FAQ

If you are already ready to search and want to listen to fitting music right away, you can start with search .

If music source, the right license, or the question of a subscription is still unclear, a navigator is usually the better first step.

For regular content marketing without a larger campaign, %strong Standard often fits.

If you also promote the content with simple paid ads, Standard + Paid Social is often the right next step.

For larger campaigns, broadcast, or highly visible brand projects, Premium or more usually becomes relevant.

Standard + Paid Social is usually enough when your project is fundamentally a regular content, company, creator, or podcast project and is additionally promoted with simple digital advertising.

That also applies to podcasts or individual episodes with paid ads, as long as this does not turn into a larger campaign, a broadcast use case, or multi-market rollout.

Yes. In the current target model, the Standard subscription covers ongoing Standard usage plus Paid Social within a normal digital frame. That includes simple social media ads, content promotion, and regular digital ad assets, as long as this does not turn into a larger campaign or another project-license case.

A project usually becomes a larger campaign when several markets, higher reach, TV / broadcast, or a much stronger paid focus come into play.

In those cases, Premium, Lead Campaign, or Enterprise may become the better fit than Standard or Standard + Paid Social.

Yes, often. For website, YouTube, and organic social media use, a regular project license is frequently enough.

As soon as paid ads are added, you should check whether Standard + Paid Social or a broader licensing frame is required.

Enterprise is the right frame when a project becomes significantly more complex, for example with global or multi-regional rollouts, multiple brands or product lines, custom contract clauses, procurement or governance requirements, or broader exclusivity questions.

Previously purchased legacy Premium licenses remain fully valid and are not changed or reinterpreted retroactively.

The new licensing architecture applies to new projects, new purchases, and current product communication.

Up to about %strong 3 countries targeted at the same time will usually still fit within %strong Premium.

From %strong 4 to 10 countries, %strong Lead Campaign often becomes the better fit.

With an even broader scope, more global setups, or additional custom requirements, Enterprise should be reviewed.

Especially premium or exclusive music usually becomes relevant when a project is more visible, more demanding, or part of a larger campaign.

For those cases, Audiocrowd Select offers a curated range of particularly strong tracks. Exclusivity always remains an individual request case.

Yes, but not as a general self-service option.

Exclusivity is only available on request for selected Select tracks and is always reviewed per project.

No. Exclusivity is intentionally not available across the entire catalogue. It only applies to selected Select tracks whose availability, scope, and terms are reviewed individually.

A project license is usually the right path for one clearly defined project.

A music subscription usually makes more sense when you need new music continuously for content, campaigns, or recurring media work.

The Standard subscription covers ongoing digital Standard and Paid Social usage within a normal scope. This includes websites, organic social media usage, podcasts, YouTube, corporate communications, as well as simple paid social ads and regular digital ad assets.

Not included in the Standard subscription are in particular:

• Premium cases
• Lead Campaign
• Enterprise
• exclusivity
• TV / broadcast / cinema
• large OOH campaigns
• large lead campaigns
• materially broader multi-market rollouts
• custom rights arrangements

As soon as your project moves in that direction, a project license is usually the better fit.

Yes. Simple paid social usage and regular digital promotion are included in the Standard subscription. That also applies if you promote a podcast, an episode, or another content format through normal digital ads, as long as this does not become a larger campaign, a broadcast case, or another special rights case.

Yes. A podcast or individual episode promoted with paid ads within a normal digital frame will usually still fall within the subscription frame.

Only when this turns into a materially larger campaign, broadcast, Lead Campaign, or Enterprise case do we review a project license instead.

A %strong project license is the right next step when your project becomes clearly %strong more visible, %strong more campaign-driven, %strong more broadcast-oriented, %strong more international, or %strong more individual.

That applies in particular to:

• larger campaigns
• several markets
• TV / broadcast / cinema
• Lead Campaign
• Enterprise
• exclusivity
• custom rights requirements

If your project grows beyond the normal subscription frame, you can move into the right project-license frame. Depending on the scope, Premium, Lead Campaign, or Enterprise will then be the better solution.

Yes. With the music subscription you can license ongoing digital Standard and Paid Social usage within a normal scope across the catalogue. Larger one-off projects, campaigns, or special rights cases intentionally remain better served by project licenses.

For multiple clients or multiple separate projects, one project license is usually not enough.

Project licenses are fundamentally tied to one project. For new, independent uses you will usually need a new license or an upgrade.

Yes. Our project licenses are explicitly intended for companies, agencies, and service providers. If you produce for a client, simply choose the matching license for the actual usage scope of the project.

