For brand films, explainers, weddings & tributes · Composition and recording cleared · Buy once from €29.90
Piano Music for Video
Piano for video is a question of the scene: an explainer needs a few sustained chords that leave room for the voice, a brand film a slow build to the logo, a memorial slideshow a gentle phrase per photo. Here are solo-piano originals — mainly by Paul Lorenz — and the public-domain canon (Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart) in our own recordings, matched to the video you are cutting. Each is licensed for €29.90 once: composition and recording cleared, worldwide, for life, client work and paid ads included.
Curated by Paul Lorenz — composer, arranger & conductor · his Violin Concerto No. 2 recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios · Vienna State Opera
500M+ streams · Gold & Double Platinum · Instant download · Lifetime worldwide license
Piano Music for Video: hand-picked & sync-ready
Listen, then license: €29.90 per track, one-time · worldwide, for life · instant WAV download
The Person Behind the Platform
Paul Lorenz
Founder & CEO · Composer
“I spent 30 years inside the music industry — Abbey Road, the London Symphony Orchestra, the major labels — and watched composers get paid fractions of their worth. Artyfile is the platform I wished existed: investment-grade music, owned outright, with composers who finally share in the upside.”
- 30 years in music — over 500 million streams across his catalog
- Collaborations with Universal Music, Sony Music & Warner
- Composes for the London Symphony Orchestra — his Violin Concerto No. 2 recorded at Abbey Road Studios
- Founder-owned: a named composer behind the catalog, not an anonymous library
Piano scene matcher · pick your video
Which piano track fits your video?
A brand film, an explainer and a memorial slideshow want three different kinds of piano — and under a voice-over the wrong one fights every word. Pick what you are cutting: we match the style, the tempo, how it sits under speech, the edit — and name two real tracks from the catalogue.
Brand story, charity & emotional film
Piano style
Emotional solo piano with a slow build
Tempo
Slow to medium
Under a voice-over?
Strongest without narration; with a voice-over, start the build after the first sentence
How to cut it
Open on single notes under the first shots, let the build carry the montage, land the logo on the final chord — the natural decay of the last note is your fade-out.
Why it works
The emotional lift people expect from a famous piano piece, in an original by Paul Lorenz with a registered ISWC — documented rights instead of a piece no library can sell you.
Try these tracks
Bis wir uns wiedersehen (Paul Lorenz) · Höhenflug (Paul Lorenz)
The piano-for-video cheat-sheet: style, tempo, voice-over fit and tracks by scene
| What are you cutting? | Piano style | Tempo | Under a voice-over? | Try these tracks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand story, charity & emotional film | Emotional solo piano with a slow build | Slow to medium | Strongest without narration; with a voice-over, start the build after the first sentence | Bis wir uns wiedersehen (Paul Lorenz) · Höhenflug (Paul Lorenz) |
| Explainer, tutorial & corporate voice-over | Sparse, steady piano — few notes, no busy melody | Slow, around 60–62 BPM | Yes — if it stays sparse; keep it about 18–22 dB below the voice | Close (Paul Lorenz, 62 BPM) · Calm Thoughts (Paul Lorenz, 60 BPM) |
| Memorial, tribute & farewell slideshow | Gentle, reflective solo piano | Slow | Works under a spoken tribute at low level | A Long Way (Paul Lorenz) · Alone (Paul Lorenz) |
| Wedding, proposal & love story | Tender, romantic piano | Slow to medium, around 65 BPM | Yes — under vows and speeches, keep it soft | Bei dir sein (Paul Lorenz) · Dinner for Two (Paul Lorenz, 65 BPM) |
| Documentary, drama & period scene | Melancholic, expressive piano — classical repertoire for period settings | Slow, with free rubato | Yes for the reflective passages; drop it for interview bites | Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor (Chopin) · Rainy Days (Paul Lorenz) |
| Luxury, hotel, real estate & fine dining | Elegant, flowing piano with a light rhythm | Medium; up to around 118 BPM for walkthroughs | Yes — elegant piano is the classic bed for a property or hotel voice-over | Clair de Lune (Debussy) · Piano Nights (David Whitman, 118 BPM) |
| Calm, study, meditation & yoga | Slow, spacious, minimal piano | Very slow — from 45 BPM to around 60 | Yes — guided meditations and study videos need exactly this | Meditation (Paul Lorenz, 45 BPM) · Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven) |
| Playful, kids, comedy & cooking | Light, quick classical piano | Fast | Better without narration — fast notes compete with speech | Minute Waltz (Chopin) · Rondo alla Turca (Mozart) |
The famous-piano-piece trap
Can I use Einaudi, “Comptine d’un autre été” or “Kiss the Rain” in my video?
