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Long story short - we would recommend Artlist.io over Soundstripe for a few reasons. The main one being the fact that Artlist.io has better music options as well as compatibility with other products. Soundstripe is still a good (and slightly newer) option for those who want to discover even more music variety.
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Music is a crucial aspect of any film, video, or multimedia production, adding emotional depth and enhancing the overall experience for viewers. With the rise of content creation and demand for high-quality audio tracks, two popular music libraries have emerged as leaders in the market: Artlist.io and Soundstripe. Both offer a vast collection of royalty-free music and sound effects, but there are some key differences that set them apart. This article will provide an in-depth comparison of Artlist.io and Soundstripe, highlighting their features, pricing, music library, audio quality, licensing options, and user experience.
If you have a YouTube Channel, produce content for clients, or use music in any sort of commercial work, then you'll understand the struggle that comes with music licensing. Regardless of whether you choose Artlist or Soundstripe, both platforms let you mass download and use music in your websites, videos, podcasts or anything in-between, without having to worry about copyright issues.
While they both provide the same function, Artlist and Soundstripe have some differences which will affect the usefulness of either platform depending on your situation and reason for choosing royalty free music in the first place.
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Artlist was created in 2016 from Israel with the aim of revolutionizing the way people access and use music in their projects. The company was founded by Ira Belsky with the goal of making it easier and more cost-effective for people to obtain the music they need for their film, video, and multimedia productions. By offering a vast library of music that is managed by a collective society, Artlist has eliminated the need for lengthy and complex licensing processes, reducing the legal headaches and issues faced by its clients.
One of the standout features of Artlist.io is its curated music collections. These collections cater to various genres, themes, and purposes, allowing users to find the perfect track for their projects with ease. These collections are not just randomly assembled; they are curated by artists, filmmakers, and experts in the field. This ensures that the music is not only of high quality but also relevant to the needs of video creators. Furthermore, Artlist.io encourages its users to create their own custom playlists, which can include Artlist Original songs, giving them a personalized touch to their music selection.
Another noteworthy aspect of Artlist.io is its commitment to artists. The platform provides a dedicated space where users can discover hand-picked artists and rising stars. This not only gives exposure to these artists but also ensures that users have access to fresh and unique music. By freely allowing users to browse the albums and songs of these artists, Artlist.io fosters a community where creators and artists can mutually benefit.
A year after its inception, Artlist released a robust beta version of its site, which garnered significant attention from filmmakers. This beta version introduced a fresh perspective on music licensing, challenging traditional norms and offering a more creative approach.
The success of the beta version led Artlist to further refine its platform. They took direct feedback from their user base and completely revamped the site, enhancing its functionality and user experience. This full version release was not just an upgrade but a testament to Artlist's commitment to its community. The platform introduced over 650 new songs, 120+ new albums, and a plethora of features like multi-tag selections, new curated categories, a duration filter, and more. The platform's design was also overhauled, making it up to 10 times faster and offering an enhanced mobile experience.
The platform also introduced unique features to enhance the user experience. The 'Video Theme' filter, for instance, suggests songs based on the theme of a video, be it slow-motion shots or vlogs. Another innovative feature is the 'Spotlight' section, which showcases curated collections of songs based on specific themes, popular artists, and albums. This section serves as a source of inspiration for users, helping them find the perfect track for their projects faster.
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Soundstripe, just like Artlist, is a music library that offers a collection of royalty-free audio tracks and sound effects for use in film, video, and multimedia productions. The platform is designed for content creators and provides a simple, user-friendly interface for searching and discovering music. With over 100,000 tracks in its library, Soundstripe offers a wide range of genres and styles to choose from, including indie, alternative, pop, rock, and classical. In addition to its extensive music library, Soundstripe also offers a lifetime license for its tracks, allowing users to use the music for as long as they need, as long as their subscription remains active.
One of Soundstripe's standout features is its integration with popular video creation tools. Imagine being able to access a vast music library without ever leaving your editing software. With the Soundstripe extension for Adobe Premiere Pro, that's a reality. This integration allows users to drag and drop tracks directly into their timeline, streamlining the editing process. Additionally, the Frame.io integration lets users drop song previews into projects, making collaboration a breeze. And for the live streamers out there, Soundstripe's Twitch extension is a godsend, offering a treasure trove of royalty-free music, ensuring streams remain uninterrupted by pesky copyright claims.
Soundstripe, with its roots deeply entrenched in the world of music, was founded by three passionate musicians. Their primary goal was to support artists globally, and they have been successful in their mission. To date, Soundstripe has employed over 150 musicians, helping them earn a livelihood from their craft. This commitment to artists has resulted in Soundstripe generating over $7M for creators through royalties and salaries. Furthermore, the platform has issued over 10 million sync licenses for various media, including commercials and videos.
