Guide · Beat licensing
How beat licensing works on AfroPublish
On AfroPublish, producers list beats, instrumentals, and sound kits for sale, and artists license them online in a couple of clicks. A licence is a one-off purchase of usage rights: the artist picks a tier — from a Basic Lease up to Exclusive Rights — pays, and instantly receives the files plus a licence certificate with a unique, verifiable licence number. On every lease tier the producer keeps ownership of the beat.
What can be licensed — and what can’t
Only producer-made content is licensable: beats, instrumentals, and sound kits. A finished song is never put up for licence on AfroPublish — songs earn from streaming. The two monetise differently by design: producers sell usage rights, artists earn royalties when fans listen.
The five licence tiers
Basic Lease
The entry licence — an affordable way to record and release over a beat, with the producer keeping ownership.
Premium Lease
A step up in usage allowances for artists expecting bigger numbers.
Trackout Lease
Includes the trackout stems, so the song can be properly mixed — each instrument arrives as a separate file.
Unlimited Lease
No usage caps: unlimited streams and distribution while the producer still retains ownership of the beat.
Exclusive Rights
The beat becomes yours alone. It's removed from sale and no further licences of it are sold to anyone else.
Producers set their own price for each tier, so the exact terms and pricing live on each beat’s page.
How buying works
- Find a beat in the beat marketplace or on a producer’s profile.
- Choose a licence tier on the beat’s page and pay online.
- Download the files immediately — your licence certificate, with its unique licence number, is issued at the same time and can be verified on AfroPublish at any point.
How producers earn
Every sale is credited to the producer’s AfroPublish balance straight away, with the sale, buyer tier, and licence number recorded in the dashboard. Withdrawals work through the payout methods in Earnings — see how artists get paid for the full money flow.