While many people tend to associate “holiday season” with the months of October, November and December, the truth is that holidays of grand importance are scattered all throughout the year. When you work in the film or television production industry, you know that creating media projects that appeal to your target audience is a 365-day, 24-hour job. And there’s no room to slack when it comes to incorporating the favorite holidays that your viewers know and love.
Whether you are creating a feature film, or a quick 30-second commercial, the music you license for that project can be key to creating the right emotions within your audience. There is truly no sense in creating any film or television project that will never appeal to anyone. For this reason, having a solid music licensing contract in place is very beneficial as you move throughout the year, including music from multiple holidays in your television and film projects. Having the rights to the music in your production will also make distribution a lot simpler.
Below, we spend some time taking a trip through some of the year’s most popular holidays, and the best ways to find the right holiday music for any production.
Halloween Music Licensing
Although not everyone celebrates Halloween, for those that do, you’ll find a large amount of people that consider it their favorite holiday. The chance to dress up and become someone completely different for just one night a year can be incredibly alluring. Depending on the age group, there are so many exciting Halloween activities that can be enjoyed, including trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, costume contests, and various Halloween-related games like bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving and hay rides.
This holiday really makes many people feel like they are entering the traditional holiday time period, and as if they are deep within the cozy fall season. There are so many films and TV shows related to the Halloween holiday, many people associate the entire horror genre with it. After all, there is even a popular film series called Halloween!
Recently, one of the stars of this well-known franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis, joined the cast of an offbeat, Halloween-related television series known as Scream Queens. The show boasts an incredibly popular soundtrack with multiple current pop and indie music hits. The fact is that without this incredible soundtrack, a lot of the scenes within the show would never quite land. Just another important reason why free music licensing should be used sparingly, if ever, when it comes to Halloween music licensing.
Thanksgiving Music Licensing
Thanksgiving is an interesting time of the year, as it is primarily focused on family time, and being grateful for the good in your life. However, the day right after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, a well-known holiday for getting the best shopping deals in department stores.
So how can television, film and commercial production houses meet the delicate balance between supporting family togetherness, but also promoting the shopping craze? Having the proper Thanksgiving music licensing, of course!
Let’s remember, music is something that evokes a lot of emotion for people. When paired with the right visuals, you can promote just about anything you want. For those production houses looking to create good-natured commercials for Black Friday without taking away from the Thanksgiving holiday and spirit of togetherness, some lite retail music may be just the right vibe they are looking for. On the other hand, if your client is looking for a hard hitting commercial that is primarily in place to promote the holiday of Black Friday separately from Thanksgiving then some hard sell retail music might be what is best.
When it comes to Thanksgiving feature films and television productions, a good place to find some music that may fit your music licensing needs would be the TunEdge November 2016 music montage! In the end, creating your own soundtrack for various media projects is easy when you focus on having lots of options for Thanksgiving music licensing.
Christmas Music Licensing
Ah, Christmas, such a wonderful time of year for family, love, and gifts, of course! This is the perfect time of year for various businesses to create very targeted commercials to reach the best audience for their products and services. Commercial production companies are definitely kept very busy this time of year.
If you are creating a commercial and you need Christmas music licensing, you are likely to find what you need in our contemporary Christmas collection. However, if your production has a more nostalgic feel for it, then you might find the right type of music in our Christmas 2 or Christmas 3 collections.
One of the most popular days of the year for films to come out is Christmas Day, and most popular television shows feature a Christmas, or in the very least, a general holiday episode. Check out the TunEdge Christmas Music Channel and you’re sure to find the right Christmas music licensing for all different types of Christmas film and television productions.
New Year’s Eve Music Licensing/New Year’s Day Music
As one year ends and a new one begins, there are many emotions that will run through a person. Creating the right atmosphere in your television or film production is key if you want to positively reach your target audience during this time of year.
One major aspect of every new year is that many people decide to make new resolutions to improve their life in the coming year. A lot of times this includes healthier life choices related to nutrition and exercise. Our dance and pop hits montage has plenty of songs that would be perfect for any workout production you may have. Remember, you’ll be able to more widely distribute any video project that has a proper music licensing contract in place.
And when you’re ready to ring in the new year and help others celebrate with a great promotional video for when the ball drops, you’ll need the good faithful Auld Lang Syne to help create the right mood. But which version is right for your production? We have several adaptations of this song that are perfect for your New Year’s Eve music licensing projects.
Valentine’s Day Music
After the new year kicks off, one of the very first holidays of the year celebrates love. That’s Valentine’s Day, of course! Between the barrage of popular romantic comedies, Valentine’s Day themed television episodes, and commercials for diamonds & chocolate, there’s plenty of room for Valentine’s Day music licensing.
In recent years, musicals have also become incredibly popular when it comes to romantic films. This is evidenced with the Academy Award nominated film “La La Land.” If you remember, this film was announced as the best film of the year, before the announcer realized his mistake and the actual winner was crowned. However, it’s an honor just to be nominated, right?
If your production house is working on a commercial to entice their audience for a Valentine’s Day promotion, you’ll likely find the tracks you need in either our Valentine’s Day 1 or Valentine’s Day 2 collections.
For those Valentine’s Day TV episodes, or a delightful romantic comedy, you’ll have plenty of choices for Valentine’s Day music licensing via our Valentine’s Day Production montage.
Mardi Gras Music & Fun
Mardi Gras is a festival/holiday beloved all over the world, and celebrated in many different ways every year.
It symbolizes more than just the popular Mardi Gras parties though. It is a celebration, held on Shrove Tuesday, aka Fat Tuesday, and it leads people into Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is actually the French term for Fat Tuesday, just in case you didn’t know!
The way it is celebrated, and how long it lasts, varies from city to city -- one of the longest being from the 12th night of Christmas (typically the 5th or 6th of January) up until Ash Wednesday, which is more than three months!
To properly promote your Mardi Gras events, you’ll need the right Mardi Gras music licensing contract in place.
Holidays as the Year Continues...
As every year moves forward, there are plenty of holidays of note that require holiday music licensing in place. March for example, has two very important holidays that lend themselves to highly anticipated films, television episodes, commercials and even events.
One popular holiday in March is St. Patrick’s Day. This is a highly-anticipated “party” holiday, so-to-speak. Many people cut loose, and enjoy a night of drinking quality beers with friends. If you’re creating a promotional video for your pub’s annual event, St. Patrick’s Day music licensing is something you are going to want to look into.
Another important holiday that lends itself to a good time is Cinco De Mayo. Although this holiday is typically known to many as another “party” holiday, it’s important to remember its roots while you’re enjoying your obligatory tequila shot. Cinco De Mayo is a celebratory holiday for Mexico, since this was the day the Mexican army defeated France during the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War which spanned 1861-1867. Whether you are creating a memorial documentary or promotional video, you’ll need Cinco De Mayo music licensing.
Throughout the year, there are several holidays that will incite a feeling of patriotism. During these holidays, you’ll need music licensing for your patriotic media projects. Veteran’s Day, 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day are all important holidays in the United States for different reasons. Be sure to secure holiday music licensing for your productions well in advance so you can focus on the project itself, rather than the legality of the music you utilize within it.
Overall, it’s clear that holiday season is really all year long when it comes to television and film productions. Be sure to not waste time with free music licensing, and invest in quality holiday music licensing. You’ll thank us for this advice when it comes time to distribute your project. Happy Holidays!