Not without a sync licence from the music publisher — and that applies even if you play the piece yourself. The modern piano favourites people reach for first are in copyright: their composers are alive, the composition belongs to a publisher, and a sync licence is not compulsory, so the publisher can refuse or name any price; there is no public price list. Recording your own cover does not solve it: on YouTube, publishers claim cover videos through Content ID, and the cover revenue-share programme only splits ad revenue — it is not a licence for a client film or an ad. What you can use: the piano canon (Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart) is public domain as composition — but every recording of it has its own rights, which is exactly what our licence covers.
- •Ludovico Einaudi’s catalogue is published exclusively by Chester Music (Wise Music) — “Nuvole Bianche”, “Una Mattina” and “Experience” are licensed by request, not at a checkout.
- •A recording is protected separately from the composition — in the EU for 70 years from publication (Germany: §85 UrhG). A free upload of “Clair de Lune” only helps if whoever recorded it has granted you the recording rights too.
- •Public-domain classical recordings have been flagged by Content ID, because labels register their own recordings of the same works. Owning a licensed recording plus a licence certificate is what lets you dispute such a match.
The modern piano favourites — in copyright, licensed only by the publisher
| Piece | Composer | Rights |
|---|---|---|
| Nuvole Bianche (2004) | Ludovico Einaudi (b. 1955) | Chester Music / Wise Music — sync on request |
| Una Mattina (2004) | Ludovico Einaudi (b. 1955) | Chester Music / Wise Music — sync on request |
| Experience (2013) | Ludovico Einaudi (b. 1955) | Chester Music / Wise Music — sync on request |
| Comptine d’un autre été (2001, “Amélie”) | Yann Tiersen (b. 1970) | Ici d’ailleurs / BMG Music Publishing France (per the published score) |
| Kiss the Rain (2003) | Yiruma (b. 1978) | Universal Music Publishing Group (per sheet-music listings) |
Each needs the publisher’s sync licence for your specific use — and, if you use an existing recording, a master licence from the label as well.
The piano canon you can use — public domain as composition, licensed as our recording
Every row below is public domain as a composition in the EU, the UK and the US (composer died more than 70 years ago, published before 1930) — and every row links to our own recording, licensed for video in one checkout.
| Work | Composer (died) | Our recording |
|---|---|---|
| Clair de Lune | Claude Debussy (1918) | Solo piano |
| Moonlight Sonata | Ludwig van Beethoven (1827) | Solo piano |
| Für Elise | Ludwig van Beethoven (1827) | Solo piano |
| Sonata Pathétique, Adagio cantabile | Ludwig van Beethoven (1827) | Solo piano |
| Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor | Frédéric Chopin (1849) | Solo piano |
| Minute Waltz, Op. 64 No. 1 | Frédéric Chopin (1849) | Solo piano |
| Rondo alla Turca | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791) | Solo piano |
| Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15 | Johannes Brahms (1897) | Solo piano |
| Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488 — Adagio | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791) | Piano and orchestra |
Piano music for video: what each source actually gives you
| Famous modern piece | Your own cover of it | Free public-domain upload | Artyfile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composition rights | Publisher’s sync licence, per use, on request | Still the publisher’s sync licence | Public domain — free | Our original works, or public domain |
| Recording rights | Label’s master licence | Yours | Depends on who recorded it and what they grant | Included — our recording |
| Price | No public price list; can be refused | Your time + the publisher’s fee | €0 | €29.90 once per track |
| Client film, ad or paid campaign | Separate negotiation per campaign | Only with the publisher’s licence | Only if the licence of the upload allows it | Included: unlimited own and client productions |
| Monetised YouTube video | Rights holder’s Content ID claim | Publisher claims covers via Content ID | Labels’ recordings of the same work can be matched | Covered. Artyfile’s monetisation claim may appear; it is not a copyright strike — with Basic the music’s ad revenue goes to Artyfile |
| Proof of rights | Your contract | None for the composition | Usually none | Licence certificate with every purchase |
| Can you own the master? | No | — | No | Yes — Limited Edition: a numbered 1 % share from €69.90 |
What we say no to — out loud
- –Playing piano music in your hotel lobby, restaurant, shop or at an event is public performance, not sync: the venue settles that with GEMA / its collection society, with any music — our licence covers putting the recording into your video.
