Correction, 2026-10-01: an earlier version said Lyria 2 is 13 credits "per generation" and MiniMax Music 3 and ElevenLabs Music are 17 and 81 "per minute", then priced a minute of music from those figures. Lyria 2 returns a 30-second clip for 13, MiniMax Music 3 bills per second (17 is the 60-second price), and ElevenLabs Music bills per started minute. It also called a share of silent views "large" and named the most common licensing failure without a source. Fixed below.
Pick music against the structure of the edit, not against the mood of the brief. A track chosen because it feels right and then dropped onto a finished cut will fight the cut, because its build arrives at 0:18 and yours arrives at 0:22. The tracks that work are the ones whose shape matches the shape of the piece: where it lifts, where it drops out, where it ends.
Setup
Before searching for anything, write down four numbers: total runtime, where the hook ends, where the product appears, and where the call to action starts. Those are the moments the music has to serve. Searching a library by mood without them produces forty plausible tracks and no way to choose.
How to choose
Match the structure first, the genre second. A track with a build at the right moment in the wrong genre is more useful than a perfect-genre track that peaks in the wrong place. Genre can often be swapped; structure cannot.
Check the tempo against the cutting rhythm. If the edit cuts roughly every 1.5 seconds, a track at 80 BPM will feel sluggish under it. Count your average shot length and pick tempo accordingly.
Listen for space. Tracks with a dense mid-range fight voiceover. If the piece has narration, the music needs a hole in the frequency range where the voice sits.
Check the ending. Library tracks often end on a fade, and a 30-second ad needs a resolution at 30 seconds. A track with no usable ending means an edit that ends on a fade-out, which reads as unfinished.
Play it against the cut before deciding. Every track sounds good on its own. The only test that matters is the track under the picture.
The licensing routes
Subscription libraries. Predictable cost, broad catalogue, and the risk that a competitor uses the same track. Fine for volume social content.
Single-track licences. Priced by usage, exactly like a usage licence: media, territory, duration, exclusivity. This is where a "cheap track" becomes expensive at the paid-media stage.
Commissioned music. A composer writing to your cut. Most expensive, best fit, and the only route where the music can be genuinely distinctive.
Generated music. On 8frame, Lyria 2 is 13 credits for a 30-second clip, MiniMax Music 3 bills per second (9 credits for 30 seconds, 17 for 60), and ElevenLabs Music is 81 per started minute, so a 30-second bed costs 9 to 81 credits, roughly $0.09 to $0.81 at pack rate. Cheap enough to generate ten options against the cut and pick, which is the opposite of the usual workflow where you audition tracks in a library player without the picture.
When generated music is the right call
Volume social content, where the alternative is a library track eight other brands are using this month.
Beds and atmospheres, where the music sits under narration and does structural rather than emotional work.
Testing, before commissioning. Generate the shape you want and hand it to a composer as a reference, which is a far more useful brief than three adjectives.
Where it is the wrong call: anywhere the music is the idea. A campaign whose distinctiveness is its track needs a real track, and a filled-in bed will not carry it.
Common mistakes
Choosing the track before the edit exists. The edit then gets built to the music, which is fine for music videos and wrong for ads with a message.
Ignoring the mute case. Some of your audience will watch muted, so the piece must work without the track. See how to caption video for silent viewing.
Licensing for organic and then running paid. A common licensing failure, and an expensive one to discover after the media is booked.
FAQ
What tempo suits a 30-second ad? Match it to your average shot length rather than the genre. Faster cutting wants faster tempo; a 3-second average shot works comfortably around 90 to 110 BPM.
Can I use popular music in a brand video? Only with a commercial licence, which is expensive and slow. In-app music libraries can carry different rights for business accounts and ads, so check the platform's terms before you rely on one.
Is AI-generated music safe to use commercially? On 8frame, commercial use of output is cleared on paid plans. Terms differ by tool and by plan elsewhere (Udio's terms, for example, allow only personal, non-commercial use on every plan), so check before shipping. See AI music for ads.
Sources
- 8frame music prices (Lyria 2 13 per 30-second clip; MiniMax Music 3 per second, 9 for 30 s and 17 for 60 s; ElevenLabs Music 81 per started minute): 8frame back tool registry cost functions, origin/main, read 2026-10-01
- Udio terms of service, last revised November 12, 2025: udio.com/terms-of-service, checked 2026-10-01
Generate ten beds against the actual cut instead of auditioning library tracks blind.
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