The 10 Best Music Licensing Companies in 2026 (Honest Comparison)
The "best" depends on what you're doing
The honest answer to "what's the best music licensing company?" is: depends on whether you're a filmmaker looking for music, a YouTuber needing royalty-free tracks, a working composer pitching for placements, or an established artist looking for an agency.
This guide is for working composers. The 10 companies below cover the spectrum — from subscription royalty-free catalogs paying small per-stream rates to boutique sync agencies pitching prestige TV cuts. Each one fits a specific career stage and a specific kind of music.
How to read this list
Each company gets the same honest treatment:
- What they do — catalog, agency, library, marketplace
- Cut they take — your share of every license fee
- Who they're right for — career stage and music style
- What to watch out for — the realistic downside
No company is "best" in the abstract. The right one depends on what you write, where you are, and what trade-offs you're willing to take.
1. Tonal Chaos Trailers
Type: Premium trailer music library Specialty: Theatrical movie trailers, streaming TV promos (Netflix, HBO, Apple), AAA video game trailers Best for: Composers writing premium epic hybrid orchestral, cinematic action, sci-fi, drama for high-end theatrical placements Watch out for: Highly selective on quality and genre fit — not the right home for indie singer-songwriter material
Tonal Chaos Trailers is a curated trailer music library focused exclusively on the highest-end placements. If your music sounds like it belongs in a Marvel teaser or a Netflix prestige drama promo, this is one of the better targets. If you're writing folk, jazz, or singer-songwriter material, look elsewhere.
2. Outsider Music
Type: Production music library focused on TV and advertising commercials Specialty: Broadcast-ready cues for episodic TV, reality TV, and ad campaigns Best for: Composers writing across genres for the broad TV/ad placement market Watch out for: Submission relationships are by invitation rather than open form
Outsider Music focuses on the TV and ad placement market — different home than trailer music. If your strength is tight, broadcast-ready cues across multiple genres rather than epic theatrical pieces, this is the better fit between Marc's two catalogs.
3. Artlist
Type: Subscription-based royalty-free catalog Cut: Composers paid per-track-licensed (varies by tier) Best for: Filmmakers and content creators wanting unlimited royalty-free music for one annual fee. For composers, steady (smaller) payouts at high volume. Watch out for: Subscription model means lower per-license fees than traditional sync. Highly competitive submission for composers.
Artlist has dominated the YouTuber and indie filmmaker market for the past 5 years. For composers, signing with Artlist means giving up exclusive control of submitted tracks in exchange for a steady passive income stream — provided your music gets used at scale.
4. Epidemic Sound
Type: Subscription-based royalty-free catalog (Stockholm-based) Cut: Composers paid by stream + flat fees Best for: YouTubers and creators needing one-stop music for unlimited use. Composers earn royalties when their tracks get used in monetized content. Watch out for: Composer deals are typically exclusive — your music is only available through Epidemic. Per-stream payouts are real but small unless you go viral.
Epidemic Sound is the largest royalty-free catalog by far. Their composer roster is in the thousands. The exclusive deal structure means you give up other licensing options for that specific track, but the upside is meaningful streaming-style royalties from the Epidemic catalog being licensed to YouTube creators globally.
5. Musicbed
Type: Curated catalog Cut: 40-50% per license Best for: Composers writing premium cinematic music — Musicbed has reputation for hand-picked quality and active sales pitching Watch out for: Highly selective curation, long submission queue. Higher prices than royalty-free subscriptions, so fewer (but bigger) placements.
Musicbed is the most premium-positioned curated catalog in the indie filmmaker space. Their team actively pitches your music to clients, which is the real value vs. drop-and-hope marketplaces.
6. PremiumBeat
Type: Royalty-free curated catalog (owned by Shutterstock) Cut: Composers paid per-track-licensed Best for: Content creators and small-budget productions wanting hand-picked royalty-free music Watch out for: Composer payouts are per-license, not per-stream — volume depends on how often supervisors pick from this specific library
PremiumBeat is integrated with the Shutterstock stock-footage ecosystem, which means filmmakers and creators using Shutterstock for footage often grab music from PremiumBeat at the same time. Steady volume, smaller fees per use.
7. Marmoset
Type: Boutique sync agency + catalog Cut: 50% per license Best for: Indie composers and artists with a distinctive sound. Marmoset has reputation for premium ad campaigns (Apple, Nike) and prestige TV cuts (HBO). Watch out for: Highly selective intake. Slower roster growth. Best fit comes from a clear sonic identity, not a wide catalog.
