Frequently
Asked Questions

With a PremiumBeat subscription, you get access to our exclusive music library at a great value. The subscription includes 5 Standard Licenses per month (unused credits don’t roll over into the next month). There is a small collection of tracks that aren’t included in the subscription. SFX are not included with the subscription, but can be purchased individually.
Our Standard License covers many web-based projects: videos hosted on websites, social media, video-sharing platforms (as long as the advertising spend is below $5,000 USD), and podcasts. Each Standard License covers you for all edited versions of a single project, worldwide, in perpetuity.
You’ll need the Premium License if you plan to use music in TV or radio advertising, point-of-sale, or apps, games and DVDs up to 1000 copies. Here is an overview of what the Standard and Premium Licenses offer:

Personal use: less than $5000 USD spent on advertising of the video

If you ever decide that our music subscription is not the right choice for you, you can cancel it from your account settings. Keep in mind that if you cancel within your 3-month commitment period, you’ll still be charged for the remaining months in that period before your subscription expires.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, China UnionPay, Discover & Diners, and Japan Credit Bureau for subscription purchases. PayPal is not accepted at this time, but is for individual license purchases.

Each music track you license is limited to one project. However, each license covers all edits and language versions of the same audio or visual project, as well as all episodes of a single podcast or project in series.
All tracks downloaded under the Music Subscription are covered by a Standard License. The Standard License covers web-use for websites, social media, podcasts and video-sharing platforms (as long as the advertising spend is below $5,000 USD) and student projects.
Music licensed under the Standard License can be used in one project, worldwide, in perpetuity..
For all other use cases, you may need the Premium License.
You can get more details about our licenses here.

Yes, Music and SFX can be purchased individually with both Standard and Premium licenses.

No, all music licensed under your music subscription is covered by the Standard License, which covers many popular types of online use, such as videos on websites, social media, video-sharing platforms (as long as the advertising spend is below $5,000 USD) and podcasts. It also covers student projects such as student films.
You will need the Premium License if you plan to use music for the following types of broadcast projects in one country:
• Advertisement on TV/radio
• Out-of-home advertisement (domestic flights, in theatres, etc)
• Point-of-sale
• Entertainment broadcasts - TV pilots or projects commissioned by and for exclusive presentation by a public broadcaster only
• Up to 1000 downloads/copies for an app/DVD (worldwide)
Please see our license page for more details. If you are unsure of which license is right for your needs or you require broader coverage, simply contact us.

If you’re a PremiumBeat customer who knows someone that can benefit from our collection of high-quality, exclusive music, you can be rewarded for referring them to our platform! Here is how it works:
If you’re a PremiumBeat customer and you currently have an account, you can access your personal referral code by clicking on the profile icon when you’re logged in. Click it to copy your referral message and send it to your friends.
When your friend uses your referral code at checkout on their first purchase of PremiumBeat tracks (this code is not applicable on a subscription purchase), they’ll get 25% off their purchase and you’ll get a $25 PremiumBeat credit added to your account immediately.
There’s no limit to how many people you can refer. For every successful referral, you’ll get another $25 credit in your account. Keep in mind that you can only use one promotion at checkout at a time. This means, only one of your $25 credit rewards can be used per purchase.
You can learn more about the reward program and applicable rules here.

As soon as your transaction is processed, you are immediately transferred to your download page. Additionally, a receipt containing a download link is automatically sent to the e-mail address that you provided. If you did not receive the download instructions by e-mail, please check your “Junk” or “Spam” folder - it may have landed there. If you are a PremiumBeat member, you can also retrieve the download from your account.
To make sure you receive our emails in the future, add orders@premiumbeat.com to your address book.
Most people receive our email within a few minutes. If you have not received a message with a download link within 20 minutes of your purchase, please contact us. We will rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

It’s likely that you are still listening to a downloaded preview file. The purchased track and the preview file have the same file name and some applications (including iTunes and iMovie) don’t automatically update the source path every time you download a file.
The best way to fix this is to delete both versions of the song and re-download your purchase from the Orders & Download section of your account.

