Free beats: what you can use, and when to pay
Free beats are everywhere: on YouTube, on producer sites, in folders shared in group chats. Some of them you really can use for a release. Many come with conditions that only show up once your song starts to do something. This guide shows what the labels mean, where it goes wrong, and when paying for a lease is the cheaper option.
Short answer: a free beat is only free for what the producer allows. "Free for non-profit" means no money from the song; "free for profit" usually still asks for a credit, and the producer keeps owning the beat. If you want to release and earn, get a licence in your own name that you can show.
By TH6 · Updated
Where free beats come from
- YouTube uploads with "free" or "free for profit" in the title, usually with a download link in the description.
- Free downloads on producer sites and beat stores, often in exchange for your e-mail address.
- Beats and loops in shared folders or packs, passed on without the original producer knowing.
The first two can be fine. The third is where most trouble starts: a beat passed on is a beat without a licence you can prove.
What the labels actually mean
- Free for non-profit: you may use the beat, but not earn from it. No streaming income, no monetised video, no sales.
- Free for profit: you may release and earn, but read the conditions. Most ask for a credit in the description, some cap the streams, and the producer keeps the rights to the beat itself.
- Royalty-free: you pay nothing per stream or sale. That says nothing about whether the licence itself costs money; it is about how you pay, not whether you pay.
- No copyright: almost never true. Every beat has a maker, and the maker owns the copyright unless it was transferred in writing. "No copyright" usually means "I will not come after you", and that is not a licence.
Where free beats go wrong
The beat contains a sample nobody cleared. Your song gets taken down, or the owner of the sample claims the income, and "it was free" is no defence.
The beat is registered in YouTube Content ID. Then your own video gets claimed and the ad money goes to someone else. More in the guide can I use a beat from YouTube.
The terms change. A producer can change a video description at any moment. Without a licence in your own name, saved on your own device, you cannot prove what the terms were when you downloaded the beat.
The beat gets sold exclusive to someone else. Then the free version disappears, and your release sits on a beat that someone else now controls.
Before you use a free beat
- Find the producer and the original upload. If you cannot, do not release on it.
- Save the terms as they are now: a dated screenshot of the description, or better, the licence file if there is one.
- Ask the producer about samples and Content ID. A producer who cannot answer that is a risk.
- Credit exactly as asked, in the description and in the credits at your distributor.
When a lease is the cheaper option
A lease costs money once and gives you a licence in your artist name, with the terms fixed on the day you buy. At TH6 a lease starts at € 75, there are no samples to clear, nothing is registered in Content ID, and if the song grows past the stream limit you pay only the difference to the next licence. For a song you want to release properly, that is less than one problem with a free beat costs.
TH6 does not offer free downloads. Every beat page has a free preview, so you can choose before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Can I release a song on a free beat?
Only if the producer allows it for releases, which "free for profit" usually does and "free for non-profit" does not. Keep proof of the terms and credit the producer as asked.
What does free for profit mean?
That you may earn money with the song, usually on condition that you credit the producer. The producer still owns the beat and can still sell it to others, also as an exclusive.
Is a royalty-free beat free?
Not necessarily. Royalty-free means you pay no royalties per stream or sale. The licence itself can still cost money.
Does TH6 have free beats?
No. Every beat has a free preview on the site, and a lease starts at € 75 with the terms in your name.