the video and it's pace.

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rooze

14 years ago

Please don't use background music when people are talking. Your brain cannot perform the tasks needed to process the music and the dialogue simultaneously. You're just taking away from your sales pitch and annoying the heck out of half-deaf stoners from the 80's, like myself.

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Matt Ausin

14 years ago

Here's the thing.

If you don't know how to put music to your video... Then don't do it.

And I'm not talking about your technical ability to plunk a piece of music into your video editing software.

Music is another, completely separate layer of communication. If you don't know how to speak the language.. Don't.

Music has to match the pace.. the mood.. the dynamics of the video. Otherwise it looks unprofessional and forced and distracts from your message. (Hint: you don't want this to happen)

Similarly, if you want somebody to buy anything from you, you make sure there are no glaring grammar mistakes in your text, don't you?

Music is the same

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Dawn Wise

14 years ago

If you're going to add music to the background, you better test it against other types of music an no music to find out if it's effective for you. Unless I get to choose the music, I'd probably rather not hear music while you're talking to me.

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canada94

14 years ago

I think any background music is a pain in the butt, you want people to remember what your message is, not what the annoying background music is...it's 2012 now, not the 70's.lol [ rant over]

Kevin

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Anurmedia

14 years ago

Well It`s a problem to create a background music yourself, but you can use royalty free music, but that is not very original. YouTube made a research that if you have a background music in your video viewers are more engaged. ReelSEO guys reported on that research.

As far as pitch videos go, if you have a killer content and a very good script for your video, that you don`t need a background music. Charisma and speaking skills also help a lot.

I deliver my pitch videos with the old John Carlton formula:
1. Here`s what I got. (Title)
2. Here`s what it will do for you. (main content, features and benefits)
3. Her`s what I want you to do next. (the pitch)

How about you guys?

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HeySal

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Anurmedia

Well It`s a problem to create a background music yourself, but you can use royalty free music, but that is not very original. YouTube made a research that if you have a background music in your video viewers are more engaged. ReelSEO guys reported on that research.

As far as pitch videos go, if you have a killer content and a very good script for your video, that you don`t need a background music. Charisma and speaking skills also help a lot.

I deliver my pitch videos with the old John Carlton formula:
1. Here`s what I got. (Title)
2. Here`s what it will do for you. (main content, features and benefits)
3. Her`s what I want you to do next. (the pitch)

How about you guys?

That's the point I was waiting to see in the above posts -- music isn't always free for use. It's not any different than snagging copyrighted material. The good stuff often costs money and many people who are putting up video ads aren't really looking to spring a price for ad production.

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sbucciarel

Banned 14 years ago

As a customer, I hate music in informational videos. It's rarely music that I would consider listening to on my own and doesn't add a thing to the sales message. It's a distraction.

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DeanSoto

14 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

As a customer, I hate music in informational videos. It's rarely music that I would consider listening to on my own and doesn't add a thing to the sales message. It's a distraction.

Totally agree. Plus, why would you want to add one more bit of noise to your sales pitch?

Intro/outro in something like a tutorial video, yes, I think that would add to the value after something is bought.

The point of a sales letter/pitch/video is to keep them focused on the message that you want to send with as little distractions as possible.

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sethczerepak

14 years ago

It's risky, has to be really well done if you're going to use music. Check out this site, its got decent music or reasonable bucks.

MUSIC BAKERY: Royalty Free Music Downloads & Royalty Free Music CD Buyout Production Music Libraries

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Marty S

14 years ago

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Jeff Henshaw

14 years ago

I'm putting together a pitch video for a niche product I'm selling and I was considering putting some background music in the video as I talk about it to add to feel of it.

I think that the quote below sums up the answer:

If you don't know how to put music to your video... Then don't do it.

And I'm not talking about your technical ability to plunk a piece of music into your video editing software.

Music is another, completely separate layer of communication. If you don't know how to speak the language.. Don't.

Music has to match the pace.. the mood.. the dynamics of the video. Otherwise it looks unprofessional and forced and distracts from your message. (Hint: you don't want this to happen)

Similarly, if you want somebody to buy anything from you, you make sure there are no glaring grammar mistakes in your text, don't you?

