In short, the question of ‘how much does a music license cost’ is a difficult one to answer, because it’s driven by so many different things. Currently, we offer several different products to meet the varying needs of our clients including Subscription plans, Micro licenses (Single song licenses), Traditional licenses (Custom licenses), as well as Custom Music.
The potential viewership of the project is the major driving factor behind the cost of a license, however, the variances are limitless, eventually running into Custom licenses, in which the costs are negotiated not only on potential viewership but also the particular song being used and where the project is being distributed.
What are typical music licensing fees?
Subscription Plans
Our Subscription plans are a great option for clients who plan to do multiple video projects. You can explore our Subscription plans here. If you'd like a full breakdown of our plans and what they include, you can read more in this article, or you are welcome to reach out to us anytime!
Micro Licenses (Single song licenses)
Micro licenses refer to any licenses that can be issued at a click of a button from our website. The prices have already been negotiated, and are set based on what type of project you are working on. As a general rule, micro licenses apply to projects for companies under 250 people that have a small paid advertising budget ($5,000 or less for single song). The combinations of projects and micro licensing fees are numerous.
Just a note: we don't use the size of a company to exploit their budget. The size of the company helps us predict what the potential viewership will be. As for micro licensing, the particular song chosen does not affect the price — it is determined purely through potential viewership.
Traditional Licenses (Custom licenses)
Traditional licensing, also known as Custom licensing has no set price. While our team does have guidelines for negotiating a price, it’s ultimately determined after discussions with our clients. When a license is for a company that has more than 250 employees, or if the license is being used alongside more than $5,000 in paid advertising, this requires a negotiation discussion with an Account Executive. This doesn’t necessarily mean a higher price (although this usually is the case) but applies more to the type of transaction needed for a legal license. Once again, the size of the company is meant to determine viewership, not take advantage of a budget. Feel free to request a quote.
Custom Music
Custom Music, like Custom Licensing, has no set price. Our Custom Music team will go through a process of negotiation with the client based on the needs of the project and the availability of the artist. To learn more, visit our Custom Music page.
How Do You Determine the Price?
Our team has worked for years to hone in on the most appropriate prices possible — to be the most fair for both our clients and the artists we represent. As a general rule, most of our prices are set based on potential viewership (i.e. how many people will be watching the project that the music is being synced alongside). While there are outliers, for example a small company that has a major audience or a large company who has a small audience, we’ve found that the potential viewership for a project has the broadest effectiveness.
Ultimately the market price for a song is the amount that someone is willing to pay for it. So in a way, all of our micro licenses are discounted in some form or fashion from the amount a song can garner in a traditional license — whether it’s a non-profit license, wedding license, or license for a small company. A wedding film will generally be seen by friends and family, and a branded piece for a small company generally has a lower audience — therefore these prices are lower. On the other hand, a license for a company with 250 employees or over will generally have a larger audience — therefore a larger licensing fee.
In the end, the typical music licensing fees on our site fall somewhere in the middle of what the market has set. Before sites like Musicbed existed, all licenses were custom and filmmakers of any level were forced to negotiate prices with a record label or artist directly — which generally resulted in high licensing fees. With our platform, we’re able to adjust licensing fees to match for the appropriate project.