What are Loops in Music? Is It a Legal Way to “Cheat”?

Creating music involves many factors and aspects, and as an aspiring music producer, you might be confused about the elements you’re incorporating into your musical creation.

Whether you’re creating music for a hit, as background for your website, or for animation, loops in music can enrich any musical composition.

So what are loops in music? Is it wrong to use presets in a musical production?

When should you use them, and when is it best to avoid loops? You will find the answers to these questions by reading this article.

What are Loops in Music?

Loops are repeated sections of music. This is a duplicated or repeated audio file that can be a couple of seconds to 15 or 3ven 30 seconds long.

This short music section can be played by a real instrument, created by a sound effect, a synth, or a mixture of all three. A loop can be edited to loop endlessly from the end and back to the beginning.

Any aspiring music producer would be interested in learning how the experts do their job, and they will probably see how loops work to make music more unique.

Loops can bring a lot of texture and body to your music, and are used by some of the world’s biggest music producers. This means, if used correctly, there’s nothing legally or ethically wrong about using loops and presets in music.

However, some old and new music producers and artists are still skeptical about using them. They don’t feel comfortable about using music created by someone else, even if they’re not getting into legal trouble.

Loops can be sold online, edited, and then chopped to create beats. Presets are saved settings that allow you to use a particular sound or effect to make music.

A loop is usually a short one, but if it’s long enough, it might have a bridge. However, a loop with a bridge actually cancels the purpose of using a loop in the first place.

This is why most artists and music producers choose to edit the bridge and use it as a separate music loop. You can use the loops and bridges alternatively.

Is Using Loops Bad?

The use of loops is related to the preferences of the music producers. Some producers frown upon the use of loops and presets in their music production because they think that they’re not creative. It’s like borrowing an element created by another creative artist.

But for a beginner or medium-level producer, loops can help you create a lot of music. Your audience can easily recognize loops and presets, so they know that they might have heard this music before.

However, as long as you’re doing something different with your music, it will be your unique musical creation.

Presets are actually more versatile than loops because you can adjust specific settings in the synth you’re using to modify a preset and create something that is totally different from the original preset.

The only problem happens when you don’t spend enough time editing the presets to make them your own.

When not edited or manipulated, someone will realize that you’ve copied a part of a song or melody sooner or later. However, as long as you’re not directly copying other people’s work, you will be safe.

What Are Royalty-Free Loops?

Royalty-free loops are not totally free. They’re available as samples on different websites, so you can choose the right loops to include in your musical production.

If you’re using royalty-free loops, you’re looking for a one-time payment, so you can use the loops without worrying about any future fees, whether the record you produce becomes a success or not.

Royalty-free loops also put no restrictions on the reason or purpose of using the loops, so you can use them in a game you’re developing, as an addition to your music, or as a piece of background music for your website.

However, if this is the case, you will have to pay for these loops and presets. You can’t use samples posted on a website, even though they are for royalty-free loops, without a written agreement that entitles you to do so.

Why Should You Use Loops in Your Music?

The biggest challenge that people face when they’re using loops is that they fear that they would be accused of creating unoriginal music.

This is more common in using loops than presets because there are no artificial settings that you can manipulate to create new music. However, there are several situations where using loops will actually be a valuable addition to your musical composition.

• New music producers and composers use loops for inspiration. They can be confused about the right percussion or synth to use to enhance their music due to a lack of experience. But adding a loop will help them get the good texture and pattern they need to enhance their melodies.
• Loops will come in handy when you’re in a hurry. If you want to add a specific effect to your musical composition, even if you lack the experience needed to play a particular instrument, a loop will be your next best option. This will also provide a great room for experimentation, so you can add various effects to your music.
• You can actually test and see how your music will sound before it’s actually produced. By adding different loops and editing them, you will save a lot of time, money, and effort.
• A loop is a budget-friendly digital tool that you can use to enhance your music. You don’t need any equipment or prior setup. All you need is a reliable software program and your digital audio workstation. The time needed to experiment with mixing and editing various loops will teach you more about choosing the best ones.
• Drum loops are quite common, especially in electronic music to add more personality. When you’re producing music, you can create your drums, then add a top loop to add more texture and body to the music. Top loops are low and might not be easily recognized, but they will make the music more textured.
• There are lots of applications available to edit and personalize loops. They eliminate all the complexities of the musical production, allowing you to focus on the crucial elements in the loop.
• Loops are easy to edit. You can use a loop with any audio editing software, so the music won’t stop playing as long as you need it to. For example, if you’re producing music for a video game, you can easily adjust the length of the audio to match the duration of the video.
• Loops are always used in video gameswhere limiting the size of the audio file is essential. You can have audio playing all the time the application is running without occupying a large space that can affect the performance of your game.
• A loop is a good way to help you get creative. You already have a base that you can work with, so it’s an excellent way to create your own music. Since the loop is already existing, adding fresh ideas can be an easier job.
• You can use a loop as audio background for your website. It will keep on playing until the visitor leaves your webpage.
• Loops are currently popular and will continue to be so in the future. They’re extremely flexible, and this made them quite popular in the mobile phone industry. It’s expected that they will be part of future music genres.

When Shouldn’t You Use Loops?

In some cases, loops might not be that desirable to use. Here are some situations where you should think carefully before using loops.

• You can use loops to add some personality to your music, but they shouldn’t be used to build all of your music from scratch. If you’re simply using presets and loops in your music without adding any creative elements that you’ve created by yourself, you will be copying someone else’s work.
• If you can’t get your hands on royalty-free loops, you might get into legal trouble. You might not be well-informed regarding the legal aspect of creating music and using loops, but this doesn’t mean that you will be off the hook if you’re not using royalty-free loops. As a matter of fact, someone might sue you, and you end up paying a lot of money because you’ve used the music they’ve created.
• You might be actually using royalty-free loops to guarantee that there will be legal or financial issues. But if your record becomes a hit, the producer of the original loop will ask for a cut. Unfortunately, this is quite common, especially among younger music producers who don’t know how to avoid these issues.

Where Can You Download Loops?

There are lots of websites where you can find royalty-free loops. You can find several samples of royalty-free loops at royaltyfreemusicclips.com/ that you can listen to and choose from.

Each loop is briefly described, and there’s a preview that artists can listen to. However, to get the best version of the loop when you pay for it.