The two terms get used interchangeably, but they describe different things. Confusing them is one of the most common reasons creators end up with copyright claims.
Royalty-free: a way of paying
Royalty-free music is still protected by copyright. Someone owns it. What you buy is a licence that lets you use it without paying a royalty every time your video plays or your ad airs. You pay once per track or through a subscription.
The licence has terms. It may cover online video but not broadcast TV, your own channel but not client work, or background use but not distribution as a song on streaming services. Read them.
Copyright-free: no copyright applies
Truly copyright-free music is in the public domain, either because the copyright has expired or because the creator gave it up, for example with a CC0 dedication. Nobody can license it to you because nobody owns it; you can use it for anything.
Two cautions:
- Composition and recording are separate. A Beethoven sonata is in the public domain, but a modern recording of it is usually protected. Only recordings released to the public domain, such as the performances in our free library, are free to use as audio.
- Copyright terms differ by country. A work can be public domain in one country and protected in another.
Where Creative Commons fits
Creative Commons licences sit in between. CC0 is effectively copyright-free. CC BY lets you use the work if you credit the creator. CC BY-NC forbids commercial use, which usually rules out monetised videos and ads. See our glossary entries on Creative Commons and CC0.
What generated music is
Music you generate on a Sonvela plan comes with a licence that lets you use it commercially, as set out on our licensing page. Whether AI-generated audio can itself be protected by copyright is a separate, unsettled question covered in can you copyright AI-generated music.
Before you use any track
- Check whether it is licensed, Creative Commons or public domain
- For licences, check the specific use you have in mind is covered
- For CC, check for NC (non-commercial) and BY (credit required)
- Keep a record of where the track came from
Written by the Sonvela editorial team with AI drafting assistance, then checked against the sources linked in the text. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.