We are aware of these extra credit card charges, but they do not come from us. PremiumBeat never charges or receives any additional fees; the total amount you see on your screen when you purchase our products is the amount we receive.
The extra fee on your statement is a “foreign transaction fee” charged by the bank that issued your credit card. A number of US banks have a policy of adding a fee to the transaction if the seller is located outside of the USA (we are located in Canada), even if the purchase is made in US dollars. This fee varies between 0% and 3% depending on the credit card you are using. For bookkeeping purposes, this is considered as a bank service fee.
Please see the discussion about this topic on our blog.

Firstly, we apologize if this happens to you. We can assure you that all our music is 100% copyright clear. Using our royalty-free music with a purchased license is 100% legal, and you are not doing anything wrong.
Classical music has a higher risk of being misidentified by YouTube software since the composition remains the same; only the masters (the actual interpretations or recordings) are different. A Mozart piece performed by Olive Musique can be misidentified as the same Mozart piece interpreted by a different artist on a recording that may belong to Sony, for example.
Unfortunately, false or mistaken copyright claims are a known issue with YouTube and music libraries. The most efficient response is to simply counter the claim with your PremiumBeat license. The claim will then be dropped. You can read more about making a counter notification here.
Please note that your PremiumBeat license does NOT allow you to upload your project to YouTube’s Content ID system. PremiumBeat retains ownership of the recording. Due to the nature of YouTube’s content recognition software, uploading PremiumBeat music to Content ID will cause mistaken copyright claims for other users and for your future projects, and constitutes a violation of our licensing terms.
If you have more questions about the YouTube claim process, please contact us.

In the Billing & Preferences section of your account there is a VAT number field for our customers in the European Union. If you have not created a PremiumBeat member account, you will be prompted to enter your VAT number with your billing information during checkout. In both cases, we verify the validity of your VAT number and display it on the invoices for your orders.
PremiumBeat license fees do not include taxes, which are added to the license fee in your cart during checkout. You can read about this under the “Taxes” section of our license agreement here.

Music purchased from the PremiumBeat production music library is royalty free. This means that after paying a one-time fee, you can use the music you’ve purchased as many times as you wish (unlimited needledrops) for as long as you like in accordance with the terms stated in the license agreement. You never have to pay us any additional license fees based on usage.
Please note that our licenses do not include public performance rights. If you are unsure whether your project falls under the scope of public performance, please contact your local Performance Rights Organization (PRO).

Usage rights are determined by the type of license you acquire for each track. We offer 2 simple music license options:
Standard License
The Standard License covers all edits and language versions of a single project worldwide in perpetuity for the following uses.
• Websites, social media and podcasts
• Video-sharing websites such as YouTube/Vimeo (ad spend less than $5000 USD)
• Student theatrical projects such as films and plays
Premium License
The Premium License includes everything in the Standard License, plus, one of the following uses in one country:
• Ads: TV, radio or in-theatre
• Industrial/Point-of-Sale: Industrial events, trade shows, in-store displays and similar uses
• TV and Radio Entertainment: Pilots and public broadcasting only
The Premium License can also be used worldwide for apps/DVDs, limited to 1000 downloads or copies.
Both licenses also include indemnity for the same amount that is paid for the license.
Please see our license page for more details. If you are unsure of which license is right for your needs or you require broader coverage, simply contact us.

All social media platforms are covered by the Standard License.
This includes (but is not limited to):
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Twitch

Yes. The license permits usage of the music in a personal or professional context for yourself, your clients or your employer. PremiumBeat music may not be sold by itself, transferred, bartered, traded, shared, leased, or given away to any other party and the license may not be subleased to a third party. Our music cannot be resold except to the extent that is embedded in your own work as part of a finished end product. You may not market the music as your own even if you add other instruments or a voice to the music. You may not sing over the music and sell or distribute the song.
The above also applies to any music PremiumBeat may offer free of charge on our website, including watermarked previews. Please see the Limitations of Use section of our license agreement for further information.
If you are unsure whether the usage you are entertaining falls under our limitations of use, please contact us.

Our Standard License permits use on video-sharing platforms on YouTube, as long as less than $5000 USD is spent on marketing for the video. You can monetize videos that use PremiumBeat music, as long as you don’t claim the music content to be your own within YouTube’s Content ID system.

