Musicbed alternative: license one song, no annual contract

Musicbed pitches its plans at filmmakers, wedding videographers, creators and agencies, and its catalogue comes from artists and composers. The catch for many people is the commitment: its subscriptions run for a year. If you only need the right song for one project, there is another way to buy it.

What is Musicbed and who is it for?

Musicbed is a subscription music licensing service with a catalogue from artists and composers. Its pricing page lists three plans: Individual, for freelance and wedding filmmakers, creators and podcasters; Business, for production companies, agencies, brands and non-profits; and Enterprise, quoted for large brands and uses such as broadcast and cinema.

The Individual and Business plans list web, podcast and social accounts with up to one million followers. The Business plan adds client work for clients with up to 250 employees. Bigger audiences and broadcast, cinema, streaming service or game uses sit in the Enterprise tier. Plan details change, so check Musicbed's pricing page for the current list.

How do Musicbed contracts work?

Musicbed's support page says all of its subscription plans are annual, 12 month agreements. Cancelling before the 12 months are up is treated as a breach, and you stay responsible for the remaining balance. You can switch off auto-renewal from 30 days before your renewal date, and Musicbed says it emails you when that window opens.

That suits a studio that licenses music every week. It is a harder sell if you make a handful of videos a year, or if you only need one specific song for one film.

What happens to your music when the plan ends?

According to Musicbed, songs you downloaded cannot be used in new videos after your subscription ends. So the subscription is what keeps the catalogue open to you. If you stop paying, you stop adding Musicbed music to new work, which is worth planning for before you build a channel or a client package around it.

The same question applies to every subscription library: what happens to the videos you already published, and what you can still make. The general difference is covered in royalty-free vs sync licence.

How is a per-song licence different?

A per-song licence is a one-off purchase for one track and one use, such as one YouTube video, one podcast or one ad campaign. You pay once, the licence names you and the project, and there is no plan to keep alive. The trade-off is that you are not buying unlimited downloads from a whole catalogue.

A sync licence is a contract. The Arts Law Centre of Australia describes it as the document that proves you have the right to put a song or recording in your production, and sets out the terms of that use. A per-song licence gives you that document for each track you use.

When is Musicbed the better choice?

Musicbed can make more sense if you license a lot of music every month, want one plan that covers a steady stream of client work, or need an enterprise deal for broadcast or cinema. If you publish occasionally, or need one particular song for one project, paying once per song is often the simpler fit.

Do the sums on your own volume. Count how many tracks you actually licensed last year, then compare a year of subscription against that number of single licences. The same exercise for Epidemic Sound is in is Epidemic Sound worth it.

How does cadential. compare with Musicbed?

cadential. sells one licence per song and per use type, with no subscription. Independent artists set their own prices, shown in AUD before checkout, and keep 80% of every licence fee. Each licence is a written contract with a licence number anyone can check. cadential. is in early access, onboarding its first artists now.

Licences are non-exclusive, perpetual and worldwide by default, for one project in the use type you buy. The full terms are on the licence terms page, and the buying process is on how it works. Wedding filmmakers can also read how to license music for a wedding video.

Other comparisons:

• Epidemic Sound and Artlist alternatives
• Soundstripe alternative
• Join the waitlist for early access.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own project, talk to a lawyer. Licence details on cadential. are set out in the licence terms.