A Guide to Distributing Music with Samples & Beats: Understanding Licensing & Rights Management Platforms

Using samples in music creation isn’t a new thing - and it’s not a bad thing either. But it does come with rules, guidelines and limitations when it comes to distributing your music.

This Guide will give you everything you need to know about samples, licensing, restrictions and how you can use samples the right way. Keep reading!

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🎵What are samples & beats?

Samples are quite literally samples of existing music. Sampling means taking a portion of an existing sound recording and using it in a new recording - whether that’s a drum loop, vocal phrase, melodic hook, or any other audio element.

You could take a drum beat from a 1970s punk record or a vocal snippet from a movie soundtrack or a looping guitar riff from a classic rock song: if it’s an audio element from another track that you’re using in yours, you’re sampling.

While the terms ‘samples’ and ‘beats’ are often used interchangeably and are similar in their definitions, there is a distinction between the two.

Whereas samples are typically snippets of tracks, beat licensing usually refers to purchasing the rights to use an instrumental track, often in its entirety. Producers and beatmakers may create beats specifically for the purpose of selling their licenses, where the producer typically retains ownership of the underlying instrumental and the artist licenses usage rights.

In both cases, an artist using samples or beats is using audio elements created by someone else, which means you’re running into copyright, ownership and legal permission issues. And that’s the most important consideration when using samples or beats.

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🎵Exclusive vs Non-Exclusive samples/beats licensing

There’s no getting around the core fact that sampling or using a beat needs to be licensed. Releasing music with completely unlicensed samples or beats is a breach of copyright and will likely result in DMCA actions.

But when it comes to licensing, there are variations that affect whether your music can be distributed to certain platforms and/or monetised.

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What is a Non-Exclusive License?

A non-exclusive license allows an artist (or the license holder more broadly) to use a sample or beat commercially - but other artists, creators and producers can do the same.

Multiple artists can use the exact sample or beat you’ve purchased a non-exclusive license for, meaning your track won’t necessarily be unique.

Non-exclusive licenses allow the original artist or creator to retain ownership of the original track or beat, while ‘leasing’ it to other artists or creators to use in their work.

Non-exclusive licenses are generally cheaper, so are great for artists just starting out and looking for some inspiration or a popular hook to use in their work. They’re also good for artists who specialise in a particular audio element but want to experiment with other elements, e.g. a singer-songwriter purchasing a drum beat or a rap artist purchasing a vocal sample.

Common Features of Non-Exclusive Licenses

Each license will be different, so make sure you fully understand the terms and conditions before you purchase your license, but non-exclusive licenses could have the following stipulations:

• Limited usage terms: a non-exclusive license may specify the number of streams, downloads or YouTube views you’re allowed to monetise.
• Time restrictions: the license terms may specify that your non-exclusive license expires after 1-5 years, requiring you to renew the license if you want your track to stay live.
• File formats: the license may specify that the beat or sample will only be provided to you in a particular file format, e.g. MP3 file, which can limit the audio production you can perform on your track
• Distribution restrictions: the copyright owner may specify that you cannot use the sample or beat on particular platforms (outside of the wider distribution restrictions detailed below)

The most important point to note here is that tracks created using samples or beats with non-exclusive licenses cannot be distributed to Rights Management Platforms.

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What is an Exclusive License?

An exclusive license grants the licensee the exclusive or sole right to use a sample or beat. Once you purchase it, noone else can purchase it.

With an exclusive license, you can be confident that you won’t hear that same beat or sample in any other artist’s work: you are the only artist who can commercially release music using that sample or beat.

The producer or original creator still owns the underlying copyright, but you have exclusive usage rights.

Exclusive licenses are typically more costly than non-exclusive licenses, but are able to be more widely monetised by artists.

Common Features of Exclusive Licenses

Again, each producer or creator will use slightly different terms in their licensing, but exclusive licenses would typically include:

• Unlimited usage: no limits on streams, downloads or views
• Multiple file formats: an exclusively licensed sample or beat will usually be delivered in multiple formats to allow for editing in production software
• No expiration date: exclusive licenses typically exist perpetually, meaning you won’t need to renew the license 
• No distribution restrictions: having an exclusive license usually makes your track eligible for full distribution, including to Rights Management Platforms (more details below)

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When is an Exclusive License not really an Exclusive License?

The important caveat here is that an exclusive license doesn’t guarantee that no-one else has ever been granted rights to use that sample or beat.

While most producers, artists and creators remain consistent with their approach to licensing, some are not.

When you’re purchasing an exclusive license to a sample or beat, you need to verify with the copyright holder that the same sample or beat hasn’t previously been licensed on either an exclusive or non-exclusive basis to anyone else. You also need to check that the creator of that sample or beat hasn’t themselves used non-exclusively-licensed samples or beats as part of their composition.

If you purchase what you think is an exclusive license, but actually turns out to have been previously licensed non-exclusively to others or make use of other non-exclusive samples itself, you won’t, in reality, be the only artist using that sample or beat - and therefore are likely to face restrictions when it comes to distributing your work to Rights Management Platforms.

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🎵Distribution restrictions on releases using samples or beats

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🎵Why can’t non-exclusive samples or beats be distributed to Rights Management Platforms?

Rights Management Platforms, like YouTube Content ID, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, use audio fingerprinting technology to scan content and identify any copyrighted elements within a track.

