Lease vs Exclusive Beat Licenses: A Plain-English Guide for Producers
When an artist "buys a beat", they almost never buy the beat itself. They buy a license: permission to use your beat in their song, under terms you set. The two main kinds are leases (non-exclusive licenses) and exclusive licenses. Knowing the difference helps you price your work, write clear terms, and avoid awkward conversations later.
This guide covers what each one means, what usually goes in each, and how to set up license tiers on your own beat store.
Quick note: this is general information, not legal advice. Licensing law varies by country, so have a music lawyer review your actual agreements.
What is a lease (non-exclusive license)?
A lease lets an artist use your beat, but not only them. You can keep selling leases on the same beat to other artists. You keep ownership of the beat.
Leases are usually cheaper, and they're how a lot of independent producers make steady income from one beat. A lease usually spells out limits, such as:
- how many copies the artist can sell or distribute
- how many audio streams are allowed
- whether they can make a music video, and if it can be monetized
- how many live performances, and whether those can be for profit
- how many radio stations can play it
- what credit you get (for example, "Prod. by [your name]")
- your share of publishing (see Do I need a music publisher as a beatmaker?)
Many producers offer a few lease tiers. A typical setup is a basic MP3 lease, a WAV lease with higher limits, and a "trackout" or unlimited lease that includes the stems. Higher tiers raise the limits and include better files. For the file-format side, see WAV vs MP3 for music producers.
What happens when an artist hits the limit? That depends on your terms. Many agreements ask the artist to buy a new or higher license once they go over. Whatever your rule is, write it down clearly.
What is an exclusive license?
An exclusive license means that once the deal is done, you stop licensing that beat to anyone else. The artist gets exclusive use going forward, usually with much higher (or no) usage limits. Exclusives cost more because you give up future sales of that beat.
Two things producers often get wrong:
- Existing leases usually stay valid. If you sold leases before the exclusive, those artists generally keep the rights they paid for, unless your lease terms said otherwise. Tell exclusive buyers up front if a beat has already been leased.
- "Exclusive" doesn't automatically mean you give up everything. How rights in the recording and the composition are split, and whether you keep a publishing share or credit, depends on what your agreement says. Spell it out.
After an exclusive sale, take the beat off sale so nobody else can buy a lease by mistake.
Lease vs exclusive at a glance
| Lease (non-exclusive) | Exclusive | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you keep selling the beat? | Yes | No, not after the sale |
| Typical price | Lower | Higher |
| Usage limits | Set caps (copies, streams, videos, shows) | Usually much higher or none |
| Files | Often MP3 or WAV; stems on top tiers | Usually WAV plus stems |
| Earlier leases | — | Usually still valid |
How to decide what to offer
There's no single right setup, but a few practical tips help:
- Start simple. Two or three lease tiers and one exclusive is plenty. Too many options slow buyers down.
- Make each step up clearly worth it. Better files, higher limits, or both.
- Keep your terms readable. If an artist can't tell what they're allowed to do, they'll either email you or walk away.
- Use the same terms everywhere. The summary on your store and the full contract should say the same thing.
- Decide your exclusive policy now, before someone asks. What happens to existing leases? Do they get stems? Is there a publishing split?
Setting up license tiers on your own store
On a marketplace, you fill in a license form. On your own WordPress store with BeatStore, licenses are regular prices in Easy Digital Downloads or WooCommerce, so you can name them anything and charge whatever you want:
- Each beat can have several licenses, such as Basic Lease, Premium Lease, Unlimited, and Exclusive, each with its own price and files. See Add new music / beats.
- The BeatStore player shows a license picker, so buyers choose the tier right from the track list. With BeatStore Contracts, the picker also lists short bullets for what each license includes (copies, streams, music videos, publishing).
- Mark exclusives. When a beat sells on an exclusive offer, BeatStore marks it sold so it is not sold again. You can also mark a beat sold by hand in the beat editor.
- Attach a contract to each tier. With BeatStore Contracts, each license tier gets its own contract template. After payment, the buyer gets a PDF filled in with their name, the beat, the license name, and the price. The order number is printed in a fixed header, not as a placeholder in the agreement. More on that in How to Auto-Fill Beat License Contracts.
You also keep your earnings. BeatStore doesn't take a commission on your sales; the only fees are from your payment provider, such as PayPal or Stripe.
Key takeaways
- A lease is non-exclusive. You keep selling the beat, and the artist works within set limits.
- An exclusive stops future licensing of that beat. Earlier leases usually stay valid.
- Write your limits and your exclusive policy down clearly, and keep the store summary and the contract consistent.
- Get your final contract reviewed by a lawyer.
Ready to set up your own tiers? See pricing, or read How to Make a Beat-Selling Website with WordPress to start from scratch.