Favorite Wedding/Portrait Songs for Website

[r. franks]

<p>So, my two favorite things in life, photography and music. I'm redoing my whole site, and I'll finally have music on there, but I can't make up my mind on songs. All I know is I'm not a big fan of country or rap. I was thinking a pretty soft rock or acoustical song, but not too boring. I was thinking Pink Floyd "Wish you were here" but the first line has a small cuss word in it lol. I don't want something too cliche either, like classical music. Feel free to list a bunch of artist and song titles, not just for me, but for anyone who might see it a couple years later :) </p>

[kiva]

<p>No music plays when a viewer visits my website.</p>

<p>Music that the viewer can <strong>option to turn On</strong> <strong>if</strong> they wish to after entering my website: this is music I enjoy and not "the norm" ... feel free to visit and listen.</p>

<p>1. <strong>Enya - Tolkien - Lord of the Rings Soundtrack - May it Be.mp3</strong></p>

<p><strong>2. </strong> <strong>Meditation.mp3</strong></p>

<p><strong>3. </strong> <strong>I Will Wait For You (Itzak Perlman the Umbrellas of Cherbourg).mp3</strong><br>

<strong><br /> </strong><br>

<strong><br /> </strong></p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Do you have licenses for the music?</p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>Jeff makes a very valid point. As a musician I don't think I'd be very happy if my music was being used, without permission, on someones web site just as a photographer I don't think I'd be all that happy about someone using my photos under the same circumstances.</p>

[DEGREEFOTO]

<p>Yes I echo Jeff's question. As artists we would not like to have our images stolen and used without our consent. There are website where one can download music after paying a small amount for. I have done this myself knowing that at least the music I am using I have given the artist something in return.</p>

<p>Artur</p>

[kiva]

<p>Found a couple of more songs I enjoy too ...</p>

<p><strong>Tracy Chapman - The Wedding Song.mp3</strong></p>

<p>and</p>

<p><strong>Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World.mp3</strong></p>

<p> </p>

[davebell]

<p>The best music for a website is no music. This won't annoy anyone. If you choose it include music be default, i.e. have to turn it off, it is 100% guaranteed to annoy more than 0% of the population. I would rather annoy 0% than >0%!</p>

[stephen_kinosh]

<p>I also am redoing my site. As a photographer and guitarist, I'm writing and recording my own music. If you know a good guitarist or any instrumentalist, ask them for a song or two, pay them a small fee and give them credit on yor site</p>

[kiva]

<p>What a creative idea Stephen ... love it! It's positive and supports the local artist.</p>

<p> </p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>I'm with David. I always turn the sound off when browsing wedding sites. Too distracting IMO. But if one were to have music on their website, that's an excellent idea Stephen. There are many very good solo acts and small groups looking for any exposure and a little food money, these days. It would be a great way to them help out and have unique music on your site.</p>

<p>Well done!</p>

[bjscharp]

I agree with David. The best way to make sure I'll close your website as soon as it loads is having music there.

[benzenees]

<p>lots of valid points, as always, i heartily agree. An option to switch it on or off is a must if you choose to play music try to make sure it wont offend anyone and with that in mind i would suggest NO WORDS because they are sure to offend someone sometime try and play only musical. Things like orchestral pieces. pan pipes. modern classical, try and be thoughtfull when you choose, forget personal preference. for instance, the deerhunter is a great piece of music but it has the potential for upsetting a whole range of people best wishes.</p>

[r. franks]

