How beat licensing actually works (Basic vs Premium vs Exclusive)

You found the beat, the hook is already stuck in your head, and then the checkout asks you to pick a tier. Pick too low and the song outgrows the license. Pick too high and you've paid for rights you won't use this year.

This guide covers how the three tiers work in practice: what each one covers, how the caps add up, what Exclusive does and doesn't transfer, and how to move up. The binding text is on licensing and in the Terms of Sale. This is a producer's working read, not legal advice, and if anything here differs from those pages, those pages win.

The three tiers, and which one fits what

Basic is the untagged MP3 for 1 new song. Up to 100,000 streams across all platforms combined, up to 2,500 sales/units, 1 music video. Credit is Prod. SIGIL. No live shows, no radio.

Premium is WAV + MP3 for 1 new song. Unlimited streams, up to 10,000 sales/units, unlimited music videos, radio and live shows. Credit is Prod. SIGIL.

Exclusive is the WAV (stems only if the beat page lists them). It transfers the rights the producer holds in the beat, and the beat is removed from sale.

Basic and Premium are non-exclusive. The same beat can be leased to other artists. Neither tier covers sync (film, TV, ads, games, podcasts).

Demo

The preview carries the SIGIL tag. Use it to audition and to write in private, but audio taken from a preview isn't licensed, so nothing recorded over it goes public. Once the song is going out, license the beat. If you only need an untagged file to record and release, Basic covers it.

SoundCloud or TikTok drop

Basic fits a first drop. You can release on every platform on every tier. SoundCloud plays count toward the 100,000-stream cap, and a video on TikTok or YouTube counts toward the 1 music video Basic covers. If the plan is several different videos, Premium covers unlimited music videos.

Streaming single

Basic works if you expect modest numbers. If you're paying for a mix and master, or you're pushing the song hard, Premium is the safer base. A mix engineer wants a WAV, and Basic is MP3 only.

Music video

Basic covers one. A video on YouTube or TikTok counts toward it. Premium has no limit on videos. Ad monetisation of a licensed video is allowed; Content ID registration is not.

Radio and live shows

Basic doesn't allow either. If you're booking shows or sending the song to radio, you need Premium.

How the caps count

The 100,000 streams on Basic are a combined total across audio services. Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, SoundCloud and YouTube Music all draw from the same pool, so 60,000 on one and 40,000 on another puts you at the limit. Video views on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram are not streams; they fall under the music-video allowance instead. Sales/units (paid downloads and physical copies) are counted the same way, up to 2,500 on Basic and 10,000 on Premium.

The store doesn't track your numbers for you, so keep your own tally. Counts go by your distributor's and the platforms' statements, and you may be asked to show them, so keep those reports. Use beyond a limit is unlicensed: the upgrade has to happen before the song crosses it. Check your distributor and platform dashboards on the first of each month and write the totals in a note. Treat roughly 70,000 streams on Basic as the point to decide, not 99,000. Upgrading only works while the beat is still on sale, so decide early (more on that below).

The cap belongs to the song. A license covers 1 new song, so a second track on the same beat needs its own license. Clean, explicit, radio-edit, sped-up and slowed versions of the same recording count as the same song, and their plays add to the same caps. An instrumental version doesn't count as the song, and a lease never lets you put the beat out on its own. If you're unsure whether a release is the same song, check the definitions in the Terms of Sale first.

Exclusive has no stream or sales caps. Premium has no stream cap but does have a sales cap.

Credit and Content ID

Credit

On Basic and Premium, write Prod. SIGIL in the title or description. Spelling matters. Put it in the YouTube description, the TikTok caption and your distributor's credits field if it has one. On Exclusive no credit is required, though you can still give one.

Content ID

Basic and Premium beats must never be registered in YouTube Content ID or any similar fingerprinting system. The reason is simple: the beat is non-exclusive, so other artists may hold licenses. If you register it, the system can flag their uploads as yours.

In practice, if your distributor offers Content ID or a similar fingerprinting option, leave it off for any leased beat and ask the distributor to keep the song out of such systems. If you get a claim or strike related to the beat, email us your order number: within 3 business days we confirm your license and send your License Certificate.

