Home Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

  Register / Login

I'm not even sure I'm posting this on the right forum

Anyway. . . yesterday, I heard the music of Kevin MacLeod for the first time. It was kind of by accident, because I was watching a YouTube video which used MacLeod's music, and, in the credits, there was an indication that the music had been used in accordance with a Creative Commons copyright license, as well as a link to another YouTube video of just the music which the video (which I saw) used. For whatever reason, I really like this piece, which, with all its repetition, sounds to me like a combination of minimalism and certain traits of composer Alan Hovhaness.








View YouTube Video

(BTW, I can't get this embedded video to play on my computer, but it may work for you. If not, just view it on YouTube.)

So I did a little bit of digging and found out that he was born in Green Bay, Wisonsin in 1972. He flitted around in college for a time, and then emerged with an interest in music - movie music, video-game music, you name it! At some point he got the idea that he just wanted for his music to be played and heard, and that he wouldn't worry about the compensation. With the rise of YouTube, he started putting his songs online on that forum with the encouragement for listeners to use his music however they wanted without having to pay him (as long as they acknowledged that he was the composer). He seems to have hundreds of pieces up on YouTube (most of which are seemingly between a minute-and-a-half and four-and-a-half minutes long), all available for use by anyone with the Creative Commons license.

The fact that so many people are using his music has allowed him to derive a (good?) income, based on the number of YouTube "views" of his music. And it turns out that some pretty famous people have used his music, such as director Martin Scorsese, who used some of Kevin's music in the film, "Hugo" (2011). In addition, a documentary music dealing with Kevin's career, "Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod" was released on 2020. He also got an "International Web Video Award" in Germany for lifetime achievement in influencing the German web community.

I've only heard a couple of tracks of his music, but his whole story sounds pretty fascinating.


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  


Topic - I'm not even sure I'm posting this on the right forum - Chris from Lafayette 17:33:11 04/15/25 (0)


FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.