Using the right music for your content is key to going viral on YouTube.
A single trending track can make the difference between your video showing up in recommendations and searches – or disappearing into obscurity.
However, even if you know exactly what kind of music you want to use, there’s one major hurdle – copyright strikes that could get your video taken down and pose a serious threat to your monetization strategy.
That’s where music licensing services come in.
These services specialize in getting you the rights you need to use music in your content.
The best part? Creators using copyrighted music on YouTube enjoy double the views, 76% more likes, and 35% more watch time. If you’re a content creator striving for growth, using music your audience already knows and loves is a great opportunity to stand out and grow your channel.
However, how these services work differs between providers. Typically, you get a license for a single usage of a track, not to be re-used forever – unless it’s a subscription-based library. Even then, many services tend to restrict usage (for instance only allowing it for a social video, not for use in a commercial ad).
Sounds complex? We’ve got your back!
Here’s everything you need to know about the five best music licensing services out there – so that you can get the best tracks for your content, and steer clear of copyright strikes.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Quick Facts
- Music licensing services let you use music without copyright issues or royalty demands.
- Many have a large catalog of stock music, fewer let you access mainstream copyright music.
- That matters, because copyrighted, recognizable music can easily double your views.
- Lickd, Musicbed, and Music Vine are top options.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
Contents
Lickd
Topping our list is Lickd, the single best music licensing service out there.
Lickd is the secret weapon helping creators elevate their content with music from famous artists. We’re talking Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Green Day, Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, and so many more.
Copyright claim concerns are a thing of the past, as Lickd takes care of them all for you with YouTube-integrated software and a dedicated licensing team. Of course, they also have royalty-free music that rivals any other music platform. Their royalty-free music can be used unlimited on any social media platform, and is included in all of their subscription plans.
We love to see businesses actually fighting to get creators equal access to resources, allowing for more creative freedom and improved production quality. It’s so exciting that we can now all use popular music from our favorite artists to soundtrack videos!
Check out Lickd to see how using mainstream music could help you grow.
Pricing is based on two things: How many views your videos get, and how many mainstream tracks you want to use a month (in addition to the large stock music library). The subscription starts at $22.99 a month, which serves channels with less than 50K views per video, and includes one premium track credit per month. You can buy more credits if needed!
Lickd.co Pricing
- from $22.99/month
- Exclusive copyrighted music from famous artists
- Huge music catalog at 1.4 million tracks
- Proven to help creators grow
- They don’t have ALL artists/songs yet, as they’re still negotiating with labels
- Pay per track for copyrighted music
Artlist.io
Next up, there’s Artlist, a service you might have heard of before because of their heavy ad presence on YouTube and other platforms.
Artlist offers a broader range of assets for video creators specifically, not just tracks. In addition to royalty-free music, they also do pro-grade sound effects, video templates, LUTs, stock footage, and AI voiceovers. And, more recently, AI image and video generation.
However, their catalog is far smaller than Lickd’s – currently they have 28,000 songs (700,000 assets total). It also doesn’t give access to mainstream copyrighted music. The library is pretty good quality, but you won’t find famous artists or recognizable songs in there.
One handy feature they offer in return, though, are various plugins. For instance, you can connect it directly to Premiere Pro, giving you access to their asset library.
To give Artlist a test spin, you can create a free account, but the resulting videos will be visibly and audibly watermarked. To get the full benefits, you have to opt for a subscription (so there’s no per-track license fee).
Artlist’s subscription packages come with different asset classes (e.g. Music & SFX, or AI Voiceover, or the all-in-one Max) and different coverage. For instance, the Pro licenses cover every type of video, all over the world – including commercial usage. In contrast, a personal Social license covers your social media channels only.
Pricing starts at $9.99 per month for a basic Music & SFX license, though if you want to include commercial usage, that goes up to $24.99 per month. There are also Teams plans (up to 7 people) and custom enterprise plans (“Business”).
Artlist.io Pricing
- from $9.99/month
- Widely used
- Many integrations, including Premiere Pro
- Includes video features & assets too
- Complex license system
- Smaller catalogue than other providers
AudioJungle
In third place, there’s AudioJungle, which began as a community and a marketplace for “podsafe” audio – meaning music and SFX licensed to be royalty-free for podcasts in particular. It then became a more general music community and library.
