How to Use Music to Boost Your Stream’s Energy and Excitement

In this post, we will go over how to use music to hype up your stream and why you should. Let’s go!

How Music Can Bring Excitement to Your Stream

Did you know that good quality audio is considered just as important as–or, in the case of this study done by Cleveland University, published as Pressbooks at the Michael Schwartz Library, it is more important–than other elements of streaming?

Music is part of your stream’s audio, and it is integral to every type of video form content. Without it, everything feels bland and boring.

Music Brings Life Into Media

Think about your favorite movie or TV show. How did the editors and sound producers use it to make you feel the thrill while watching an adventure or action-packed movie? What about shows with romance involved? They also use music to imply things such as happiness, sorrow, and hope. 

Would Jack Sparrow’s entrance in the movie franchise Pirates of the Caribbean be as memorable as it did if it didn’t come with an epic orchestra accompaniment?

It also goes the same for games. Zelda won’t be the same without the theme which was famously played on ocarina (I mean, it’s on the title itself). Super Smash Bros. wouldn’t be as memorable as it is now without its main theme (that it actually became a meme). Think of all the games you played, and notice how you could instantly recognize its theme song once it plays.

These examples just show how important music is to any kind of video and video game form content–and live streaming isn’t an exception.

Music works on a live stream just like how it works on other forms of media: it’s used to build and heighten emotions. If the audience feels emotionally connected to your stream, then they will be more invested in watching and staying for another hour or two (maybe even more). Soundtracks, background music, and sound effects are one way to do that. And then, when you turn them into VODs or clips shared on your other social media platforms, music should still be there to keep the mood and the quality.

Twitch Streamers Can Get Banned For Playing The Wrong Music

However, it’s not easy to find good music that you could actually use on Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook live streams. If you have been on either of those platforms for a little while now, you know how difficult it is to use music in your live stream for fear of being muted, taken down, or banned.

In fact, this is why some streamers opt out of using music: they’d rather not use any than risk their account.

But then, you would miss out on the benefits of having music on your stream, namely, keeping the energy and excitement high in your live chat. As I’ve said, having no music in the background can make your video content or stream feel bland.

Live streams without music lack energy. It may even feel so severe that it doesn’t seem fun to watch or hang out anymore. Honestly, music-less streams feel like those types of videos where the broadcaster announces some sort of bad news. Now, that doesn’t sound fun at all, does it?

Music on stream also makes everything more personal and relatable. It gives off the impression of fun, excitement, and thrill, which are probably the reasons they tuned in in the first place. Great music that fits the mood can give them that.

Best Music To Make Your Live Streams More Exciting

When playing music on your live stream, the biggest no-no is to play just about any song from your MP3 player or your music streaming platform of choice. Even though you have subscribed to Spotify or may have purchased tracks from Apple Music, playing them on air would be breaking DMCA law. Buying them just means you can listen to them and use them personally, meaning you can’t use them for live streams, which is labeled as commercial use.

Thankfully, there are ways to keep the music rolling without fearing someone will come after you. Below, I’ll be listing some of the best places to find great music for your target audience without facing a copyright claim.

So, ditch your YouTube or Spotify playlists filled with popular songs or music videos and instead look for a soundtrack that you can use safely. Those types of soundtracks are the following:

1. Royalty-Free Music

   The best option for most small steamers is to find royalty-free and DMCA-safe music. One of the best platforms to find this music is Epidemic Sound.

   Epidemic Sound is a popular platform for streamers and content creators to get royalty-free music. It also has one of the largest catalogs of songs and sound effects of almost every genre imaginable.

   The platform offers over 35,000 music tracks across all genres and allows you to create multiple playlists, download tracks, and use them across your social sites so that you can make good marketing campaigns for your channel. 

   Additionally, you will be able to take advantage of 90,000+ Twitch sound alerts the platform offers. Sound alerts can elevate your content during key moments to excite your viewers and show off your professionalism. 

   

   While I can’t stress the importance of having music on your streams enough, finding one that is safe to play on streams–let alone one that speaks your personality or the mood of the live stream–is time-consuming. If you don’t want to deal with too much hassle in finding the perfect track and sound effects for your live stream, Epidemic Sound is the perfect option to go for.

   Moreover, they have a 30-day free trial available. Signing up also takes only a minute.

   Upon account creation, a curated list of music will be created for you. This list will be updated according to your past likes and listens. This is very handy because similar songs will pop up continuously if you prefer a particular genre (and they have many, many genres available) for your streams. And, if you get tired of those types of music, just listen to a different song, and the list will be updated accordingly.

2. Your Own Original Music

   If composing and releasing music is one of your strengths, why not use it for your live streams as well? Unless you have a contract with an artist agency that disallows you to do so, you can use songs you own on a live stream.

   However, if you are still uncontracted and new to the music industry, you can still use your own music. We recommend studying all the legal matters first, especially if you plan to publish your music and already have a release date in mind.

3. Public Domain Songs and Tracks

   Generally, songs in the public domain are those tracks published in 1927 or earlier. Well, most of those songs don’t really fit the mood of live streams, so what now? There are actually websites where you can download public domain tracks composed recently. The artists chose to release music with a public domain license, so you can use them for free. FreePD is one of the best places to find awesome music licensed under Creative Commons 0. The library is quite limited, though, but the songs are great.

How to Use Music to Create Dynamics To Your Live Broadcast

When you think about it, the sole purpose of music on a live stream is to set the tone for the broadcast. It helps create the right mood and ambiance. The right music can turn a regular broadcast into a fun, exciting one depending on what type of content you stream (i.e., a competitive game or a Just Chatting session). It will also show your personality and brand.

Here are some ways you can use music to liven up your stream:

• Starting Screen

  Before your stream starts and while the countdown is playing, you will need music to create excitement for your viewers with a starting screen. You can add a jingle to announce your epic entrance even at the very start of where you’d actually go live in front of the screen.

• BRB Screens

  When you take a break and put up that BRB screen, play some music to let your audience know (especially those who just tuned in) that you will be back.

• Ending Stream

  Outros are used when your broadcast ends. Put some music to help the audience “simmer down.”

• Guest Theme Songs

  Memorable theme songs for your guests will help build up hype whenever they appear on your live stream.

• Your Intro Song

  And who says only guests should have their theme songs? Intro songs are great for people to associate with you or your brand. With this, however, you might want to have an original song so you can use it outside of your live stream.

Play songs and sound effects during the right moments of your stream. Have your playlist at ready by opening the window to change tracks swiftly.

After your broadcast, you can turn clips into VODs and compilations. Then, you can upload them as YouTube videos to your channel.

Conclusion

Music is the secret ingredient to make a live stream more fun and entertaining. Without it, a live broadcast can easily get boring or may give your audience the wrong idea.

On the other hand, streamers should also know how to use it to avoid copyright claims. By using DMCA-safe music, your live streams can avoid getting muted or banned. Thankfully, there are places around the internet, such as Epidemic Sound, Soundtrack by Twitch, and YouTube’s Audio Library, where you can find great and safe songs to play.