The company's ethos revolves around quality over quantity. While some music libraries might prioritize having a vast number of tracks, Soundstripe focuses on maintaining high standards. This dedication to quality is evident in the fact that 98.7% of their library is actively used by their customers. The library's content is also built directly based on feedback from users, ensuring it meets the needs of the community.
Soundstripe's origins trace back to Nashville, TN, also known as Music City. The platform boasts over 20 diverse genres, catering to a wide array of musical tastes. The artists who contribute to Soundstripe's library have expressed their gratitude for the platform. For instance, Adrian Walther, a featured artist, mentioned how Soundstripe has granted him the freedom to earn a living as a creative, providing the necessary tools and support to produce high-quality work. Another artist, Matt Wigton, emphasized the creative freedom Soundstripe offers, allowing him to create music daily and support the platform's vast community of creators.
The inception of Soundstripe was driven by the founders' experiences as musicians. Micah Sannan, one of the co-founders and a former touring guitarist, along with his business partner Travis Terrell, realized the potential of unused music tracks. They observed that many quality tracks, created for specific projects, remained unused and saw an opportunity to give these tracks a platform and audience.
Since its establishment in 2016, Soundstripe has grown exponentially. Their unique subscription model, which allows content creators to access all media in its catalog for a fixed fee, has been a significant factor in their success. This model has led to the issuance of over 6 million licenses to tens of thousands of customers across more than 140 countries. Soundstripe's commitment to serving its users is evident in Micah Sannan's words, where he describes the company as a "tool for your tool belt," aiming to enhance the value of users' productions.
The company's growth is not just in numbers but also in its team. Soundstripe has nearly 70 team members, with a significant portion being musicians, producers, and engineers who contribute to the music on the platform. This unique blend of an internet company with a record label's characteristics allows Soundstripe to produce a vast amount of new songs every month.
Straight off the bat, you can tell that Artlist is far more popular than Soundstripe even though it was founded more recently than Soundstripe. But just because they have a large user base, it doesn't necessarily mean that Artlist is better. Here's a more detailed analysis to help you make a more informed decision.
Soundstripe is a more affordable option compared to Artlist. Artlist is a little more expensive if you decide to go with the Pro or Team plan, but you also get 1000s more tracks and better licensing options. Keep reading to discover more pricing information about the two music licensing platforms.
Starting from 2023, Artlist presents three distinct subscription options. The Personal plan, priced at $9.99 per month billed annually or $14.99 per month billed monthly, suits creators focusing on single social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and podcasts. For comprehensive usage, the Unlimited plan at $16.60 per month or $199 annually covers social platforms, client work, paid ads, podcasts, commercial projects, broadcast, TV, websites, and online platforms. Companies seeking tailored services can explore the Enterprise plan, which encompasses customized licenses, premium customer success, personalized terms, and dedicated curation services. Formerly lacking monthly plans, Artlist introduced a monthly Personal option in 2021 alongside annual subscriptions. Opting for the Artlist Unlimited plan requires annual billing. All plans offer a universal license, limitless downloads, project usage, lifetime access, and a 14-day refund window (unless prior music or SFX usage has occurred).
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Soundstripe pricing is the same as Artlist's, however the pro plans are more expensive by $3 per month. Unlike Artlist, Soundstripe offers three membership tiers: Creator, Pro, and Pro Plus. Users have the flexibility to choose between yearly or monthly payments. With a free Soundstripe account, users can download song previews, create their own playlists, and mark their favorite tracks. Additionally, Soundstripe provides workflow integrations to simplify the process of adding music to projects.
With over 8000 tracks, Artlist already has a much greater library than Soundstripe even though it was only created in 2016. This expansive library showcases Artlist's commitment to providing a diverse range of music options for its users in a relatively short span of time. The focus of Artlist's library is on full-length tracks, ensuring that users have access to complete compositions that can fit a variety of video lengths and styles. Moreover, Artlist does not offer instrument-specific stem files or sound effects within these tracks; instead, it emphasizes quality songs that can stand alone in their entirety.
On the other hand, Soundstripe, while offering a slightly smaller library with 7,000 songs, has a unique approach to its music collection. One of the standout features of Soundstripe's library is its commitment to adding new content consistently. Every month, Soundstripe introduces around 200 new tracks to its platform. This is in contrast to Artlist, which adds approximately 150 new songs monthly. Such a consistent addition ensures that Soundstripe's users always have fresh and updated content to choose from, catering to evolving trends and user preferences.
Another distinguishing factor of Soundstripe's library is its exclusivity. All the music produced for Soundstripe is exclusive to their platform. This not only ensures a unique collection of tracks that can't be found elsewhere but also simplifies the licensing process. By having exclusive rights to their music, Soundstripe can provide lifetime licenses to its users without any complications. This means that once a user licenses a track from Soundstripe, they can use it indefinitely without any concerns about licensing renewals or additional fees.