- –We do not sell sound-alikes of Einaudi, Tiersen or Yiruma. Every original licensable here is a registered work, mostly by Paul Lorenz, a few by David Whitman; every classical piece is public domain as composition, in our own recording.
- –A few recordings in our catalogue are Cover Editions of songs written by others. They are sold only as Limited Edition master shares, never with a sync licence, and never appear in this collection.
You don’t need the famous piece. You need piano music you are allowed to keep.
Every piano track you can license on this page is €29.90 once — worldwide, for life, unlimited own and client productions, organic posts and paid ads, with a licence certificate. Composed by people, never AI-generated. Artyfile administers sync and master rights itself, so no additional collection-society fee lands on the licence.
Will piano music fight my voice-over?
Only if the piece is busy. Speech carries its intelligibility in roughly the 1–4 kHz range — the same region as the piano’s middle register — so a dense melody competes with every word. What works under narration:
- Sparse and sustained — a few held chords, not a running melody. Close (62 BPM) and Calm Thoughts (60 BPM) are written this way.
- About 18–22 dB below the voice — the piano should be felt more than heard. YouTube turns loud uploads down to around −14 LUFS, so mix for balance, not volume.
- Bring it up where nobody talks — B-roll, transitions and the final logo.
How to cut piano to picture
- At 60 BPM a 4/4 bar lasts exactly 4 seconds. Cut slides, photos and scene changes on the bar line and the edit feels composed, not pasted.
- A 15-second spot is about four bars at 64 BPM — pick a phrase that resolves inside it rather than fading mid-sentence.
- Use the natural decay. A held final note rings for several seconds; let it carry the logo instead of a hard fade.
- Rubato pieces (Chopin, Debussy) have no fixed grid — cut on the phrase endings.
The scene matcher above maps eight common video types to a style, a tempo, the voice-over fit and two real tracks each.
Which piano music fits which video?
- Brand story, charity, emotional film — slow builds: Bis wir uns wiedersehen, Höhenflug
- Explainer, tutorial, corporate voice-over — sparse and steady: Close, Calm Thoughts
- Memorial and tribute slideshow — gentle and reflective: A Long Way, Alone — more on the memorial music page
- Wedding, proposal, love story — tender: Bei dir sein, Dinner for Two — see also romantic music for videos
- Documentary and period scenes — Chopin: Nocturne No. 20, Rainy Days
- Hotel, luxury and real estate — Debussy: Clair de Lune, Piano Nights
- Calm, study, meditation — Meditation (45 BPM), Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Why is there no checkout for the famous modern piano pieces?
Because only their publishers can license them. Ludovico Einaudi, Yann Tiersen and Yiruma are living composers; their works are licensed for video by their publishers, on request, with no public price list — and that applies even when you play the piece yourself, because a cover still uses the composition. On YouTube, publishers claim cover videos through Content ID. What you can license in one checkout: piano originals written for exactly these moods, and the public-domain canon in our own recordings.
Is classical piano music copyright-free?
The composition is, when the composer died more than 70 years ago — Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Brahms. The recording is not: every performance has its own rights (in the EU 70 years from publication). That is why a “free” upload of Clair de Lune can still be claimed. Our licence covers both layers for Clair de Lune, Moonlight Sonata, Für Elise, Nocturne No. 20 and the rest of the canon — the full list is in the public-domain classical rights table.
What does a piano licence cost and cover?
Basic — €29.90 once per track. Synchronisation and master rights, worldwide, for life: unlimited own and client productions, YouTube, social, websites, podcasts, paid ads, film and broadcast, with a 44.1 kHz WAV and a licence certificate. No subscription, no renewal. Artyfile administers sync and master rights itself, so no additional collection-society fee lands on the licence. Artyfile registers its catalogue in YouTube Content ID with a monetisation policy: a claim may appear, it is not a copyright strike, and with Basic the music’s ad revenue goes to Artyfile. For a YouTube Shorts campaign, ask us before you buy — a licence does not automatically release a claim.
Not covered by any sync licence: playing music in a hotel lobby, restaurant, shop or at an event. That is public performance, which the venue settles with GEMA or its collection society, as with any music.
Who wrote these piano pieces?
Most originals are by Paul Lorenz — composer and arranger with more than 500 million streams and Gold and Double Platinum records — released under artist names such as Paul Lang, Artyfile and DJ BestMix; a few are by David Whitman. River Flows In You, for example, is a Paul Lorenz original recorded by Paul Lang on a Steinway & Sons D-274 concert grand. They are composed by people, never AI-generated — most carry a registered ISWC. The classical pieces are our own recordings of public-domain works.
