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What to know about Artlist
Artlist is a subscription-based platform that allows users to download desired songs and sound effects. Artlist is a music licensing site that offers royalty-free music for a total of 200$ a year and without copyright issues. It was founded in 2015 and is one of the cheapest sites for unlimited download. It has over 12,000 tracks, and roughly 150 new tracks and sound effects are added monthly (1).
Below is a list of Artlist standout features:
Good layout or interface
Most video editors would agree that searching for music is in itself a tasking demand, and it is usually done in a rush. The easy-to-use and attractive dark interface make it easy for subscribers to navigate quickly and get the desired tune within the shortest timeframe possible.
Music Search and Discovery Tool
At the top of the interface are search functions that allow subscribers to locate sounds via keywords. This feature also sorts audio contents by staff picks, top downloads, and newest.
The Tempo search tool allows users to decide between low, medium, and high for different scenes. Then, the duration search tool provides carousels like hip-hop, vlog, time-lapse, and indie.
If subscribers cannot think of an easier way to dial down the exhaustive number of musical files into searchable keywords, the platform allows at the side of the interface, different mood-related, instrument-based, and genre filters.
Having selected the mood of your desired tune, the ‘add’ button makes it easier to keep narrowing down the filter until the user gets to the specific tune needed. What’s the bottom line? At the end of the playlist is a selection of specific sounds that can be checked out, cut, and trimmed into the video project.
Price
Artlist offers three different subscription plans. Here’s the deal:
- For Personal use, Artlist is priced at $9.99 monthly if the subscription fee is yearly and otherwise $14.99 per month if paid monthly. This subscription plan is mostly perfect for video projects on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, etc. The subscription fee guarantees usage on users’ social media channels.
- The Unlimited use is priced at $16.60 per month and $199 cumulatively in a year. This plan is best suited to video producers who create projects for both personal and commercial use. And what is there to gain? Unlimited downloads of sound for use on Paid adverts, Podcasts, Social Media, Websites & other platforms.
- The Enterprise subscription plan is most specifically created for companies. An Enterprise deal is such a mind-blowing offer because companies get to negotiate with the platform based on what they need. And of course, the amount isn’t stated. Interested parties are rather enjoined to contact Artlist to get the details.
What to know about Epidemic Sound
Like Artlist, Epidemic Sound is a royalty-free subscription-based platform that affords subscribers unlimited soundtrack and sound effects. However, unlike the former, the company was established in 2009 and thus, has a sound library of over 35,000 music and 90,000 sound effects as of now (2).
Artists and composers are welcome to provide sound files and they together share the proceeds while retaining exclusive rights to the songs. Below is a list of standout features peculiar to Epidemic Sound:
Search tool
In the Epidemic Sound vs. Artlist debate, Epidemic Sound boasts of a simpler, easy-to-use interface. Audio, music, and SFX files are classified into Genres, Moods, Tempo, Vocal, Instrumental, Featured, and Albums.
Each sound or music genre is further divided into Sub-genres. To discover newly uploaded music on the platform, the search tool makes it quite easy: it has two basic features that groups sound concisely:
- The ‘find similar’ function tool provides a discovery of musical items which look like the sounds the subscribers highlighted. This narrows down a broad catalog of sounds to similar sounds as the one needed.
- Downloading musical tracks via STEM is a lot easier. Users can be more creative and manipulative with sound design by removing vocals, instruments, bass, or other unwanted features thereby making it easier for Epidemic Sound to attend to subscribers’ musical needs. Subscribers can also use the same feature to select only the interesting criteria they want.
The track length, artist name, and track genre are displayed alongside every track selected. The artist pages are also accessible by subscribers.
Sound recommendation
Epidemic Sound recommends many tracks and sound effects based on recently uploaded videos to the user’s YouTube channel and the previously downloaded tracks from the site. ‘More of what you like’ is another recommendation technique that presents new subscribers with five tracks on the starting page.
Price
Users pay monthly or yearly to possess a catalog of desired sounds forever. Epidemic Sound is not available for free, thus, potential users must have to choose a subscription plan before accessing the major features on the platform.