Furthermore, Soundstripe's library is not just about quantity but also about quality. The platform takes pride in collaborating with award-winning artists, ensuring that the music they offer is of top-notch quality. This focus on quality ensures that users don't have to sift through countless tracks to find the perfect one; instead, they are presented with a curated collection of high-quality music right from the start.
From our experience with both websites, Artlist has far better customer support compared to Soundstripe. All members of their team, including David (Artlist Partnership Manager) reply to our emails quickly to provide us with the help we need.
The overall interface of Artlist is also said to be more visually appealing. Not only that, but we found Artlist easier to navigate than Soundstripe. The filtering options on Artlist are also more flexible.
Soundstripe has been designed with the user in mind. The platform emphasizes a clean and intuitive layout, which aids in the quick discovery of music. The color palette, typography, and overall design aesthetics are modern and cater to a wide range of users, from beginners to professionals.
While Artlist offers basic filtering options, Soundstripe takes it a step further. Users can filter songs not just by genre, mood, and instrument, but also by specific BPM (beats per minute), song duration, and even music key. This level of granularity ensures that users can find the exact track they're looking for, tailored to their specific project needs.
Soundstripe offers curated playlists, which are collections of songs grouped by themes, moods, or specific use-cases. This feature is particularly useful for users who might not have a clear idea of what they're looking for. Instead of sifting through thousands of tracks, they can start with a curated list that has already been vetted for quality and relevance.
One of the standout features on Soundstripe is the ability to see songs similar to the one you've just listened to. This is invaluable for users who find a track they like but want to explore more options in the same vein. Instead of going back to the drawing board, they can continue their search from a point of reference, saving time and effort.
Soundstripe has a robust community of users, and the platform often incorporates feedback to improve its offerings. This iterative approach ensures that the platform is always evolving to meet the needs of its user base.
While this leans slightly towards functionality, it's worth noting from a user experience perspective. Soundstripe's integration with popular video creation tools, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, means that users can access the music library without ever leaving their primary workspace. This seamless integration reduces the friction of switching between applications and streamlines the video creation process.
Artlist offers a range of licenses tailored to the needs of content creators. When you obtain a license from Artlist, you're granted the right to use their high-quality assets in your projects across various platforms. One of the standout offerings is the Artlist Max license, which provides access to music, SFX, footage, templates, plugins, and apps, making it a comprehensive solution for creators. However, there are certain guidelines to follow. For instance, you should only incorporate the assets into your creations and not use them as standalone packages. This means you can't use the assets for music streaming, channels, radio, or other similar purposes. Also, you can't present any assets as separate files for public use, nor can you resell them. The assets should not be used in contexts that promote hate, discrimination, or any illegal content. It's essential to ensure that the assets are used responsibly and in line with the licensing agreement.
Soundstripe has positioned itself as a solution to the complex world of music licensing. Music licensing is crucial as it protects the interests of copyright owners, such as songwriters and publishers. When you have the right licenses, you can legally incorporate music into your YouTube videos, films, or other projects. Some of the licenses offered include sync license (for syncing audio with visual media), master license (held by the owner of the recorded music), public performance license, and several others. It's essential to understand that while you might come across the term "royalty-free music," it doesn't mean the music is free from copyright. Instead, it refers to a song recording you can use without having to pay ongoing royalty fees. These songs are still copyrighted, but with your agreement (usually a membership) with a music licensing company like Soundstripe, you're granted permission to use them. However, it's crucial to adhere to the terms of use, especially when it comes to broadcasting on platforms like YouTube, which have strict copyright detection algorithms.
The music tracks on both Soundstripe and Artlist are exceptionally high quality, however some Soundstripe users reported unmixed and unmastered audio on some older tracks.
Check The Top 10 Tracks On Artlist.io
If you're still unsure whether to choose Artlist or Soundstripe, here is a comparison of Soundstripe and Artlist (and Music Bed) according to existing users on Reddit.
User u/ohhellowthowaway describes the key difference between the two platforms. He mentions that the sound quality and overall enjoyability of the music on each platform is the same.
Reddit reviews of Artlist.io from past and existing users.
Reddit reviews of Soundstripe from past and existing users.
Soundstripe is our personal preference based on using both platforms for a minimum of four months, but Artlist may be the better option for you if you are more concerned about music quality and customer service.
Soundstripe and Artlist are both excellent options for those in need of high-quality background music for their projects. Soundstripe offers a vast selection of tracks, with a flexible monthly subscription model, while Artlist provides an extensive library of exclusive music at a yearly fee. Both services have their unique advantages and it ultimately comes down to personal preference and project needs.
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