Royalty-free samples: what it actually means

Royalty-free means you pay once, or nothing, for the right to use the sounds in your music, and you owe nobody a share of what the track earns. It does not mean the sounds are free of rules. Here is what is normally allowed, what is not, and how it differs from sampling a record.

What royalty-free means

When you buy or download a royalty-free sample pack, you get a licence to use the sounds inside your own music. You release the track, it earns money from streams, sales or sync, and all of that is yours. The maker of the sample pack takes no percentage and does not need to be asked again.

RAW POWER179 royalty-free drums and loops: release your tracks anywhere and keep every royalty.

What is usually allowed

Releasing tracks that use the sounds, on every streaming service and store.
Changing the sounds: chopping, pitching, layering, processing.
Using them in client work, games, film and ads.
Playing them live and in DJ sets.

What is usually not allowed

Selling or giving away the sounds themselves, on their own or in another sample pack.
Uploading the raw files to sharing sites.
Registering the unchanged sounds with a content ID system, which could flag other people who bought the same pack.

Licences differ between companies, so read the one that comes with the pack. Ours is on the licence page.

Royalty-free is not the same as sampling a record

Taking a piece of someone else's released song is a different thing. That recording and the song behind it belong to their owners, and to release a track that uses them you normally need permission from both. That is what clearing a sample means. Royalty-free packs exist so you do not have to.

Content ID and royalty-free sounds

Because many producers own the same packs, two tracks can share a loop. If a platform flags your track because of a royalty-free sound, the usual answer is to dispute the claim and say where the sound comes from, with the receipt or download email as proof.

Our licence →Exactly what you can do with every Zynthion sound.A free royalty-free pack →24 sounds from all three packs, same licence.RAW POWER: royalty-free drums →179 drums and loops for house and techno. $29.

Free sounds for your next track

16 house drums, three guitar loops and five Serum 2 presets from our packs. Royalty-free, yours to use in music you release.

Questions

Can I use royalty-free samples commercially?

Yes, in your own music. You can release and sell tracks that use them and keep the royalties. You cannot sell the sounds themselves.

Do I need to credit the sample pack?

Usually not. Check the licence that came with the pack.

Are free sample packs royalty-free?

Many are, but not all. Read the licence before you release anything.

What is the difference between royalty-free and copyright-free?

Royalty-free sounds are still owned by their maker; you get a licence to use them. Copyright-free would mean nobody owns them.