Royalty-free music is music you can use in content without paying royalties to artists or rights holders every time it’s played. It isn’t free, may come as part of a subscription, and might not include all necessary rights. Epidemic Sound goes beyond royalty-free, giving users a direct license to a globally cleared music catalog.

You can use royalty-free music as background music for videos on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, TikTok, and more. Other common media projects where you can use your royalty-free music are on websites, in ads, in broadcasts and as background music in games, mobile apps, presentations, and more.

No, though the three terms are often used interchangeably.

• Copyright-free: No copyright exists on the track, so it can be used freely by anyone. Genuinely copyright-free music is rare.
• Royalty-free: You pay for the music once or via subscription, then don't pay a royalty every time it's played. A license is still required.
• License-free: Not a standardized term. It's sometimes used to mean copyright-free, and sometimes as marketing shorthand for royalty-free, so it's worth checking exactly what a provider means by it.
• Direct license (Epidemic Sound): Goes beyond all three. Epidemic Sound owns every right to its catalog, including public performance rights, so there's no third-party rights holder or Performing Rights Organization involved. Content published during an active subscription stays cleared, even after you cancel.

There are many websites that offer royalty-free music that you can use for your different projects. However, the music quality can vary a lot as well as the license agreements. Our music is produced by professionals and has very high quality.

Royalty-free music means that the music is free from any additional royalties. However, while the music may be free from royalties, it is usually not completely free of cost as you at first most likely need to buy the license.

Yes, you can use royalty-free music for commercial purposes, as long as you follow the terms and conditions specified by the licensor of the music. Epidemic Sound's royalty-free music can be used for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

It depends on the terms and conditions specified by the license provider. Some royalty-free stock music providers may require you to give credit to the artist, while others may not. Epidemic Sound does not require subscribers to give credit to any artists, although it’s highly appreciated.

As long as you have an active subscription and stick to your plan’s usage terms, you can use Epidemic Sound’s music on all major social media platforms, plus websites, podcasts, TV shows, movies, games, and more. Check your plan’s terms to see which use cases are covered.

An Epidemic Sound subscription includes access to the following tools:

• Studio: Video-to-audio tool that generates a synced soundtrack draft from your footage.
• Adapt: AI music editor for customizing a track's mood, instruments, length, and structure.
• Assistant: AI-powered music and sound effect search using natural language.
• Voiceovers: Create narration in multiple languages using voices built on real recordings from professional voice artists.
• Music discovery tools: Search by video, description, reference track, and Shazam.
• Music customization tools: Stems, segments, and versions.
• Plugins For Adobe Creative Cloud (Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition) and DaVinci Resolve Studio.
• Desktop app For MacOS and Windows.
• Mobile app For iOS and Android.

Epidemic Sound continuously develops new tools and improves existing ones, so the suite keeps expanding.