Epidemic Sound vs Artlist and four more music subscriptions: price, brand deals, paid ads and what survives cancelling

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and depend on your country and situation; check the linked official sources or ask a qualified professional.

This page is for creators who put licensed music under YouTube videos, Reels, TikToks and podcasts, and who sooner or later get a paid brand deal or a client job. It compares six subscription libraries on the questions that decide which plan you need: what the cheapest creator plan costs, which plan covers paid ads and client work, which platforms the licence names, whether a sponsored post on your own channel is allowed, what happens to videos already published when you cancel, and how YouTube claims get cleared.

Every fact comes from the vendor's own pricing page, licence terms or help centre, opened on 22 October 2026. Prices are in the currency and billing period the page showed; Tallyterms does not convert currencies. Where a page did not state something, the table says "not stated". The platforms' own free libraries, and what each platform allows in a paid post, are covered in trending sounds in sponsored posts; this page is about the libraries you pay for.

How do the music subscriptions compare?

Checked 2026-10-22 "Creator plan" is the cheapest plan that includes music. "Ads and client plan" is the cheapest plan whose own page names paid ads or client work. Services are listed alphabetically; the order is not a ranking.

Checked 2026-10-22

PremiumBeat and Uppbeat are not in the table: their pricing pages could not be opened on 2026-10-22. Audio Network is not in the table because its subscription is quoted, not priced on its site.

Two numbers to recompute. Artlist Social billed yearly is €9.99 × 12 = €119.88, the yearly total the page shows; billed monthly it is €13.50 × 12 = €162.00. Artlist's cheapest Pro plan is €199 a year and the pricing page lists no monthly Pro price, so a single brand job that needs Pro costs the full year.

Which plan does a sponsored post on your own channel need?

Usually the cheapest one, at three of the six. Epidemic Sound's plans page says that with Creator "you can use our music in sponsored or branded content for your own channel(s)". Artlist's help centre says the Social licence covers personal channels "regardless of whether the use is purely personal or also includes commercial elements like monetization or sponsorships". Envato's social media licence page names sponsored posts on its only licence.

Soundstripe goes the other way. Its terms of use, last updated 24 November 2025, say the Personal plan may not be used for "commercial use to promote a brand, product, or service", "including but not limited to advertising, paid posts, boosted posts". A sponsored video on Soundstripe needs Pro.

Musicbed's and Storyblocks' pages checked do not say. Get the answer in writing from them before the post goes live.

The line all of them draw is the same: your own channel, organic post. The moment the brand puts money behind the video, or posts it on its own channel, it is no longer your own organic post.

Which plan covers paid ads, whitelisting and client work?

A brand that runs your video as a Spark Ad or a partnership ad is using the track in paid media. That needs the ad plan, whatever the deal calls it.

• Epidemic Sound. The Creator plan page says "The Creator plan doesn't cover licensing for digital ads." Pro lets you "Publish soundtracked content across digital ads" and "Publish sub-licensed content for clients".
• Artlist. Pro's licence "covers all social and online platforms, client work, commercial work, paid ads". The licence page says that if you are hired to create a project, "your client is covered by your license". The help centre adds that you may deliver finished projects to clients but not share the music files themselves.
• Envato. The licence covers "paid advertising across Meta, Google, LinkedIn". The licence lets you transfer a finished project to a client "as long as" your subscription "remains active", and the social licence page says "One license covers one piece of ad creative".
• Musicbed. Business adds "Client and brand work" for clients up to 250 employees. Paid ads are not named on the pricing page, and the licence terms say "Paid media rights are not granted in perpetuity unless explicitly stated".
• Soundstripe. Pro "covers content produced by individuals for commercial use, like digital ads and campaigns". In-house work for an organisation needs a business-level licence, per the pricing page.
• Storyblocks. The Individual licence, last updated 28 September 2026, "includes commercial work you perform directly for your own clients" if you are the only person doing it, but does not cover "reliance on this license by any entity, company, or client". Paid ads are not addressed.

Whose name is on the licence matters once a brand holds your ad code. What the brand may do with the post itself is a separate permission, covered in usage rights and ad codes.

What happens to videos already published when you cancel?

None of the six says it will take down or claim videos you published while subscribed. Five say published or completed work stays licensed, and each attaches a condition. Musicbed's licence terms do not mention a subscription ending; their archival clause is the closest they come. The conditions are where creators get caught.

The trap is the track you downloaded but had not used yet. Epidemic Sound's Creator page says content published after the subscription ends is not cleared, and that this includes tracks you downloaded during it. Artlist's help centre gives the same rule with a film festival example: publish while subscribed and the licence holds; wait until after the subscription ends and it does not.

Two practical rules follow. Publish, or at least complete, every video that uses library music before your renewal date. And add every channel and client video to the safelist or Clearlist while the plan is still active, because after it ends you cannot.

How do the libraries clear YouTube claims?

All of the libraries except Storyblocks describe a way to connect your channel so their claims clear automatically. The number of channels is the plan difference.

