Artlist: How I Found Music for My Film Without Going Broke on Royalties

The story started with a problem. I was editing a documentary for YouTube and needed cinematic music. Free libraries offered either generic stuff or tracks already used in hundreds of other videos. Buying licenses at $50–200 per track was unthinkable for the budget.

A fellow editor recommended Artlist. “It’s the music they use in Netflix shows,” he said. I raised a skeptical eyebrow but subscribed. Three hours later, I had a soundtrack that elevated the film to another level.

Website: artlist.io

The Treasure Trove: What’s Inside

Artlist is a curated library. They don’t accept everything — they handpick artists. The result: 30,000+ tracks, and virtually any of them sounds professional. Genres: cinematic, ambient, indie, hip-hop, electronica, folk, world music, funk, soul, and dozens more.

The key feature — unlimited license. One subscription covers unlimited projects, commercial and non-commercial, forever. Even if you cancel, the license for already-downloaded tracks remains. This is revolutionary compared to per-minute and per-track licensing.

Smart search: by genre, mood (happy, sad, epic, mysterious), tempo (BPM), instruments, duration, and even by similarity to a reference track. Upload your own file and AI finds mood-similar tracks.

Beyond music, Artlist includes:

• SFX — 60,000+ professional sound effects
• Footage — 4K–8K stock video via Artgrid (separate subscription or bundle)
• Plugins — geo-templates for After Effects

Experience: From Search to Edit

Finding music for the documentary took 30 minutes. I entered “cinematic, mysterious, 120 BPM, instrumental” — got 200+ tracks. Listened to the first 10, saved 5 to a playlist, downloaded in WAV. Edited to the music — the film came alive.

I especially appreciated stems — individual instrument tracks. You can drop the drums in a tense scene or leave just the piano for an emotional moment. Flexibility that music libraries rarely offer.

What Might Not Fit

Artlist isn’t for podcasts and streams — Epidemic Sound has a more diverse collection of spoken-word background music. The library also has few pop hits and vocal music — Artlist bets on instrumental cinematic music. If you need a vocal track in the vein of Imagine Dragons — go to Musicbed.

Another point: Artlist is $15/month on annual billing. Artlist Max (music + SFX + video + templates) is $40/month. This is pricier than Epidemic Sound but cheaper than Musicbed ($30/month for music only).

Affiliate Program

Artlist offers $50 per referred subscriber. Flat payout, not a percentage. At $15–40/month subscription cost, that’s 1–3 months of payments — not bad. 30-day cookies. Payouts from $100 (2 referrals). Quality niche: videographers and directors are willing to pay for legal music.

My Take

Artlist is the choice for videographers who value artistic quality in music. If you shoot films, documentaries, music videos, commercials — Artlist delivers cinematic-level soundtracks. For daily vlogs and quick YouTube videos, it may be excessive in quality and price — Epidemic Sound will do. But if your content aims for Netflix-level — it’s a definite yes.

Insider Info: Artist Selection Criteria

Artlist doesn’t disclose exact criteria, but the community has figured out the pattern. The platform seeks artists with unique sound, not Hans Zimmer clones. Tracks undergo double-blind curator listening — 80% of submissions are rejected. Artists earn royalties from the global platform revenue pool, not per download. This incentivizes quality over quantity.

Interesting fact: some renowned neoclassical composers (Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds) started through library music, and today their tracks can be found on Artlist. The platform has become an incubator for independent musicians.

Alternatives for Comparison

• Epidemic Sound ($13/month): more tracks (40,000+), better for podcasts, stem separation available. But music is less cinematic.
• Musicbed ($30/month): higher artist quality, top-tier for ads and blockbusters. But pricier with a smaller catalog.
• Soundstripe ($15/month): wider genre coverage including country and Christian music. But uneven quality — lots of filler tracks.

Artlist wins on cinematic quality/price ratio in the sub-$20/month segment.