Updated 2026-07-11 · TV Music Store
Royalty-free means you pay once and owe no further per-use royalties, but the composer still owns the copyright and your use is bound by the license. Copyright-free is a marketing term with no legal meaning — most "copyright-free" music is in fact royalty-free or Creative Commons with conditions. Public domain means the copyright has genuinely expired and anyone may use the work, which for music is rare and usually applies to the composition, not to a modern recording of it.
| Term | Who owns it | What you must do | Typical risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty-free | The composer / library | Buy a license; stay inside its terms | Low — if the license covers your use |
| Creative Commons | The composer | Follow the specific CC terms (often attribution, often non-commercial) | Medium — CC-BY-NC forbids commercial use, and most video work is commercial |
| "Copyright-free" | Usually still the composer | Read what is actually offered — the term means nothing legally | High — the phrase is often used loosely by resellers |
| Public domain | Nobody | Nothing for the composition | The RECORDING is usually still copyrighted, even when the composition is not |
Beethoven's Fifth is in the public domain. The 2019 orchestral recording of it is not — the performance and the master are protected. Using a modern recording of a public-domain piece without permission is still infringement.
This catches a lot of documentary and education projects. If you need classical material, license a recording, or license a neo-classical track written for exactly this purpose.
Creative Commons tracks frequently require attribution in the description, and CC licences with the NC (non-commercial) clause exclude anything you monetize — including a YouTube channel with ads. A commercial royalty-free license removes that ambiguity, which is what most creators are actually paying for.
No. Royalty-free music is copyrighted. You license the right to use it; the composer keeps ownership.
Usually not, but it depends on the library and the plan. Free tiers often require attribution; paid licenses generally do not.
You can use the composition, but you still need rights to whatever recording you use — and most recordings are protected.