• Epidemic Sound: "safelist your channels by connecting them to your Epidemic Sound account before you publish". Creator monetizes one channel per platform, Pro three.
• Artlist: the Clearlist. Social covers 1 channel per platform, Pro 3 per platform plus unlimited YouTube videos. If a channel is not on the list, the licence page says you "will not be reimbursed for lost monetization" for that period.
• Soundstripe: "Automatically clear content claims on YouTube with allowlisted channels", 1 channel on Personal and 5 on Pro.
• Envato: Claim Clear works only with tracks marked Claim Clear ready; you can safelist up to 3 YouTube channels and clear up to 30 individual videos a month. For other tracks, you dispute through YouTube with your licence certificate.
• Musicbed: "Copyright clearance through our SyncID™ system".

When a claim lands anyway, the dispute runs through YouTube, and the licence is your evidence. The windows and grounds are in how to dispute a YouTube Content ID claim.

Can the in-app music libraries replace a subscription?

Inside their own app, often. TikTok's Commercial Music Library and Meta's Sound Collection are cleared for commercial use, including ads (TikTok tracks marked Premium may carry a fee), but each licence stops at its own platform: Sound Collection at Meta's products, Commercial Sounds at TikTok unless a track lists another placement. A video cut once and posted to YouTube, Instagram and TikTok needs a licence that names all three, which is what the subscriptions above sell. The rules for each platform's library are in trending sounds in sponsored posts.

Checklist: which plan does your next video need?

Pick the row that matches the job, then check every line before the video goes out.

1. Your own channel, organic posts, including sponsorships you post yourself

• Epidemic Sound Creator, Artlist Social or Envato cover it on their own pages. Soundstripe Personal does not cover sponsored or paid posts.
• Count your channels. Creator and Social plans cover one channel per platform; a second YouTube channel needs Pro at Epidemic Sound and Artlist.
• Safelist or Clearlist every channel before the first upload with library music.

2. A paid brand deal: the brand boosts the post, runs it as an ad or posts it on its own channel

• You need the ad plan: Epidemic Sound Pro, Artlist Pro, Soundstripe Pro, or Envato. At Musicbed, ask about paid media in writing; Business names client and brand work.
• Check whose licence covers the brand's ad account. Artlist Pro says your client "is covered by your license"; Epidemic Sound Pro grants sublicensing for clients.
• Put the music in the contract: who supplies it, who holds the licence, and how long the ad may run. The clauses are in the brand deal contract checklist.

3. Client or agency work: you make videos for someone else's channel or ads

• You need the client plan: Epidemic Sound Pro, Artlist Pro, Musicbed Business, Soundstripe Pro, or Envato.
• On Storyblocks, the Individual licence covers your own clients only if you work alone, and the client cannot rely on it; a company needs a Business licence.
• Clear the client's videos: Epidemic Sound Pro by URL, Artlist Pro by invite link.
• On Envato, deliver the finished project while your subscription is active, and create one licence per project.
• Keep the licence certificate per track with the client name, the post date and the URL.

Frequently asked questions

Is Epidemic Sound or Artlist cheaper for a creator?

Epidemic Sound's pricing page showed no plan prices in its text on 2026-10-22, so the two cannot be compared from vendor pages. Artlist Social is €9.99 a month billed yearly or €13.50 monthly, and Artlist Music Pro is €199 a year, with no monthly Pro price listed. Check Epidemic Sound's price at checkout in your own currency.

Can I use the Epidemic Sound Creator plan for a sponsored video?

On your own channels, yes. Epidemic Sound's plans page says Creator covers sponsored or branded content for your own channels, but not digital advertising, marketing or promotion for a brand or company. If the brand runs the video as an ad, you need Pro.

Will my videos get claimed if I cancel?

Videos published during the subscription stay licensed at five of the six services, on conditions (Musicbed's licence terms do not address cancelling): at Epidemic Sound, channels must have been safelisted; at Artlist, channels and videos must be on the Clearlist before the plan ends. Videos you publish after cancelling are not covered, even with tracks downloaded while subscribed.

Can a brand run my video with library music as a Spark Ad or partnership ad?

Only if your plan covers paid ads. Epidemic Sound Creator and Artlist Social do not; their Pro plans do. Soundstripe needs Pro. Envato's licence covers paid advertising on Meta, Google and LinkedIn, with one licence per ad creative.

Sources

Opened and checked on 2026-10-22. Prices are as each page showed them.

• Epidemic Sound, pricing: ads on Pro and Enterprise, cancellation. The page did not show plan prices in its text.
• Epidemic Sound, which plan is right for you, Creator plan and our plans: coverage by plan, sponsored content, digital ads, safelisting, cancellation.
• Artlist, pricing: Social and Pro prices, billing, coverage, channels per platform. The page opens on AI plans; music plan prices are in its Music and SFX plan data.
• Artlist, licence and help centre, understanding Artlist's license: sponsorships on Social, client coverage, published projects after expiry, Clearlist.
• Musicbed, pricing, free trial and licence terms, last updated 13 August 2025: plan coverage, prices, annual rollover, SyncID, archival and paid media rights.
• Soundstripe, pricing and terms of use, last updated 24 November 2025: starting price, plan coverage, Personal plan restrictions, perpetual use, listing, allowlisted channels.
• Envato, pricing, Envato Elements License, last revised 6 October 2026, social media licence, dated 20 July 2026, and how to resolve a YouTube Content ID claim: price, licence scope, client transfer, perpetual licence, ads, Claim Clear.
• Storyblocks, pricing, including its FAQ, and Individual License, last updated 28 September 2026: plan prices, music by plan, cancellation, permitted media, client work.