Music for a wedding video: which license covers it?

Finding music for a wedding video looks like a question of taste, but it is mostly a question of who is making the film. A couple posting their own day online and a videographer the couple paid are doing two different things, and Wavecrate's license table treats them differently. This guide explains why the song from your first dance is hard to use, which Wavecrate license fits each case, and what the license does not tell you.

Wavecrate licenses royalty-free music, including romantic and hopeful tracks tagged for weddings, and every download comes with a license certificate and a code anyone can check on its verify page.

Why the song from your first dance is hard to use

Most couples want the song they danced to. The problem is that a recorded song is usually two works. The U.S. Copyright Office's page for musicians says recording a song can create a musical work (the composition and lyrics) and a sound recording, and that the two are "commonly owned and licensed separately".

The same page says that to use another artist's recordings or musical works, you need permission from the copyright holder or a license on the terms of a licensing contract. For a well-known love song, that can mean finding and asking two different owners. A track from a music library avoids that: one item, one license, and the license page tells you what it covers.

Music for a wedding video: who is making the film?

Wavecrate's plans and licenses page has a table for music and sound effects. Two of its rows decide most wedding films. "Your own business and brand content" is ticked under Standard and Extended. "Client work" is ticked only under Extended.

So start with one question: is this film your own, or are you being paid to make it for someone else?

Diagram of wedding video music licenses: Free or Standard for a couple posting their own film, Extended for a videographer the couple pays, and notes on showreels, TV and screenings

If it is your own wedding film

If you are the couple, or a friend cutting the film as a gift, and you plan to post it on YouTube or Instagram, two licenses can fit:

Free, on items marked Free. It covers YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch and podcasts, with credit text required in the description. A free account gets 3 free downloads a month.
Standard, listed at $15 on the track pages read. It covers online content for one creator or business, with no credit line.

Free is enough if you are happy to put a credit in the description. Standard suits you if you would rather the description is only about your day. Paid licenses are not on sale yet (Wavecrate says purchases open soon), so the prices here are the listed prices for when sales open, while tracks marked Free can already be downloaded with a free account.

One gap to know about: the table lists online platforms, and under Extended it lists TV, radio and cinema. It says nothing about a screening at the reception or a copy on a drive for your family. Wavecrate has no separate license agreement page today, so treat any use the table does not name as not covered until the site says otherwise.

If you film weddings for clients

If a couple pays you to make their film, the film is client work, and on Wavecrate that is Extended only, listed at $49 on the track pages read. This holds even for a track marked Free, whose Free license is for online videos and podcasts, not client jobs.

Pro does not change this. Pro gives a Standard license on the whole catalog, never Extended. It is handy for your own channel, but not for the films you deliver.

Your own showreel is different. A reel on your website or channel promotes your business, which is the Standard line. If you already hold Extended for a track, it includes everything in Standard, so the same track can go in the client's film and your reel.

Choosing a track that fits the day

Open Wavecrate's music and start with the mood filter: romantic and hopeful are both on the list. Then use tempo. Slow (under 90 BPM) suits vows and slow moments; Mid (90 to 120 BPM) suits the walk out and the party.

Each track page also offers three versions: the full track, a 30 second edit and an 8-bar loop. The 30 second edit is made for teasers. The loop helps when a section of your film runs longer than the track.

Quiet Resolve track page on Wavecrate tagged wedding and documentary, with its three versions and Free, Standard at $15 and Extended at $49 license cards

A worked example: one couple, three uses

Say you are a videographer. A couple has booked you for a highlight film, a short teaser for their Instagram, and you want to use the best moments in your own showreel.

The ceremony part of the film. You filter for romantic and slow, and find Quiet Resolve: strings, low brass and timpani "building toward a big finish", 80 BPM, 1:21 long, tagged for wedding and documentary. The build lands nicely under the vows and the kiss.
The party part. You switch to Mid tempo and pick Porch Light, an acoustic track with guitars and a light shaker at 96 BPM, which the page describes as good for travel and wedding.
The teaser. You cut a 30-second teaser on Quiet Resolve's 30 second edit, so the music ends cleanly.
The licenses. The couple paid you, so this is client work: one Extended license per track, listed at $49 each on these pages. Both tracks are marked Free, and it makes no difference here.
Your showreel. Extended includes everything in Standard, so both tracks can go in your own reel too.

Decide early whose name goes on the licenses. When you join Wavecrate, the name you give is "printed on your licenses". If you license the tracks, send the couple the certificate links with the film, so they can show them if a platform ever asks. The verify page shows who holds the license, for which track and what it covers, with no account needed.

What the license does not give you

A license is permission to use a track, not ownership of it. Wavecrate's pricing page says you get a license to use the music and Wavecrate keeps the copyright. The license covers the uses on its card for the film you made. If the couple later wants the same track for a project of their own, Wavecrate's pages do not say your license reaches that far, so treat it as needing a license of their own.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a popular song in my own wedding video?

Only with permission. The U.S. Copyright Office says a recorded song can hold two separately owned works, so you may need permission from both owners.

Which license does a wedding videographer need?

On Wavecrate, Extended. A film you are paid to make for a couple is client work, which only Extended covers.

Can a couple use a Free track in their own wedding video?

Yes, online, with credit. The Free license covers YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch and podcasts, with credit text in the description.

Is showing the film at the reception covered?

Wavecrate's license table does not mention screenings at events. Treat it as not covered until the site says otherwise.

Get started

Browse Wavecrate: you can join free and download items marked Free now, paid licenses are not on sale yet (purchases open soon), and every download comes with a license certificate and a code anyone can check on its verify page.

Filter the music by romantic or hopeful, and read each track's cards against who is making the film.