Exclusive is different. You may register the beat at your own risk, and you must not claim uses made under licenses sold before your purchase. There's no guarantee of Content ID eligibility, so don't plan a release around it.

What Exclusive really transfers

Exclusive transfers whatever rights the producer holds in the beat, if any, as set out in Terms of Sale §8, and the beat is removed from sale. That isn't a promise of full copyright ownership, a guarantee that any right exists, or a guarantee that the beat is unique.

Earlier leases stay valid. If three artists leased the beat before you, they keep their licenses. You can't take down their songs or claim their streams, in Content ID or anywhere else.

Files. You get the WAV. Stems come only if the beat page lists them, so check before you buy if your engineer needs separated parts.

Credit. None required.

Exclusive makes sense when the song is the single you're building a campaign around and you don't want it sold to anyone new. It doesn't clear earlier leases, so it won't make the beat exclusive in the sense of nobody else ever having used it. Read §8 before paying for it.

Worked example: one single, demo to music video

You're hunting a 146 BPM beat. In beats, set the BPM filter to 140–160, add the key filter if you already know your range, and narrow it down with the tags. Every beat page shows the BPM and, where it's listed, the key, so you can check before you listen.

1. Demo. You write and test the hook over the preview at home. Nothing recorded over the preview is licensed, so none of it goes public.
2. Release. The hook works. You buy Basic, get the untagged MP3, finish the song and upload through your distributor. Title or description: "Prod. SIGIL".
3. Streams. The song picks up plays on Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud. They all count toward the same 100,000, so you start the monthly tally.
4. Video. You shoot one video and put it on YouTube with "Prod. SIGIL" in the description. That's your 1 Basic video. A second, different video for TikTok would go past it, so plan the one video you want, or move to Premium first.
5. It grows. You're near 70,000 streams, and a promoter offers you a show. Basic doesn't cover live shows or radio, and the stream cap is close. Time to move.

At that point you buy Premium for the same beat and follow the upgrade steps below. The streams and sales you already have count toward Premium's limits. If the song becomes the one you're building a campaign around, consider Exclusive instead, while the beat is still on sale.

Upgrading and refunds

Upgrading

You can upgrade while the beat is on sale. The steps:

1. Buy the higher tier for the same beat through this site's checkout.
2. Email us both order numbers within 14 days.
3. We refund what you actually paid for the earlier license, so you pay only the difference.

Pay only through this site's checkout, never by card transfer or a payment link sent in a message. The upgrade falls under the Terms of Sale current at that time.

The catch is "while the beat is on sale". If someone buys Exclusive first, the beat leaves the store and the upgrade route goes with it.

Refunds

These are digital goods. Once the download is available, the purchase can't be withdrawn where the law allows. Defective files are replaced. Listen to the preview, check BPM and key on the beat page, and be sure of the tier before you pay. See the Terms of Sale for the full wording.

Common mistakes

• Treating Basic as covering shows. It doesn't. Fix: buy Premium before you book a show or send the song to radio.
• Counting only Spotify. The stream cap is all audio services combined. Fix: add up every dashboard monthly.
• Registering a leased beat in Content ID. It's not allowed on Basic or Premium. Fix: leave that option off at your distributor.
• Writing the wrong credit. The credit is Prod. SIGIL, nothing else. Fix: paste it into your title or description template.
• Assuming Exclusive always includes stems. Only if the beat page lists them. Fix: check before you buy.
• Waiting to upgrade. If the beat is sold Exclusive, you can't upgrade. Fix: decide while it's still on sale.
• Treating Exclusive as sole ownership. Earlier leases stay valid, and nothing is guaranteed about copyright. Fix: read §8.

Quick checklist

• Audition on the preview, but license before anything goes public.
• Basic for demos and small drops, Premium for a real release, radio or live shows.
• Keep one running total of streams and sales across all platforms.
• Put "Prod. SIGIL" in the title or description on Basic and Premium.
• Never register a leased beat in Content ID or a similar system.
• One license covers 1 new song, its clean, sped-up and slowed versions included; a different song needs its own.
• Decide on an upgrade well before the cap, while the beat is on sale.
• Read licensing and the Terms of Sale before paying.

Next step: filter beats by BPM and key, then check the tier details on licensing before you hit checkout.

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Fresh from PROD. SIGIL: AMBER COIL — all beats