So what is Artlist exactly?
Artlist is a subscription service that costs $199/year. That price gets you unlimited access to the company’s extensive library of quality music, which it sources directly from indie musicians all over the world.
And the best part is that the music is pre-licensed for every purpose imaginable. Regardless of whether you’re making home movies, wedding films, corporate videos, or high-end commercials, you can use any song in Artlist’s catalog however you’d like without any additional fees or royalties.
It’s a stellar deal for content creators, especially considering a few other popular platforms these days charge significantly more to license a single song for commercial projects.
The quality of music is phenomenal
There are a few other platforms on the market that offer music on a subscription basis (AudioBlocks and Soundstripe are the first two that come to mind). However, when it comes to quality of music, Artlist is simply unmatched by the others.
And let’s be honest, quality music is something that clients notice. It’s something that allows you to provide them with the best possible value for a price that’s more reasonable. All of this is to say, when you scrimp on costs by opting for generic stock music, nobody wins.
Here are a few profiles of the artists you can find on Artlist right now:
In addition to those two artists and their handful of their songs on Artlist, there are thousands more that you can browse immediately. Plus you can listen to full songs without any annoying watermarks or anything (which is always a plus).
If you’d like to hear the quality of Artlist music for yourself, be sure to check them out.
Artlist makes it easy to find great music and keep track of it
While most music licensing platforms have a way for people to like or “favorite” certain songs in the catalog, Artlist takes it one step further. When you’re browsing Artlist (check out the video below for exactly how to do that), you can create your own folders and use them to keep track of all the music you might want to use later.
For instance, you might have a folder for corporate interviews, a folder for bride and groom montages, a folder for time-lapses, a folder for personal projects, a folder for aerial footage, etc.
I’ve found it’s a good practice to check in on Artlist once or twice a month to listen to the new music that’s been added. Then you can sort the stuff you like into your folders and never have to worry about finding it again. That way, when you’re deep in an edit, you can just dig into your folders for the perfect song rather than having to browse the full catalog again.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, high-quality music allows you to provide the absolute best value to clients, which should always be the end goal. The more value you’re able to provide, the more repeat business and referrals you’ll get in return. Such is the cyclical and symbiotic nature of client-based businesses.
So let’s go back to that question I asked at the beginning: If you had the ability to simplify, streamline, and make affordable any piece of the video creation process, without sacrificing quality or creative potential, why wouldn’t you?
When it comes to music licensing, that’s exactly what Artlist enables you to do for your video business.
