What are beat licenses?
When you buy beats or musical elements such as instruments, samples, loops or vocals online, you receive certain rights of use from the seller, which are set out in a contract or license. This license regulates how you may use the purchased musical element or beat.
It is important to note that an invoice or proof of purchase is not a contract or license. They merely confirm the purchase, but do not provide any information about the rights of use. If you have not received the license document, contact the seller to request it. Make sure that the license allows commercial use and unlimited streams and downloads.
Exclusive and non-exclusive licenses
Exclusive license
An exclusive license means that the beat may no longer be sold to third parties after purchase. This is particularly important for platforms such as TikTok, Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp and YouTube Content ID, which only allow exclusive content.
Non-exclusive license (leasing)
A non-exclusive license allows the beat producer to continue selling the beat to other customers. However, this type of license is not sufficient to publish content on the platforms mentioned above.
Special aspects of exclusive licenses
Unfortunately, the purchase of an exclusive license does not automatically guarantee that the beat is really exclusive. For example, the producer may have already sold the beat to other artists on a non-exclusive basis. The beat could also contain samples that are not exclusive. Most licenses stipulate that the licensee is responsible for clearing the rights to these samples.
Use of samples and monetization
Self-produced beats are considered non-exclusive if public samples, loops or natural sounds have been used. This also applies to royalty-free samples from platforms such as Splice or Looperman.
Do not activate the monetization of the YouTube Content ID if you have licensed a piece of music on a non-exclusive basis. This is usually specified in the contract or license. A "royalty-free" license means that you do not have to pay royalties for the exploitation, but you may not put your name in place of the original lyricist and/or composer.
Important notes
Pay attention to the figures for streams and downloads in your license.
Check the conditions for monetizing your music on platforms such as YouTube.
Check whether any publicly available loops/samples/vocals have been used in the beat (can often be detected with Shazam, for example)
If a copyrighted song was used as a sample, the general usage rights must be obtained (you can find more information here)
If you have any doubts about a license, a contract or the conditions of a store, please contact us at [email protected].
Summary
When purchasing beat licenses, it is important to fully understand the specific usage rights and to check whether the license is sufficient for the planned publication. Especially for platforms that require exclusive content, purchasing an exclusive license is essential. You should also ensure that all samples used are properly cleared to avoid legal issues.