Beat licence matrix
Can I license this song for a TV show or a commercial?
Free (tagged) licence
On the Free (tagged) tier, licence it for tv, film or an advert is not permitted as these agreements are ordinarily written. Sync requires clearance from BOTH the recording and the composition. Even on an exclusive, the producer typically still controls a share of the composition, so a sync deal usually needs their signature as well as yours.
What to check in your agreement
Whether sync is granted at all, and who must sign to clear the composition.
The same question on every other tier
| Licence tier | Licence it for TV, film or an advert |
|---|---|
| Basic (MP3) | Not permitted |
| Premium (WAV) | Not permitted |
| Trackout / Stems | Not permitted |
| Unlimited lease | Depends on the contract |
| Exclusive rights | Depends on the contract |
What this tier is
A promotional lease. The producer tag stays in the record and commercial use is usually not granted at all. Typical price: $0.
Scope limit. This models the STANDARD form of each tier. Any individual agreement overrides it. Where a cell says 'depends', the answer is genuinely contract-specific and no general resource can resolve it.
Part of the Beat Licence Checker and
an open dataset published under CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12.