Frequently asked questions

Our ecosystem is based on our music flowing freely to all of our customers. We’ve made this possible through a unique digital rights model, which positions Epidemic Sound as the sole owner of the financial rights to our music. This wouldn’t work if an artist were affiliated with a collecting society, due to their exclusive affiliation agreements. We hope this will change in the future.

The time it takes to leave your agreement depends on which PRO/NRO or collecting society you’re affiliated with. We recommend contacting your organization(s) and asking them directly, as we can’t answer on their behalf.

Every country has different copyright laws and collecting societies. Some have restrictions on transferring copyright, while others have made PRO membership mandatory. This means that our ecosystem of free-flowing distribution doesn’t apply globally. We hope to work with artists in more countries in the future.

Yes, you can create music outside of your agreement with Epidemic Sound. We offer non-exclusive and flexible agreements, meaning you can write and publish music outside of Epidemic Sound as long as you’re not affiliated with a PRO/NRO or collecting society.

We believe in a world where music can flow freely and fairly across time zones, borders, audiences, and channels. We partner with artists who value distribution over ownership. They benefit from distribution through our network, plus upfront payment for each commissioned track, a 50/50 split on all streaming revenue, remuneration for AI features, and a share of our yearly USD $4.2 million Soundtrack Bonus.

We pay our artists a fixed fee of USD $2,000–$8,000 per track. All streaming revenue is split 50/50, and artists can top up their earnings via our yearly $4.2 million Soundtrack Bonus.

On average, our artists earn over $60,000 per year, with top earners taking home more than $200,000.

Our team of songwriters, producers, and engineers collaborates with each artist, from the first demo to the final mix. We also provide in-house mastering.

We value long-term partnerships, but also work with artists for shorter periods of time. The flexibility of our agreements gives artists more choice.

70% of the top 300 US YouTube channels soundtrack their content with Epidemic Sound. Our distribution gets artists where they need to be heard.

We distribute to a range of DSPs including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, TikTok, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora, Tencent, NetEase, SoundCloud, Anghami, iHeartRadio, KKBox, LINE Music, iMusica, AWA, JioSaavn, Qobuz, Boomplay, Shazam, Joox, Peloton, 7Digital, Beatport, Bugs!, and Bmat.

We also distribute music via our in-store offering, which serves leading businesses like Google, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway, River Island, SAS, Coop, 7-Eleven, and more.

Epidemic Sound does not replace a regular PRO/collecting society. We only collect royalties for the music to which we own the financial rights.

We split all royalties we collect from music streaming platforms 50/50 with the artist(s), even if they no longer work with Epidemic Sound.

We offer a USD $4.2 million Soundtrack Bonus every year. It recognizes the tracks that resonate with our customers the most and rewards our artists accordingly.

At the end of every quarter, we report on the most-downloaded tracks in the Epidemic Sound player. Our artists receive a share of the bonus proportional to the performance of their tracks. This covers both new tracks and “catalog” tracks that have performed well over time.