/add-music

name: add-music
description: Generate background music and add it to your Remotion project. Describe the mood/genre you want, and this will generate a commercially licensed track with Eleven Music (official ElevenLabs music skill) and wire it into your composition with proper fade in/out.

Add Music — Generate & Integrate Background Music

You are helping the user add background music to their Remotion project.

**Load the `remotion-production` skill** for the `music-scoring` and `audio-integration` rules, and the official ElevenLabs **`music`** skill (`npx skills add elevenlabs/skills`) for the API details.

Workflow

1. Understand the Mood

If not already described, ask the user:

• **Genre** — Electronic, jazz, classical, lo-fi, ambient, rock, orchestral, pop?
• **Mood** — Upbeat, calm, dramatic, inspiring, playful, cinematic?
• **Tempo** — Fast, medium, slow?
• **Vocals** — Instrumental only (recommended for background), or with vocals?

2. Generate Music

Generate with Eleven Music (`music_v2_5`). It's cleared for commercial use on paid ElevenLabs plans, and the Music API needs one.

1. If `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` isn't set for the project, run `npx -y @elevenlabs/cli@latest onboard init` from the project root and follow what it prints. Never ask for the key in chat. 2. `npm i @elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js`, then add a `music` entry to `scripts/generate-audio.ts` (create it from the `audio-integration` rule if it doesn't exist):

const music = [
  { name: "music-bg", prompt: "[genre] background music, [mood], [tempo], [additional descriptors]", lengthMs: 30_000 },
];

3. Set `lengthMs` to the video length plus a few seconds (measure the voiceover first if there is one). The script forces instrumental output; for a track with vocals, set `forceInstrumental: false`. 4. Run `node scripts/generate-audio.ts` from the project root. The track lands at `public/music-bg.mp3`. To regenerate it, delete the file and run the script again.

**Good prompt examples:**

• "upbeat electronic background music, energetic, modern tech startup vibe"
• "calm acoustic guitar, warm and friendly, coffee shop atmosphere"
• "epic cinematic orchestral, building tension and release, trailer style"
• "chill lo-fi hip hop beats, relaxed and dreamy, study music vibe"

Don't name artists, bands or song lyrics in the prompt; Eleven Music rejects them and suggests a rewording.

**Alternatives:**

• The **ElevenLabs MCP** `compose_music` tool is deprecated (archived upstream) but still ships for quick interactive one-offs. It writes into `public/`; rename its output to `music-bg.mp3`.
• **KIE `generate_music`** (remotion-media, Suno) for cheap drafts: `prompt`, `output_name: music-bg`, `instrumental: true`. Suno and the other KIE-resold models aren't licensed by their owners through KIE. Use KIE audio for drafts and internal work, and generate final commercial audio with ElevenLabs.

3. Wire into Composition

Place it with `<Audio>` from `@remotion/media` (install with `npx remotion add @remotion/media`), following the official `remotion-markup` skill (audio.md), with fade in/out:

import { Audio } from "@remotion/media";
import { interpolate, staticFile, useCurrentFrame, useVideoConfig } from "remotion";

const frame = useCurrentFrame();
const { durationInFrames, fps } = useVideoConfig();

<Audio
  src={staticFile("music-bg.mp3")}
  volume={interpolate(
    frame,
    [0, fps, durationInFrames - 2 * fps, durationInFrames],
    [0, 0.25, 0.25, 0],
    { extrapolateLeft: "clamp", extrapolateRight: "clamp" },
  )}
/>

4. Adjust for Voiceover (if present)

If the project has a voiceover, implement volume ducking — lower music to 0.1 during narration, 0.3 during silent parts. See `audio-integration` rule for the pattern.

5. Preview in Studio

If Studio isn't running, start it with `npx remotion studio` (or `--no-open` with an in-app browser, then open the URL it prints). Ask the user to listen there. Don't render unless they ask for an MP4.

Offer adjustments:

• Volume too loud/quiet?
• Wrong mood? Change the prompt, delete `public/music-bg.mp3` and run the script again.
• Music too short? Regenerate with a longer `lengthMs`, or add `loop` to the `<Audio>`.
• Need different music for different sections? Add more `music` entries (`music-intro`, `music-main`, …) and give each `<Audio>` its own `from` and `durationInFrames`, or use a composition plan (official `music` skill) for one track with sections.