Music is the same

Obviously, if there is no speech, just slides or text then music is a usually good idea! I appreciate that this is not the situation of the op, who wishes to use speech in the video, but I thought that I'd mention it.

Finally, as has already been mentioned in the thread, for goodness sake ensure that you have a vaild license on file for any music or graphics that you use.

Just my thoughts,

Jeff.

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REHughes

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Marty S

You will never get a definitive answer for this, only individual opinions. Each video is different and depending on the content, tempo and theme of your message, background music can potentially help create a more effective message.

For those who say background music is annoying or useless, try to imagine your favorite movie without the enhancement of a music score.... not even close to the same effectiveness. Effective use of music is proven to help viewers pay closer attention and remember content as well. Our human brains are actually very responsive to music, and that is why it is used all the time in professional productions. Background music should be selective though, and rarely will it be effective for the entire video.

Background music can be used for effects such as when you want to add emphasis, speed up the tempo of the video, describe a sequence of steps, create a cold-stop for suspense, introduce a theme or feeling to your message, segway into a related message, create a time jump, etc., etc...

However, I agree with Matt above in saying that if you are just putting it in for the sake of it, then you are probably better off not using it at all.

Also, error on the side of moderation and be sure to always ask yourself if your background music is really making the presentation better or not.

I have to agree here. Personally, I like background music in videos, especially promo videos. I wouldn't want music in a webinar or something like that, but I think it plays a large part in the SELLING of your product.
But, as stated, it has to match everything about your video.

I'm not a video master by any means, but I am a 52 year old pianist who has played since I was 8, and when playing at church, I know when to emphasize, what to emphasize, what type of music is needed for any narration, and when I just need to sit quietly.

Just throwing a track of any kind of music behind a random video will definitely cost you. My advice, if you don't know how, have someone experienced do it, of just leave it out.

It can be a real killer.

Best of Luck,
Robert

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YasirYar

14 years ago

Personally, I'm not a fan of background music since it makes it harder to listen to the person speaking. OTOH, fade in music could be useful. You also may want to soft background music when pictures are flashing across the page. However, when there is video of someone speaking, you definitely want to avoid that.

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BurtL

14 years ago

You need to use music carefully. If I learned anything from my college course film music, music sets the tone of the scene. If not used properly you'll confuse the viewer. Film your sales pitch with/without music. Then see if the music puts you in the proper mood. If all you remember is the music, then you're doing something wrong. It should enhance your speech not distract it.

Then like you should do for any sales page, split test it.

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Daystar11

14 years ago

I really dislike music in informational videos. I find it very distracting and annoying. I don't like videos with no speech, either- even simple slide videos are better with a voice over imho

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David Sneen

14 years ago

Suzanne hit on a very good point. Preferences in music vary. So, unless your music closely matches your audience's preferences, you run the risk of losing customers who loathe, rather than love, that type of music. It is a lot easier to find a person's negative button with music than it is to find their...gotta listen to it button.

In general, I think the risk/reward of music in a sales video is balanced to the negative side. That is why you rarely hear music in the sales video.

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Genycis

14 years ago

For videos that you're doing to address your potential buyers, I think the background music is a distraction and shouldn't be added.... unless you can find a soothing type of instrumental that would fit, though I find this rare. I'd probably rather listen to the guy doing a video where I can hear what he is saying completely than to have my ears listening to competition between your voice and your music. Not to mention, you don't want to push someone away from your video because they don't like the song you chose or the music altogether, so better to have none. Just my 2 cents though.

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icegin

14 years ago

My guess is that sellers want visitors to focus clearly on what they have to say and having music in the background might be distracting. I have never come across a pitch video that had music in the background -- I personally find the absence of music in this case to be preferable.

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Tsnyder

14 years ago

The only correct answer in this thread is found in post #9...

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TheZafraGroup

14 years ago

I think it would be a distraction. People would tend to get distracted instead of listening to you. Others may also find it annoying. It does depend though. This is just my opinion.

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Is there a reason hardly anyone uses background music in pitch videos??

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