I always say there are two types of real estate agents. Those that are using video in their real estate business and those that will be. Real estate agents will be using video in their business not because its sexy but because the consumer is demanding it.
Video is perfectly suited for the real estate industry as consumers are visual. They would rather see a video of a property then read about or even see (orange) HDR pictures. Video conveys so much more information in a shorter period of time than any other medium.
There are all types of real estate video. While some real estate agents will choose to hire a professional videographer to help them with their video productions, many will do it themselves.
No Music?
Not all real estate videos need music but some clearly do. Imagine watching a listing video with no music. Boring. The music sets the tone for the video. For the home. But not all music is created equal. The music you pick must compliment the property or subject of the video.
Imagine a real estate video of a mobile home in Apache Junction, set to Mozart. Imagine a 55+ community set to Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies”. These songs clearly do not fit the subject of the video.
My Favorite Music Sources
There are literally thousands of websites where you can purchase royalty free music for your real estate videos. Some of my favorites include Pond5, AudioJungle, iStock. Many real estate agents who create their own videos and some videographers here in Phoenix choose to get their music from another source – iTunes.
Content ID
Using music from iTunes in your real estate videos, really any kind of video, is often a bad idea. Not because you could be sued, (music creators have finally figured out suing a 12 year old girl who uses an Aerosmith song in her video is not a good public relations move) but because your real estate videos may not play where it is most important – mobile devices.
Its called Content ID.
{From YouTube} If you upload a video that contains copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim. These claims are issued by companies that own music, movies, TV shows, video games, or other copyright-protected material.
It’s up to copyright owners to decide whether or not others can reuse their original material. In many cases, copyright owners allow the use of their content in YouTube videos in exchange for putting ads on those videos.
However, there are some cases when copyright owners don’t want their material reused:
Blocking a video: Sometimes, copyright owners may block your video, which means people won’t be able to watch it. They can decide to block your video worldwide or just in certain countries. If your video is blocked worldwide, your account standing may be affected, which means you’ll lose access to some YouTube features. Please keep in mind that deleting videos that affect your account standing won’t restore your good standing.
Muting a video: If your video contains copyright-protected music, the owner may choose to mute it. This means that people can still watch your video, but they won’t be able to hear the soundtrack. This won’t affect your account standing.
Blocking certain platforms: In some cases, copyright owners may restrict the devices, apps, or websites on which their content can appear. These restrictions won’t change the availability of your video on YouTube.com.
It Won’t PLAY!?
If you choose to use music that is owned by another party, copyright, like iTunes music certainly is, your video, the video you made of your listing, a community, a testimonial may not play in some countries (big deal right) or on MOBILE DEVICES. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. (Breaking Bad)
Why is this significant? Because for the first time in history, consumers are now using mobile devices to search MORE than desktop computers. That’s right, today, more consumers are searching for homes on mobile devices than not. If your video will not play on mobile devices because of the copyright song you, or your videographer, chose – it might as well be invisible.
I never use iTunes songs in my real estate videos and I never would. Not just because of the reasons above but because songs that play on the radio, top 40, can be a distraction to the content that is in your video – the home. I want the music I choose to compliment the content of the video now overpower it.
Will It PLAY?!
So the next time you look for a song to compliment a video you (or someone else) created ask yourself – will my video play on mobile devices?
AT HMC, we only choose royalty free music. Music we feel compliments your real estate videos. If you would like to learn more about our real estate video productions or how we can help you differentiate yourself and your real estate business, please fill out the form below.
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