Artists can upload and license their audio for a one-time fee, and users (podcasters especially at the start) can then use it in their works without fearing copyright infringement claims.
Today, AudioJungle is part of Envato, one of the largest digital asset services there is, and itself now owned by Shutterstock. Overall, there are more than 2.25 million tracks and clips on offer.
AudioJungle tracks can be licensed individually, at a cost starting from $1, through Envato Market. They come under a permissive commercial license. There are also genre packs with multiple tracks, samples, and even DAW source files.
While Envato does also offer subscription pricing, it only covers some 270,000 royalty-free tracks, which only partly overlap with the AudioJungle marketplace offer.
Audio Jungle Pricing
- per track or bundle, from $1
- Started out community-based
- Artists directly upload content
- Large library
- Now integrated into corporate structure
- Only royalty-free music
- Dated interface
- Highly variable prices
Musicbed
Another great music licensing service is Musicbed, which styles itself the largest collection of cinematic music curated for film, TV, and advertising.
It’s a bit of an advanced option, with more curation and granular usage coverage (and associated pricing). They don’t focus on SFX or samples or such.
In return, tracks frequently come in several versions, e.g. one with lyrics, one without, one played on the piano, and so on.
Plus, Musicbed offers several additional nifty features. One of them is a special service to resolve YouTube copyright claims should they come up. They also have advanced song search, where a dedicated team will go in search of the right track for you based on your specifications. Plus, if you really want a particular song, and it’s not in the catalog, they will negotiate with the artist or label on your behalf for a special license.
Musicbed’s pricing is flexible, but nuanced. You can license single tracks or pay a subscription. Subscriptions start at $29/month for Individual pricing, which is designed for freelance filmmakers, creators, and podcasters.
However, pricing is complex. The next-highest plan, for businesses, comes at $99/month – and depending on your channel size, you might have to opt for this one! Plus, depending on the song you want to license, you may have to pay up to $349!
Pros:
- Massive library
- Different varieties of the same song (instrumental/piano…)
- Copyright strike resolution service
Cons:
- Complex pricing
- Expensive
Musicbed Pricing
- from $29.99/month
- per-track fees vary
- Massive library
- Different varieties of the same song (instrumental/piano…)
- Copyright strike resolution service
- Complex pricing
- Expensive
Music Vine
Rounding out our list of the best music licensing services is Music Vine, which targets professionals and comes with a specific creator offer that lets you license songs for YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and more.
One of Music Vine’s advantages is their extensive styles and genre catalogue that comes with an advanced browsing option. They also offer an AI-based Playlist Generator that will pinpoint the perfect music for your content based on a scene description prompt.
Pricing is subscription-based and starts at the Creator Ambassador tier at $13.99 per month (billed annually, requires you to give credit in the video description). The Creator Standard tier – without attribution – starts at $19.99. Both prices are for creators generating up to $75,000 per year; the cost goes up beyond that.
For wider usage rights, Music Vine offers Pro licenses, which range between $19.99/month and $479.99/month.
If you only need to license a single track, Music Vine also offers per-use license options. Here, pricing depends on the track length, the coverage, the type of usage and the project budget / audience size.
Music Vine Pricing
- from $19.99/month
- from $13.99/month (with attribution)
- Creator-targeted offers
- AI-based search features
- Expensive depending on your audience size
- Smaller library than other providers
The Bottom Line
Finding the best music licensing services for your needs as a creator can take a little time and research. However, it’s well worth the effort.
Using the list above as a basis, you’ll be able to find the music license service that perfectly matches your creator profile. Going forward, it’ll be an invaluable asset in engaging your audience, growing your audience, and taking your channel to the next level.
FAQs
They use music licensing services like Lickd or Musicbed.
Content ID will detect it. The label might then take your ad revenue, file a copyright strike, or even issue a DMCA takedown.
These are tracks you pay a fixed fee for, or come as part of an audio asset subscription. It rarely ever includes popular copyrighted music.
Recognizable tunes typically cost well over $10,000 to license for full coverage. For social media use only, subscription services like Lickd make them available at some $20 a month.
No, not without a license. Content ID can flag even a few seconds’ worth of a popular track. The revenue then goes to the rightsholder, or you may get a copyright strike.