<p>Hey, thanks for all the responses. I have no intentions of stealing music, I play bass, and actually live with a house full of musicians (actually have a music room full of guitars, two drum sets, a piano, amps, recording gear, and so on), and my roommates told me they'd love to do music for my site, which is great, they're very talented, they even offered to do covers. So, I will be using most or at least some of their music, but would like to have some recognizable tunes and different vocals. Whatever I use, I will be giving credit to, I'd actually like to have a page with credits and links for other vendors I've worked with. I understand the music being annoying lol, not everybody likes the same thing, personally I mainly listen to old school punk and ska, not sure if that would go with a wedding website lol, so I am putting personal preferences to the side, not to mention I had to change my whole appearance, but its a little sacrifice in the long run. The music player does have the options to skip songs, pause, stop, and I believe even shows the artist/song titles, not to mention if I don't want audio, all I do is press one button, and it mutes it, not a big deal. But in most cases, I do enjoy music while viewing slideshows.<br>

William- I love your work, you got some very interesting angles, and creative techniques, really like the shot of the groomsmen reflected in the sunglasses, too cool! Love me some Louis Armstrong, nice suggestion. <br>

Everybody else, thanks for looking out for the musicians, I have no problem paying a fee for downloading something, anybody have a link where I can do this?<br>

More song suggestions wanted, keep posting keep this alive people :)</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>I will be using most or at least some of their music, but would like to have some recognizable tunes and different vocals.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You still have to pay if you are using someone's songs, even if you do change the lyrics.</p>

[r. franks]

<p>Really? What about cover bands or people covering a song at a live show, they have to pay, even churches covering popular gospel songs in church? I know you can't go out and cover something and say its yours just b/c you redid it, but I thought as long as you give credit to the original artist, and acknowledge its a cover and not an original, that thats ok. I know you got to pay a fee for resampling music/beats if you actually take a part of a song and put it into your own, but not only am I not doing this, I am not selling the music, so could the laws be different? <br>

I just did some research, and found out even the "Happy Birthday" song has a copyright, so I guess if we ever sing that, we gotta pay some fee, lol. I guess I'll have to do a lot more research on this. Thanks Jeff for bringing that to me attention.</p>

[DEGREEFOTO]

<p>take a look at <a href="http://www.7digital.com">www.7digital.com</a> you may find a great deal there.</p>

<p>Artur</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>What about cover bands or people covering a song at a live show, they have to pay, even churches covering popular gospel songs in church? I know you can't go out and cover something and say its yours just b/c you redid it, but I thought as long as you give credit to the original artist, and acknowledge its a cover and not an original, that thats ok.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There are always royalties for published music. Most musicians and songwriters don't work for a credit on a website, it doesn't pay the bills. If you think about what you said, a professional songwriter would never get paid by anyone if that applied.</p>

<p>Cover bands are supposed to pay for the music. Sometimes, the venue has a blanket license that means the bands don't have to pay. One of the issues with putting out music is that someone (usually a person at the label) has to deal with all the Bands on tour have someone who tracks usage. However, enforcement for live performance is a bit sloppy since it is much harder to document.</p>

<p>Most gospel music is in the public domain.</p>

[chris_whitcomb1]

<p>Another thing to consider is what are you really trying to sell here, music or photography? I believe in giving my clients an "experience" that starts with the website and ends in the custom packaging we use to deliver their products so I understand the desire to add music to enhance the experience. A site has to download to the potential clients computer before they are able to view your images but since you have music ON by default, now your slideshow stream is competing with the music stream which means a much slower and frustrating experience for your potentials. Since computers are becoming the center of our entertainment world, most people "cruise the tubes" while listening to their own music, watching videos, IMing, checking email, or in the case of brides searching for a photographer, have multiple sites open comparing work and prices while listening to their own music, IMing, checking email, etc. (As I type this I have 8 tabs open to blogs I read everyday and listening to the Dropkick Murphys via iTunes since I'm feeling Irish today and chatting with my wife at work via google) It has been stated over and over again that you have about 15-30 sec's to get your site in front of your potentials before they move on to the next site and if your site is fighting for bandwidth loading a song when you should be loading images well that's a business decision your competition will certainly appreciate. I would save the music for the awesome custom slideshow you present at your consultation.</p>

[think27]

<p>Rachel you may be surprised to know that even restaurants have to pay to play CD's in the restaurant.</p>