Epidemic Sound offers 3 subscription plans which are largely dependent on what features the user seeks. As one would expect, these three subscription plans cost less if the payment is annual:
- For Personal use, Epidemic Sound costs $15 monthly and a cumulative figure of $144 per year. This plan is mostly considered the Social Media handler’s pick and to cap it all, comes with a free 30 days trial.
- The Commercial subscription plan answers business needs at $49 per month and $299 yearly. With an unlimited number of downloads, it can be used on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Like Artlist, the price for Enterprise subscription plans on Epidemic Sound is unknown. This is because the price may vary depending on company needs. Enterprise pricing allows companies to negotiate a fair amount for the sounds needed. This can be done through their company’s website.
Music Licensing and Right Coverage
Within the Epidemic Sound vs. Artlist debate, Epidemic Sound is the more coordinated music licensing platform. This is because it uploads its new tracks in agreement with the track artists. At the time subscribers are buying the newly finished tracks, there is no risk that one of the parties has defrauded the other.
This means:
- The music library has every right over the tracks, thus eradicating any disagreement between the artist and subscribers.
- The charges are distributed to the artists alongside a cut of the streaming revenue fee as well. In other words, new and unpopular artists and composers can become famous while also receiving a good share of income.
Since Epidemic Sound was established several years before Artlist, it’s only realistic that it offers better value in almost all the categories that might interest a video producer. However, Artlist is growing at a similar rate and such direct competition is one to watch out for in a few years.
Artlist vs. Epidemic Sound: Comparison
Based on the highlights above, the article compares the platform using the following parameters:
- Music Catalog
Epidemic Sound has an amazing music library of more than 32,000 tracks and 64,000 sound effects and counting while Artlist has probably 12,000 tracks and roughly 150 new tracks and sound effects are added per month.
- Search and Discovery Tool
Artlist recently introduced a dark mode which makes it easy to see the dynamics of the songs being listened to. Also, with a left to right design against the top-down design Epidemic Sound employs, one would assume Artlist has a better search design. Not so true.
The interface gets so cumbersome while picking filters as notifications cannot be seen. This is a feature that Epidemic Sound has over Artlist because each navigation is being separately highlighted to remind users a filter is on.
- Price
Artlist is cheaper than Epidemic sound when comparing their similar subscription plans. But with Epidemic sound, there are special features like the STEM download option which allows users to edit their music preference to taste, the pricing on Epidemic Sound looks fair enough.
- Music Licensing
Epidemic Sound Music licensing is specifically on paid subscriptions. Sounds and SFX are only active while users are paying subscribers. However, Artlist is more liberal in giving out copyright strikes as earlier downloaded tracks can be used for as long as the user wants to even if they are no longer paying subscribers.
From this juxtaposition, it is evident that Epidemic Sound wins this Epidemic Sound vs. Artist debate because it provides better value and service for subscribers than Artist does.
Epidemic Sound boasts more features than Artlist. Epidemic Sound boasts an amazing music library of more than 32,000 tracks and 64,000 sound effects with a music library that welcomes 150 new songs weekly, while Artlist comes at a cheaper price and is more user-friendly.
Epidemic Sound and Artlist welcome a large number of composers who fit their respective criteria and also reward them handsomely.
Both platforms boast a catalog of high-quality royalty-free music at a relatively low price, although the numbers vary. Epidemic Sound publishes a larger library.
Conclusion
To wrap up this comparison, both sites in this Artlist vs. Epidemic Sound discussion boast impressive features, making each choice fit for use in any video production project. It’s the features that matter the most to each video maker that ultimately determines which of the two royalty-free music sites is chosen.
For an easier user interface and cheaper subscription pricing, Artlist would be the best choice. While for a vast library that offers more music and sound effect options, as well as added special features like editing music to taste, Epidemic sound would be the preferable site.
And with that, it’s a wrap for this comparison guide. But before you go, we’d like to know which service you prefer for your creative projects. Artlist or Epidemic Sound? Drop a comment in the section below to let us know.
References:
- Kan, Andrew (2014), Artlist Review… Should YOU use it for your Videos? https://youtu.be/g11197bokAQ
- Cleyn, Charles (2020), Epidemic Sound vs. Artlist [Non Sponsored Honest Comparison] https://youtu.be/7V_6G2x4Krk