Sound Playback

Sound playback is the process of playing audio or sound effects during shows. For Tech Crew shows, this is often done using QLab, of which the Tech Crew Macbook has a QLab 4 audio license.

Sound Effects (SFX)

Sound effects are often used in shows to make the show more realistic or create an atmosphere. They may also be linked or interacted with by the cast, such as phone or doorbell sound effects.

Music

Generally, any music should be downloaded locally in advance and played from the Tech Crew Macbook using QLab, along with any other SFX.

Whilst it is possible to use Spotify for music playback, this is technically against the Spotify Terms of Use which only allows personal, non-commercial use.

Spotify offer a service called Soundtrack Your Brand which can be used commercially - the university has a few old iPhones with licenses for this service, which can be requested when working with them on larger projects (such as the Christmas Lights Switch-on).

WAC Music Licensing

When working in the Warwick Arts Centre, we can use their license which allows music playback during the start/end of shows and intervals for free. Songs which are played during the show (or which are interacted with by cast) may require separate royalties, which are handled by the Arts Centre.

This is generally handled by the Arts Centre technicians in the meetings before the show.

Free SFX and Music Libraries

Some free libraries of sound effects and music include:

• Sonniss Game Audio Bundle (Tracklist) (Previous Years) - Soniss provide a collection of sound libraries, several of which are released for free each year for the Game Developers Conference. Can be used for any purpose (including commercial use) without attribution.
• BBC Sound Effects Library - although this cannot technically be used commercially and may require attribution.
• YouTube Audio Library - requires free YouTube account. May require attribution. Includes both SFX and music.
• Cymatics.fm - free music samples and presets.