Music for ads you can legally use
Real music from independent artists, cleared on both sides, priced per campaign — and you can drop it onto your own edit before you spend anything.
To use a song in an ad you need two permissions: the recording (the master) and the song itself (the composition). Miss either one and the ad can be muted, claimed or pulled. Together these are the synchronisation rights every paid ad needs, and our guide to what a sync licence costs shows the traditional price bands.
Melody licences start at $5. One fee covers the recording and the song, worldwide, for that piece of creative, with a PDF certificate issued the moment you pay.
Hear it on your own video first
Upload your cut, drop a track onto it and watch the real thing before you spend anything. No account needed, and your video stays on your device until you license.
- Licences from $5, covering the recording and the song worldwide
- Certificate issued the moment you pay, ready for any platform dispute
Tracks brands are licensing right now
$25 licenceState of Pain
NEMESISFast aggressive music that starts with guitar, then drums and progresses into a frantic thrash pace. Great for any project that needs strong dynamic aggressive undertones. Like most NEMESIS music, there are several parts that could be used alone or as an entire piece to support and bring emphasis to catch the viewer or listeners ear.
$5 licenceEmbrace the Winter
MusicarAtmospheric winter music, with piano, strings and bells.
$120 licencePop Funeral
HausersA fast, dark pop track that treats an ending like a celebration — sardonic, propulsive, and oddly compelling. 164 BPM, high energy, but with a happiness score of 22: the tempo says party, the everything else says funeral. Ironic, slightly unsettling, and unlike anything else in the Hausers catalogue. J-Pop structural influences under an alt-rock surface. Usage Recommendations: Scenes that need energy with an edge — dark humour, ironic twists, or moments where something ending is framed as a release. Strong fit for advertising that plays against type, trailers with a sardonic tone, or any visual where the music should feel slightly wrong in exactly the right way. Suggested Usage Scenarios: FORMAT / MEDIA: Advertising, film trailer, dark comedy, TV drama, branded content. VISUAL SCENARIOS: A montage of someone dismantling their old life with suspicious enthusiasm — throwing things out, changing everything, smiling too much. A breakup played for dark comedy rather than tears. A party that tips from fun into something stranger. A character walking away from something that should hurt, but doesn't seem to. End credits of a show where nothing resolved the way it should have. EMOTIONAL THEMES: The strange relief of an ending you saw coming. Letting go dressed up as moving on. Dark humour as a coping mechanism. The void reframed as freedom. Something dying that probably needed to die — and the bad taste left behind. Ironic advertising, dark humor scenes. J-Pop influences ( Popularity 6 | Energy 70 | Danceability 50 | Happiness 22 | Loudness -6dB OFFICIAL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/QouNj8320U4
$500 licenceI Want To Party All Night Long
LORD UNCLE DAVE“I WANT TO PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG” — LORD UNCLE DAVE & SLIM is a high-energy EDM/dance record built for nightlife, celebration, and after-dark excitement. The track combines a dark, cinematic atmosphere with infectious dance energy and a retro neon aesthetic inspired by the glamour, danger, and late-night pulse of 1980s Miami. (think Grand Theft Auto Vice City) Its combination of driving electronic production, club-ready energy, and a stylish Miami/Vice City-inspired atmosphere makes it well suited for visual media that needs to immediately communicate partying, nightlife, luxury, excitement, rebellion, summer nights, fast living, and having a good time. Dark • Neon • Sexy • Energetic • Cinematic • Retro • Luxurious • Rebellious • Party • Nightlife • Miami • Summer • After Hours The track is particularly effective when paired with neon city lights, palm trees, exotic cars, luxury environments, crowded clubs, rooftop parties, beaches at night, fast-paced editing, and characters living an extravagant nightlife lifestyle. Ideal placement: A scene where the audience should immediately feel, “The night is young, the city is alive, and the party isn't stopping anytime soon.” Sync Licensing / Usage Recommendations 🎬 Film & Television Nightclub and party scenes Miami nightlife sequences Pool parties and beach parties Character introductions and montages Vacation and summer sequences Late-night driving scenes Luxury lifestyle sequences Romantic/nightlife montages High-energy transition sequences End-credit sequences 📺 Commercials & Advertising Automotive and sports-car campaigns Alcohol and nightlife advertising Fashion and luxury brands Travel and tourism campaigns Hotels and resorts Nightclubs and festivals Summer campaigns Energy/lifestyle brands Dating and social apps Consumer electronics and headphones Promotional trailers and brand campaigns 🎮 Video Games Open-world city environments Nightclub and party missions Racing games Driving sequences Character customization/lifestyle environments Beach and nightlife locations In-game radio stations Game trailers and launch campaigns Loading screens and promotional videos 📱 Digital / Social Media Instagram and TikTok nightlife content Travel and vacation videos Car and luxury lifestyle content Fashion edits Party and club promotions Influencer campaigns YouTube intros and montages Sports and entertainment highlight edits
$60 licenceAngel (Instrumental)
The Moons Of JupiterBeautiful, uplifting, inspiring... full of hope and optimism.
