iMovie is a wonderful free video editing software that comes as standard with an Apple MacOS computer. This pre-installed video editing software is really powerful, and so much good quality video editing can be done with it.
Many people will show you how to use iMovie for free online, but very few seem to talk about audio handling within iMovie, and more specifically, where to find background music for iMovie and how to set your background music levels.
To find free music to use in iMovie it is best to search for royalty-free music. The cost of royalty-free music depends on the music provider. Often there is a one-time license fee to pay however, there are many great resources that offer royalty-free music, for free.
This website offers royalty-free music for free, which can be imported into iMovie to use as background music in your personal or commercial video projects.
Regarding the right audio levels for background music in iMovie, although there is no exact number to set background music audio levels in iMovie, most sound experts agree that background music should be between -18dBs and -20dBs lower than the main speech, dialogue or narration.
In this article, I want to cover the key aspects of using background music in iMovie, from where to find music to how to set your audio levels. I will be covering.
- Where can I find free background music for iMovie?
- What is royalty-free music?
- What audio file formats does iMovie support?
- What volume should background music be in iMovie?
- How to work in decibels with iMovie?
- Why does iMovie not have audio meters?
- How to avoid audio distortion in iMovie?
Where Can I Find Free Background Music For iMovie?
To find free music to use in iMovie, it is best to search for royalty-free music.
The cost of royalty-free music depends on the music provider. Often there is a one-time license fee to pay however, there are many great resources that offer royalty-free music, for free.
This website offers royalty-free music for free, which can be imported into iMovie to use as background music in your personal or commercial video projects.
How To Download Free Music For iMovie?
- Head over to our free background music library.
- Browse our tracks via music genre or music mood.
- Find a track you like and enter your email.
- The music will be instantly downloaded and a professional music licence sent to your email.
Here is a quick summary of the terms for the free royalty-free music available on this site, which can be used in iMovie as background music:
- All music is free.
- .MP3 file formats are available to download, which is compatible with later versions of iMovie
- A full license is sent with each song, so you know you have permission to use the music and can prove this to anyone who asks.
- The music can be used as background music in videos for both personal and business use.
- You must give a credit to the composer as follows:
Music: https://coyamusic.com/ or “Song Title” from CoyaMusic.com
Here is a link to read a summary of the free music license terms so you can ensure you are using the music for free, within the license guidelines
What Is Royalty Free Music?
Royalty-free music, such as the music supplied on this site, is a simple music license type that gives a music user permission to use the music in their videos and content with no future royalties or hidden fees to be paid.
Royalty-free music is a term that emerged in the early 2000s when YouTube surged and there was an enormous demand for a simple music license type that allowed video-makers to quickly and easily use music in their videos.
You should always check the terms of each royalty-free music license, as the terms of use may differ between music suppliers.
For the royalty-free music on this site, you can check out a summary of the royalty-free music license here.
Is Royalty Free Music Always Free?
The cost of royalty-free music will depend on the music provider. The cost can vary from free to hundreds of pounds.
For example, coyamusic.com does not charge anything for their royalty-free music; they just ask that you ensure the music is credited to them in your video credits.
Other royalty-free music suppliers such as Shutterstock will charge £13.25 per month for unlimited access to thousands of tracks, for example.
What Audio File Formats Does iMovie Support?
iMovie supports a variety of audio file formats, including MP3, WAV, M4A, AIFF, and AAC.
Should I Use .WAV or MP3 Files With iMovie?
Personally, I always recommend using .WAV file format if you are doing broadcast-quality audio, however, the big problem with .WAV files is their file size.
For most content creators using an .MP3 file will work just fine and will save you a lot of hardware storage.
High-quality MP3s are much easier to work with and take up less storage space than .WAV files.
What Volume Should Background Music Be In iMovie?
Although there is no exact number to set background music audio levels in iMovie, most sound experts agree that background music should be between -18dBs and -20dBs lower than the main speech, dialogue or narration.
However, iMovie does not include a VU meter, which is a standard meter for reading decibel levels (dBs) for audio. Therefore, how do you know what -20dBs is in iMovie?
The standard volume meter in iMovie seems to work with percentages (%) and not decibels (dB).
As someone who works professionally with audio, turning down audio by a percentage is not a standard way to work.