Within minutes! As soon as your transaction has been processed, you will immediately be transferred to your download page. Additionally, we automatically send a link to the email address you’ve provided. If you did not receive the download instructions by email, please check your “Junk” or “Spam” folder - it may have landed there. If you are a PremiumBeat member, you can also retrieve the download from your account.

To ensure that our composers are compensated by the relevant Performing Rights Organisations, cue sheets must be completed for productions that are publicly broadcast, such as TV, radio, film and theatrical productions and advertisements. For more information please see our section dedicated to cue sheets.
If you are unsure whether your project falls under the scope of public performance, please contact your local Performance Rights Organization (PRO).

No, you cannot. This is not allowed.
We are a production music library. Our music is available to license for synchronization in media productions (websites, videos, DVDs, TV broadcasts, films, games, etc.) as background music. You cannot sing over the music track or add an instrument and market the results as your own music or as your song, even if the original track has been transformed or edited or if you add other instruments or vocals to the music. This called a “Derivative Work” and is not allowed. PremiumBeat always owns the copyright of the music composition and recording.
You are allowed to record your voice and add the music as background for an audiobook, storytelling, hypnotherapy, guided meditation, self-help programs or any kind of narration. The difference is that the music is used as background for a product that is not marketed as a “song” or a musical product. The purpose of the music is not altered in any way and the copyright of the music remains clearly and entirely in the hands of the composer and the publisher. Please note that if your project is intended to generate revenue to you and you distribute more than 1,000 copies of your production, you will require a Premium License.

No. All of our music has been created by our team of gifted professional musicians and composers exclusively for PremiumBeat. This includes well-known classical music pieces, public domain music, Christmas carols and nursery songs. In these cases, the original copyright has expired and the specific recording and adaptation performed by our musicians is unique. We own the copyright for all our adaptations and recordings.

Once you have purchased and downloaded a music file, PremiumBeat cannot offer a refund unless an error has occurred.

A Full Track is a complete musical mix with an introduction and an ending. Track durations vary and may be as short as 50 seconds or as long as 10 minutes.

A Music Loop is a piece that “loops” or, in simpler terms, repeats itself indefinitely. Loops of various types and durations are offered in our packages. Please note that loops are always delivered in .wav format only because MP3 format is not suitable for looping.
Each music loop is repeated 3 times as a demo in the preview music player. The loops set contains all the loops shown in the preview window and do NOT contain an end piece - only the loops.

Short clips are a set of 15, 30 and 60 seconds music clips designed for TV and radio advertising. They can also be used for podcasts, video ads, or any project requiring a short music excerpt.

After you purchase a license from our site, you will have the option to download the file in superior quality .wav format as well as in MP3 format for complete flexibility, with the exception of the Loops which are always delivered in .wav format only (the MP3 format is not suitable for seamless looping).
Some customers may choose to use the broadcast quality .wav sound files for television or radio projects as well as for DVDs or CD-ROMs. However, many customers do need the compressed MP3 version for web-based projects, such as background music for a website.
What you hear when previewing music on PremiumBeat.com is compressed MP3 quality.

No. The “PremiumBeat.com” voiceover is only present in the music that you preview. After you purchase a license, you will be able to download a clean copy.

Your credit card company may have declined your transaction. Please call the number on the back of your card to find out why it was declined.
As a security precaution our system will lock out your IP address for several hours after 3 denied attempts. In this case, please try using the PayPal option at checkout to process your card (you do not need a PayPal account to use this option). Once on the PayPal payment page select “Don’t have a PayPal account?” and then process your credit card (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, China UnionPay, Discover & Diners, Japan Credit Bureau).

We fully understand the need for security when making online purchases. PremiumBeat uses a state-of-the-art encrypted processing system. Your credit card information is used only by our bank and is processed on a separate, secure server.
Please see our Privacy policy for more information.

No! PremiumBeat respects your privacy and will not share, give, rent or sell the e-mail addresses or personal contact information of our clients to any third party. In addition, PremiumBeat will only send information and e-mails to customers who have expressly given us permission to do so. These emails may include information about PremiumBeat products, other Shutterstock products, or similar information that will be relevant to you. You can unsubscribe from these at any time.