Marmoset is the boutique end of the curated catalog space. Their roster is smaller and more carefully chosen than Musicbed's, and their placements tend toward premium brand work and prestige TV. Hard to break in. Good once you're in.
8. Songtradr
Type: Open marketplace + curated Cut: 30-50% per license Best for: Composers wanting low-friction submission with broader genre acceptance than Musicbed. Mass-market sync platform. Watch out for: Less editorial curation = more competition for the same placement. AI-driven matching is hit-or-miss.
Songtradr is the open-marketplace alternative to curated catalogs. Easier to get accepted, harder to stand out. Best treated as one channel among many, not your primary pipeline.
9. Position Music
Type: Sync agency Cut: 50% per license Best for: Established composers ready to be actively pitched by an agency with major show and trailer relationships Watch out for: Roster is closed-ish. Hard to break in without prior placements. Once in, you cede some control over your catalog.
Position Music is one of the major sync agencies on the LA scene. Their reputation is built on placing music in major TV shows and trailers. You'll typically need 5-10 placements under your belt before they'll consider signing you.
10. Pusher
Type: Boutique sync agency Cut: 40-50% per license Best for: Indie artists with distinctive sound. Reputation for landing prestige TV cuts. Watch out for: Very selective. Roster cap. Personal relationship with the team matters as much as the music.
Pusher is to sync agencies what Marmoset is to catalogs — boutique, selective, premium-positioned. They've placed music in shows like The Bear, Atlanta, and similar prestige TV. Their bar is high.
How to use this list
Most working composers don't pick just one. The two-pipeline strategy:
Inbound pipeline (passive): Submit to 2-3 catalogs that match your sound. Curated for premium fees (Musicbed, Marmoset, Tonal Chaos), royalty-free for volume (Artlist, Epidemic Sound, PremiumBeat).
Outbound pipeline (active): Pitch supervisors directly with DropCue. Keep 100% of every fee on those deals. The catalogs work for you while you sleep; direct pitching wins the placements that matter most.
The math: a composer with 200 tracks in 2 catalogs and 3-5 active direct-pitch relationships will out-earn a composer with 200 tracks in 5 catalogs and zero outbound. Every working composer eventually figures this out.
Music licensing companies FAQ
What's the difference between a music licensing company and a sync agency?
A music licensing company can mean anything from a curated catalog (Musicbed) to a royalty-free marketplace (Artlist, Epidemic) to a sync agency (Position, Pusher). Sync agencies specifically represent composers and pitch their music to supervisors for a percentage. Catalogs collect music and license it directly to clients.
How much do music licensing companies pay composers?
Net of the company's cut, composers typically see 50-70% of every license fee. So for a $5,000 sync placement, the composer might receive $2,500-$3,500 after the agency or library takes their cut. Royalty-free subscription services pay differently — typically per-stream or per-license at much smaller rates but at higher volume.
Should I sign exclusively with one music licensing company?
Usually not, unless they offer something exceptional. Exclusivity (especially with subscription services like Epidemic Sound) means giving up the chance to license that track elsewhere. Most working composers structure their catalog so a portion is exclusive to a strong partner and the rest stays available for direct pitching.
Can I work with multiple music licensing companies at once?
Most curated catalogs and production libraries are non-exclusive by track, meaning the same track can be in multiple catalogs simultaneously. Sync agencies and royalty-free subscription services are more often exclusive. Always read the contract before signing.
What's the cheapest way to license music for my YouTube video?
A subscription royalty-free service like Artlist or Epidemic Sound is the cheapest path for content creators. One annual fee unlocks unlimited use of their entire catalog. For traditional curated catalog music, expect $200-$2,000 per license depending on use case.
How do I submit my music to licensing companies?
Each company has its own submission process. Curated catalogs (Musicbed, Marmoset) and subscription services (Artlist, Epidemic) have public submission forms with selective acceptance. Sync agencies (Position, Pusher) are mostly referral-driven. Production libraries (APM, Universal Production Music) accept submissions through agent relationships or direct outreach with proven catalogs.
Can DropCue help me with music licensing?
DropCue is the toolkit you use alongside any licensing company — to organize your catalog, send branded share links to supervisors directly, and track who actually opens your pitches. It doesn't replace your relationship with Musicbed or Epidemic Sound; it complements them. Read music licensing platforms for how the categories fit together.
Where to go from here
If you're early in your career, focus on getting into one curated catalog first. Then layer in direct pitching with DropCue to keep more of every deal you close yourself. Then once you have 5-10 placements, look at sync agencies for the next stage.
There is no one company that's "best." There is the right portfolio of relationships for where you are.