The idea is to ensure you, as an artist, protect your original works and have the opportunity to monetise any content (YouTube videos, Instagram or Facebook Reels, or short-form TikTok videos) that uses your music. The goal of Rights Management Platforms is to ensure that you, as an artist, are in control of how and where your music is used.

As a result of the way Rights Management Platforms work, music that uses samples and/or beats that are non-exclusively licensed by an artist or creator can not be distributed to those platforms.

As we’ve already covered, non-exclusive licensing means that other artists and creators have the right to simultaneously use the same samples or beats that you’re using - and if more than one version of that same sample or beat is uploaded to a Rights Management Platform, ownership conflicts will be flagged and the content will likely be taken down by the platform.

If you have an exclusive license to a sample or beat, you have the right to be the only artist or creator using that audio element. In this case, you can distribute your content to Rights Management Platforms and, if there are any other artists or creators using that sample or beat in an unlicensed way, you can assert ownership of that audio over others.

With a non-exclusive license, you can’t do that - meaning that you cannot upload your content to Rights Management Platforms without experiencing ownership conflicts and potential takedowns.

Even if you paid for your license, if it only grants you non-exclusive rights, it cannot be distributed to Rights Management Platforms, regardless of where you licensed the sample or beat, or who is distributing your music.

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How to distribute music that contains samples or beats

Distributing music that uses samples or beats is possible, though in some cases (as explained above) it faces distribution restrictions to specific platforms.

The first thing to take into consideration is that you cannot distribute any tracks that use unlicensed samples or beats. If you don’t have any form of license for the elements you’re using in your track, you cannot distribute it to any DSPs.

The second thing to be aware of is that tracks using samples or beats with non-exclusive licenses will be treated differently from those with exclusive licenses, because non-exclusive licenses don’t grant you the relevant rights for some DSPs.

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Music containing exclusively licensed samples or beats

If your track uses samples or beats that you have exclusive licenses for, you can send your release to all major DSPs, including Rights Management Platforms.

However, there are some things you need to do prior to distributing your release.

First, ensure that you thoroughly review and understand your exclusive license, as well as having assurances that the sample or beat hasn’t previously been non-exclusively licensed to other artists.

Second, mark your use of samples in the Track Properties when distributing your release.

Third, send a copy of your exclusive license to our Client Management team who will validate that you have the relevant rights to send your track to Rights Management Platforms.

If you miss any of those steps, your release may be delayed while our team reaches out to you to verify your sample usage and gather your licenses. To avoid any unnecessary delays, make sure you send us the documentation to review before distributing your release.

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Music containing non-exclusively licensed samples or beats

If your track uses samples or beats that you have non-exclusive licenses for, you can send your release to streaming DSPs, like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc., but not to Rights Management Platforms, including YouTube Content ID, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, due to the fingerprinting processes explained earlier.

Like with exclusive licenses, you will need to follow these additional steps before distributing your release:

First, ensure that you thoroughly review and understand your non-exclusive license, paying particular attention to any platform, stream numbers, or usage limitations it prescribes.

Second, mark your use of samples in the Track Properties when distributing your release.

Third, send a copy of your non-exclusive license to our Client Management team to validate and review any restrictions before sending your release to the appropriate platforms.

Again, missing any of those steps could cause delays in distributing your releases - so make sure you’re sending everything to us before you upload your release to your dashboard.

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What happens if I can’t provide a license for samples or beats?

If you’re unable to provide written documentation of either an exclusive or non-exclusive license for a sample or beat you’ve used in a track, your release won’t be distributed. If we can’t be sure that you have the rights to use a sample or beat, we can’t send that track to any DSPs, including streaming and Rights Management Platforms.

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🎵Common mistakes & how to avoid them

❌Mistake #1: not reading the license agreement

Find the perfect sample or beat and buying it isn’t enough. Before you’re able to distribute the content you create with that sample or beat, you need to read and understand the usage terms of your license. Always thoroughly read the license terms before committing to using the sample or beat, so that you avoid any uncertainty about where you can distribute your track.

❌Mistake #2: assuming ‘unlimited’ means ‘exclusive’

Buying a license that allows ‘unlimited’ usage is not the same as buying an exclusive license. While unlimited usage grants you the rights to use that sample or beat without any streaming, download, or usage restrictions, it does not mean that you are the only artist or creator with those rights. Unlimited non-exclusive licenses do not grant you the rights to distribute that content to Rights Management Platforms.

❌Mistake #3: using ‘exclusive’ samples or beats that have been produced using non-exclusive elements

An exclusive sample or beat isn’t truly exclusive if the producer has used non-exclusively licensed samples or beats as elements in their final product. Check with the producer that they created the sample or beat from scratch, or that they can show they have exclusive licenses for any underlying elements - otherwise your track could be treated as having non-exclusive rights and face distribution restrictions.

❌Mistake #4: not keeping track of your licenses

If you send a track that uses samples or beats to our distribution queue, we will get in touch with you to get a copy of your license(s). If you’re unable to provide a license, whether that’s because you don’t have one or you can’t track it down in your files, we may not be able to proceed with distribution to any DSPs.

❌Mistake #5: not crediting producers properly

Most licenses will specify whether and how you need to credit the original creator in your work. Not adding the proper credits in when you distribute your release can result in invalidating your license and cause copyright claims on DSPs.

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