One license always applies to one track in one specific project.

Several videos within the same series, campaign, or connected production can count as one project if they clearly belong together.

For a new, independent project, you will usually need a new license or an upgrade.

Yes. If your project grows or the usage scope expands, you can usually buy an upgrade for the same track.

Existing license costs are credited, so you only pay the difference to the higher level.

Typical cases:

• additional episodes in a series
• new versions or formats
• a larger campaign
• broadcast usage

Each license includes usage in up to 3 languages.

If you need 4 or more languages, please buy another license of the same tier.

Yes. If a track comes with versions, we provide them after purchase at no extra cost.

The rights holder of the track uses YouTube’s ContentID / fingerprinting system.

If you use such a track in a YouTube video, YouTube may first show a rights notice or temporarily restrict monetization until your legitimate purchase has been reviewed.

Your license document contains the required information to prove your lawful usage. In most cases the video is released again after review.

This ensures that your purchase can be clearly assigned to your project during a review, for example by GEMA, ContentID, or other rights checks.

Please provide details as specifically as possible, for example not just “podcast” but the title and, if possible, the episode or format.

The GEMA / P.R.O. question is about the music source and rights framework of the music.

The licensing question is about which usage license you need for your specific project.

Audiocrowd is a marketplace based in Potsdam for music, sound effects, and voice services. Our catalogue includes royalty-free and P.R.O. music and can be licensed for companies, content creators, and many other use cases — either as a single license or through our music subscription.

No. Royalty-free, license-free, and free music are not the same thing.

Royalty-free music describes the rights framework. License-free music is a misleading term because music still needs to be licensed.

Free music only means there is no purchase price, not that you may automatically use it commercially without clearing rights.

Royalty-free music means music for which no additional GEMA fees are due for the intended use.

This does not mean the music is automatically free or usable without a license.

You still acquire the usage rights directly from the creator or rights holder. Audiocrowd offers both royalty-free music and P.R.O. music so that the right rights basis can be chosen for each project.

Royalty-free music mainly offers:

• predictable and transparent costs
• no additional GEMA follow-up costs
• a frequently simpler rights process for many digital and audiovisual projects

Whether royalty-free or P.R.O. music is the better fit depends on the project. Our filters and licensing guidance help with that decision.

Yes. Royalty-free music is produced professionally today and is regularly used by companies, agencies, and content teams for high-quality projects. The music on Audiocrowd is curated, quality-checked, and not limited to elevator music or generic stock tracks.

No. Audiocrowd offers mainly royalty-free music, but since 2022 also P.R.O. music.

Every track is labelled accordingly, and you can filter the catalogue specifically.

The usage rights are granted directly from the relevant creator or rights holder.

“License-free music” is a misleading term.

Music is generally protected by copyright and cannot simply be used without clarifying rights.

What people often really mean is free music or royalty-free music — but those are not the same thing.

When a work is registered with a collecting society such as GEMA, it is often referred to internationally as P.R.O. music.

In addition to royalty-free music, Audiocrowd also offers P.R.O. music. Which rights basis fits your project depends on the specific use case.

GEMA is the German collecting society for musical performance and mechanical reproduction rights. It manages rights for its members and monitors the public use of relevant works.

GEMA collects license fees for the public use of registered works and distributes them to rights holders after deducting its administration costs.

After purchase, you receive the track in WAV, AIFF, and MP3.

We also provide formats for phone systems: A-LAW and MU-LAW / 8 Bit.

If versions are available for a track, they will also be included for download.

You receive the music in:

• WAV
• AIFF
• MP3
• WAV A-LAW
• WAV MU-LAW

Yes. You can test every music track free of charge and without registration as a layout or demo version.

With credit card and many direct online payment methods, the files are usually available immediately.

With certain payment methods such as SEPA direct debit, provisioning may be delayed until payment has been received.

Through our payment service provider, you can pay for example via PayPal, credit card, Klarna, Giropay, SEPA direct debit, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.

Invoice is also possible on request.

No. You need a customer account to place an order. Registration is quick and gives you lasting access to your tracks, documents, and purchases.

You can find your files and documents in your customer account under “My Purchases”.

This ensures that your license can be clearly assigned to your project during a review.

Please therefore enter a project title that is as specific as possible.

Through your customer account, you have permanent access to your purchased tracks and documents.

Yes. Projects that were properly created and completed during the term of your subscription remain valid after the subscription ends.

What is not allowed is licensing on stock for projects that are only implemented or completed after the subscription has ended.

The best option is to use our contact form . We will get back to you as quickly as possible.