$20 licence
$25 licencePerpetrator
Cult ArchitectAn high-energy, cinematic, and atmospheric track, Perpetrator is perfect for fashion, tech, automotive, and luxury brands looking for moody, stylish sync music. Combining peaks and drops, that track will align well with visual cuts and brand storytelling arcs, while its instrumental, cinematic production places it well for high-end luxury items that wish to exude style.
$5 licenceParamo – 60s Corporate Ambient Guitar
XABRUALVAAtmospheric and sophisticated ambient track featuring clean, resonant electric guitar textures. “Paramo” delivers a calm, professional, and inspiring vibe perfect for corporate storytelling, brand identity videos, sustainability projects, and high-end marketing campaigns. The spacious guitar tones create an elegant background that supports voiceovers without competing for attention, making it ideal for business, innovation, architecture, lifestyle, and clean-tech content. Includes main track, best‑part edit, and commercial cuts (60s, 30s, 15s) for fast and flexible professional editing.
Why stock music stopped working
Subscription libraries solved the legal problem and created a creative one. The same few thousand beds are used by everyone, so your ad sounds like the ad before it and the one after it.
Independent music sits in a different place: it has a voice, an artist behind it, and it has not been used on a hundred competing campaigns. It is also cheaper than most people assume, because you are licensing one campaign rather than renting a whole catalogue. Stock, indie or AI music compares the three routes side by side.
What a Melody licence covers
Each licence is written for how brands actually work:
- One creative concept, including every cutdown, aspect ratio and language version of it
- Worldwide use across paid social, digital, YouTube, web and owned channels
- A perpetual term for that creative — nothing expires mid-campaign
- Both master and publishing cleared in the same transaction
- A PDF certificate with the exact track, artist, ISRC and issue time, ready for legal or a platform dispute
Hear it on your edit first
The hardest part of choosing music is imagining it against the picture. Upload your cut, drop a track on it, and watch the real thing before you decide. Your video stays on your device until you license.
That is deliberately available without an account, because picking music is not a decision anyone should make from a waveform.
What it costs, honestly
A traditional sync deal for a social ad usually lands between $500 and $5,000 per side, and takes weeks. A recognisable recording costs far more. That maths only works for a hero campaign.
Per-track licensing exists for everything else: testing five music directions, refreshing a fatigued creative, or scoring the twenty pieces of content that never got a music budget in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use any song in my ad if I credit the artist?
No. Credit is not a licence. Using a recording in advertising needs permission from whoever controls the master and whoever controls the composition, in writing, before the ad runs. Crediting the artist afterwards does not change that.
Is royalty-free music safe for paid ads?
Only if the licence explicitly covers paid advertising and the territory you are running in. Plenty of 'royalty free' downloads exclude paid media, exclude broadcast, or are uploaded by someone who never owned the rights. Melody licences state paid social and digital use on the certificate.
How much does music for an ad cost?
Melody licences start at $5 for a single piece of creative and cover both rights worldwide. Traditional clearance for the same use typically runs $500 to $5,000 per side for social, and considerably more for broadcast or a well-known recording.
What happens if the platform flags my ad for music?
You send them the licence certificate. It names the track, the artist, the ISRC, the licensee and the exact issue time, which is what a rights dispute team needs to clear a claim.
Can I use the same track on a different campaign later?
That needs its own licence. Each licence covers one creative concept, which is exactly why the price is low rather than a five-figure buyout.
Ready to try it against your own footage?
Pick a track, drop it on your edit and see it before you decide. Licensing takes a couple of minutes when you are happy.
- Licences from $5, covering the recording and the song worldwide
- Certificate issued the moment you pay, ready for any platform dispute
Keep reading
Music licensing for commercials
What it costs, what you get, and how fast it clears.
Copyright-free vs licensed music
Why 'no copyright' is not the same as cleared.
Music for YouTube ads
Content ID, claims and pre-roll.
What a sync licence costs
Real price bands by media type.