Purchasing music for use as production music for film, television and video projects, or as background music for different projects and companies as well as music on-hold for personal and professional telephone systems can be a time-consuming and very expensive endeavor. Because many businesses do not have the money to spend on on-going music royalties, many are turning to libraries of royalty free music to fulfill their many musical needs.

While royalty free music is certainly a convenient and inexpensive option for those in search of bulk music for their restaurants, not all royalty free music is created equal. Music from major providers such as Award Winning Music is an affordable and premium music choice for all types of professionals. The following are five characteristics to look for in high quality royalty background music, production music, and music on-hold to help insure it will enhance a business or projects mission and communicate its purpose and style without reducing its value:

1. Good make that excellent -- sound quality. The sound quality of the music you are listening to will be the first and most noticeable element. If the music has been recorded under optimal conditions, you will hear a perfect balance between bass and treble, as well as consistent sound and texture regardless of the volume at which you are listening to the music. Similarly, you will be able to pick out the individual sounds of different instruments as they blend to create the whole piece.

2. Instruments that sound true-to-life. Similar to excellent sound quality, the best royalty free music ideally uses real instruments and not those that are synthesized. And if they must be synthesized, they should sound just like their original instruments and not like hollow versions of themselves. Most people have at some point heard instrumental pieces in the grocery store, in an elevator or used as on-hold music for major companies that sound no more textured than a sub-par demo on a low-end keyboard. The best royalty free music will have depth to it, and will demonstrate the many capabilities of the violins, cellos, percussion, electric guitars or brass instruments it incorporates.

3. Original musical themes that still evoke familiar tunes. One of the many benefits of royalty free music is that is an inexpensive way for film producers and directors to use original-sounding production music in their films, television programs and video projects. But, not all providers of royalty free music enlist the best composers and musicians (or, if it is purely digital, any trained composers or musicians at all!) to create their repertoire. First-rate royalty free music will sound original, yet be reminiscent of favorite songs. Stylistically and technically, it will make sense and fit into the grand scheme of a project while still making it unique. It will have rhyme and reason to it, and will therefore sound as though someone composed it for the specific film or project and will resonate in the minds and hearts of each listener and create a true emotional response.

4. Well-composed music by musicians and artists with real credentials. Great royalty free music sites will provide credentials for the composers and performers they enlist, and their artistry will shine through in the finished product. A purveyor of beautifully and carefully crafted background music, on-hold music and production music will be able to give the history of the artists involved in the design and production of the music, and this history will include collaborations with major artists in the genre of the type of music being composed.

5. A diverse yet still versatile music library. The best royalty free music will offer diverse styles that run the gamut of musical tastes. Genres of music might involve classical, jazz, different types of rock and roll, New Age and some progressive styles such as Hip-Hop and techno/dance music. But even within the more traditional styles of music, such as classical, there will be selections that appeal to younger listeners with typically more modern musical tastes, just as within the more cutting-edge styles, there will be pieces that can be enjoyed by even those that would not normally listen to techno and Hip-Hop.

Looking for these basic characteristics when shopping for royalty free music will help discriminating professionals select the perfect production music, music on-hold or background music to suit their very specific projects.