Tips for artists · 5 min read

Buying beats online without getting caught out

Licences, stems and the small print, in plain English.

Buying a beat is easy. Understanding what you’ve bought is the part that catches people out, usually when a song starts doing well, or when a platform flags it.

The licence is the product

When you buy a beat you’re not buying the beat. You’re buying a licence to use it, on certain terms. Look for these things before you pay:

• What file you get. An MP3 lease is the cheapest and not good enough for a proper record. A WAV is better. Trackout stems (the individual parts, exported separately) are best, because we can mix them properly.
• Streaming limits. Many cheaper licences cap how many streams you can get before you have to upgrade. Caps vary a lot between sellers.
• Whether it’s exclusive. A non-exclusive licence means the producer can sell the same beat to someone else. Exclusive means they stop selling it, but check what you actually own at the end.
• Whether you can monetise. Some licences allow you to earn from streams, some limit it, some don’t allow it at all.
• Credit. Most want you to credit them as the producer in the title or description.

Keep your paperwork

Save the licence document and the receipt in the same folder as the song. If a claim ever appears on YouTube or a platform, that’s your proof that you bought the right to use it.

Watch for claims

A producer may register their beat with a system that flags copies, and it can flag your song even though you paid. It’s normally easy to resolve with your licence, but only if you kept it.

Samples are different

If the beat includes a sample from another record, check the licence says it’s cleared. A lot of beats built on uncleared samples are sold anyway. They tend to cause problems on release.

Bring the right files

For a session, trackout stems are the gold standard, unmastered WAVs of the full beat come next, and a ready-made MP3 is a last resort. Take the files on a USB stick or have a download link ready.

If a price looks too good to be true, read the licence twice.