Blog
Why royalty-free usually isn't
People aren't in the habit of refusing money that's due to them - not least musicians, who are often poorly remunerated for their efforts. We may have all come to expect endless free content nowadays, but the overwhelming majority of tracks are still copyrighted in one way or another, and there are enough mechanisms and laws in place around the world to catch you out if you try to sneak someone else's song into your video or event.
"Royalty-free" is a convenient way to describe a certain category of music where royalties are not paid for by the end user. They're still liable, but you don't have to worry about them. When you license a "royalty-free" song from a company, or if you join a subscription service to download multiple tracks throughout the year, it's those companies who are paying the royalties on your behalf.
This is because the overwhelming majority of tracks are copyrighted in one way or another, and musicians are often very poorly remunerated for their efforts – they're not likely to choose not to receive payment that is due to them for their work.
If you license a royalty-free backing track for your vlog, once you upload the video, the relevant intermediary will communicate with YouTube to ensure that for a certain number plays of your video, the original author will receive the agreed rate.
Soundvase (along with sister services Beathunterz and EDM Ghost Production) are no different: We make the payments, so you don't have to. Except, when you buy a track from us, you can be sure no-one else has ever used or will ever use it. You can own one of the no-copyright tracks from our carefully curated selection with a single one-off payment and get your video uploaded today, peace of mind guaranteed.
"Royalty-free" is a convenient way to describe a certain category of music where royalties are not paid for by the end user. They're still liable, but you don't have to worry about them. When you license a "royalty-free" song from a company, or if you join a subscription service to download multiple tracks throughout the year, it's those companies who are paying the royalties on your behalf.
This is because the overwhelming majority of tracks are copyrighted in one way or another, and musicians are often very poorly remunerated for their efforts – they're not likely to choose not to receive payment that is due to them for their work.
If you license a royalty-free backing track for your vlog, once you upload the video, the relevant intermediary will communicate with YouTube to ensure that for a certain number plays of your video, the original author will receive the agreed rate.
Soundvase (along with sister services Beathunterz and EDM Ghost Production) are no different: We make the payments, so you don't have to. Except, when you buy a track from us, you can be sure no-one else has ever used or will ever use it. You can own one of the no-copyright tracks from our carefully curated selection with a single one-off payment and get your video uploaded today, peace of mind guaranteed.