Can I own a share of a piano track?
Yes — with Limited Edition: €69.90 per 1 % share of the master recording, a maximum of 20 numbered shares per track, entered in Artyfile’s ownership register. It includes the Basic licence plus a pro-rata share of the recording’s streaming, Content ID and sync revenue; earnings may be zero, and it is not an investment product. See how ownership works.
Related hubs
Classical music for videos · Romantic music for videos · Music for wedding videos · Memorial & tribute music · Calm background music · Music for corporate videos · Music for real estate videos · Music for documentaries
Cost comparison · buy once vs subscribe
Buy the tracks you use — or rent a whole library forever?
How many tracks will you actually use?
Same tracks, priced two ways
Artyfile — buy once
One-time · keep every track for life · reuse in unlimited future videos · safe everywhere
€149.50
one-time · yours for life
Subscription library
Recurring — only valid while you keep paying; stop and you can’t use the tracks in anything new
€432–€720 over 3 yr
recurring
“Free” / royalty-free
No upfront cost, but risk of a Content ID claim, no off-platform licence and nothing you own
€0
risk later
From €149.50 one-time — versus €432–€720 to rent. And every Artyfile track is yours for life.
Subscription figures are typical market ranges for the major libraries’ personal and commercial plans and vary by tier and term. Only Artyfile’s price is exact: €29.90 per track, one time, with sync + master cleared together — no extra GEMA fees, subject to YouTube Content ID rules.
Why Artyfile
Originals & the classical canon, not sound-alikes
Registered piano works mainly by Paul Lorenz (500M+ streams, Gold & Double Platinum records) plus Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin & Mozart in our own recordings. Composed by people, never AI-generated.
Composition AND recording cleared
Sync & master rights directly from Artyfile, worldwide & for life — client projects and paid ads included. A Content ID claim may appear; it is not a copyright strike.
Made to sit under a voice-over
Sparse, calm pieces around 60 BPM for explainers, emotional builds for brand films — every track previewable in full before you buy.
€29.90 once, no subscription
No monthly fee, no renewal, instant 44.1 kHz WAV download with a licence certificate. Or own a numbered share of the master with Limited Edition.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Ludovico Einaudi’s music in my YouTube video?
Only with a sync licence from his publisher, Chester Music (Wise Music), requested for your specific use — there is no public price list, and the publisher can decline. That also applies to a cover you play yourself: the composition is still Einaudi’s, and on YouTube publishers claim cover videos through Content ID. If you need that mood with documented rights today, license a piano original or a public-domain piece in our recording for €29.90 once.
Is Clair de Lune copyright-free for videos?
The composition is public domain — Debussy died in 1918. Every recording of it has its own rights, though (in the EU 70 years from publication), so a free upload is only safe if the performer or label has granted you the recording rights. Artyfile licenses its own recording of Clair de Lune with sync and master rights for €29.90 once.
What piano music works under a voice-over?
Sparse, sustained piano — a few held chords rather than a running melody, around 60 BPM, mixed about 18–22 dB below the voice. Speech intelligibility sits roughly in the 1–4 kHz range, where the piano’s middle register also sounds, so busy melodies compete with the words. Close (62 BPM) and Calm Thoughts (60 BPM) are written for exactly that.
How much does it cost to license piano music for a video?
€29.90 once per track with the Basic licence: synchronisation and master rights, worldwide, for life, unlimited own and client productions including paid ads, with a 44.1 kHz WAV and a licence certificate. No subscription. Limited Edition adds a numbered 1 % share of the master from €69.90.
Will my video get a Content ID claim on YouTube?
It can. Artyfile registers its catalogue in YouTube Content ID with a monetisation policy: a claim may appear, it is not a copyright strike, and with the Basic licence the music’s ad revenue goes to Artyfile rather than to your channel. For a YouTube Shorts campaign, ask us before you buy — a licence does not automatically release a claim.
Can I use this piano music in client work and paid ads?
Yes. The Basic licence covers unlimited own and client productions — brand films, explainers, wedding films delivered to the couple, real-estate and hotel videos, organic posts and paid campaigns — worldwide and without time limit.
Is the piano music AI-generated?
No. The originals are registered works, mostly by Paul Lorenz and a few by David Whitman, composed by people; the classical pieces are our own recordings of public-domain works by Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart and Brahms.
Can I play this piano music in my hotel, restaurant or shop?
That is not what a sync licence covers. Playing music to guests is public performance, which the venue settles with GEMA or its collection society, as with any music. Our licence covers putting the recording into your video.