In the pro audio mixing world, we have general volume guides, which are nearly all set to decibels (dB), or some equivalent volume level.
For example, I know that if I make my background music about -20dB lower than my main speech or dialogue in a project, I will be in a good starting place. From there, I can adjust my audio levels depending on the overall audio mix of the video.
But iMovie does not have a dB meter, so how can you use these dB guides?
How To Work In Decibels With iMovie?
Let’s imagine that you are producing a video for YouTube and you want to get your audio levels and background music volume level to sound good.
Below is a table of guideline volume levels from my article, “How Loud Should Background Music Be?”, which dives into audio levels in greater depth.
| DESCRIPTION | AUDIO LEVEL RANGE | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Audio Mix Level | -10dB to -20dB | This is your total audio mix level. Note: Never let your total audio mix level exceed 0dB. |
| Main Narrator or Dialogue Levels | -6dB to -12dB | This is a good audio level range for your speech or dialogue audio. For YouTube, most YouTubers stay at -12dB max. |
| Background Music | -18dB to -20dB | This will vary, but using the guide of 20dB lower than your speech audio is a good starting point |
| Sound Effects | -12dB to -18dB | Sound effects will vary depending on the sound effect, but ensure they do not impede or interfere with your main speech and dialogue. |
The above levels are a general guideline to help you get started, but since you cannot read dBs in iMovie, this good information is of no use for iMovie users.
For me personally, the solution is to install an external volume meter in iMovie.
I am not a big fan of having to do this, especially when my iMac cost me a couple of thousand pounds. However, below is a great video from Michael Kinney who shows you how to add pro audio meters to iMovie.
With a good audiometer, you will know what level your audio is truly at and the audio level guides I mentioned previously will be useful for setting your audio levels.
Why Does iMovie Not Have Audio Meters?
I have yet to understand why iMovie does not have standard audio meters but instead uses a “percentage” scale to adjust volume levels.
I have trawled through the manuals and apple support sites to see if the percentage scale somehow corresponds to a decibel (dB) volume scale, but with no luck.
I even contacted apple support and I am still waiting for an answer.
My best guess is that to novice video makers, a volume meter could look a little intimidating, so a percentage scale seems more accessible and easier to read.
For example, “Jim turn down the volume by 15%” is probably easier to quantify for a general user as opposed to “Jim turn down the volume by 25dB”
In 2021, when novice video makers are using iMovie to build successful businesses on YouTube, I think it is fundamental that a good audiometer is made available in iMovie. It is a very standard and universal thing. The excellent software team at Apple could probably design one in an afternoon!
How To Avoid Audio Distortion In iMovie?
The one thing you must always avoid when working with audio, be it in iMovie or any project, is audio distortion.
Audio distortion happens most commonly when audio is too loud or, more specifically, exceeds 0dB. We call this clipping in the audio industry.
As mentioned, we do not have audio meters in iMovie, so how can you tell if your audio has exceeded 0dB or is clipping?
According to the apple support guide for iMovie, you will need to look at the audio waveforms to see if your audio is clipping or distorted.
Below is an image from the apple support guide for iMovie. You can read this guide in more detail here.
Make sure that the peak sections of the waveform don’t appear yellow, which indicates distortion, or red, which indicates clipping (severe distortion). If you see either red or yellow in your audio waveform, lower the volume until the entire waveform is green. If only part of the waveform is red or yellow and the rest is green, you can adjust the volume of that part of the waveform.
If waveforms don’t appear in the timeline, click the Settings button in the upper-right corner of the timeline and select the Show Waveforms checkbox.
iMovie support manual
Final Thoughts
Background music can be an important tool for setting the mood for your video and supporting the main audio.
When looking for free background music to use in iMovie, it is best to search for royalty-free music providers. There are many great resources that offer royalty-free music, for free. Just make sure you understand the licensing agreement before using any of these tracks in your videos.
You can download free background music for iMovie from this site: www.coyamusic.com
Regarding the right audio levels for background music in iMovie, although there is no exact number to set, most sound experts agree that background music should be between -18dBs and -20dBs lower than the main speech, dialogue or narration.
Experiment with different volumes until you find what works best for your project. To get started, download some free background music from our website today.
