Licensing
License Explained
What You Get When You Buy a Vocal: Terms, Credits & Rights
Buying a vocal on HitVocals means licensing a recording, not buying a song outright. This guide explains what your license covers, how exclusive and non-exclusive terms differ, and what each side owes the other…
About this guide
This is a plain-English summary of how our licenses work. The agreement supplied with your purchase is the authority, and where anything here and the agreement differ, the agreement wins. You can download example licenses from the support panel in your user area before you buy anything, and our team will talk you through a specific question any time.
What a HitVocals License Is
When you buy a vocal on HitVocals, you are licensing a master recording - a specific performance, recorded by a specific artist. You are not buying the song outright, and you are not buying the artist.
That distinction runs through everything below. A recording and the underlying composition are two separate things with two separate sets of rights, and they can sit with different people. Your license gives you the right to use the recording in your own music on agreed terms; it does not transfer the songwriting.
What it does give you is certainty. Unlike an uncleared sample, a HitVocals vocal arrives already licensed, with the terms written down before you spend anything. Our royalties guide explains how the two layers earn separately once a record is out.
Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Licenses
There are two license types on the platform. Both are the same recordings by the same artists. What separates them is how many people can build a record on the same performance, and what that costs.
Non-Exclusive
Shared. The same recording can be licensed to more than one producer, which is exactly why it costs a fraction of the exclusive price.
Perpetual, with no commitment to release. Buy one, never use it, and nothing happens.
Exclusive
Yours alone. The performance comes off the market. Nobody else can build a record on it, and it has never been released before.
Three years initially, then perpetual once the track is out - taking a vocal off sale entirely comes with a commitment to actually release it.
| Non-Exclusive | Exclusive | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed to | More than one producer | You alone |
| Term | Perpetual | Three years initially, then perpetual once the track is released |
| Release commitment | None | The track must be released publicly within three years |
| If you never release it | Nothing happens - the license stands | The agreement may be terminated and the vocal returned to the platform |
| Previously released? | May have been used elsewhere | Fresh - never released before |
| Can the artist re-record it | Yes, provided the underlying copyright credits are unchanged | No, not while the agreement is in term |
| Cost | Considerably lower | Substantially higher |
Artists set their own prices, so the gap between the two varies by vocal. How vocal pricing works explains what goes into them, and our non-exclusive guide covers the practical side of releasing a track built on a shared recording.
What You Receive
Every purchase delivers a full WAV vocal stem package, so you are working with the parts rather than a bounced file.
Wet and dry layers
Processed and unprocessed, so you can sit the vocal in your own production rather than inherit someone else’s.
24-bit WAV stems
Delivered organised, not as one flattened file. You get the parts, not a bounce.
Lyrics and MIDI
Not part of the standard package, but often available on request. It costs nothing to ask.
The backing track is not yours
Vocals are often recorded over a reference backing so you can hear how they sit. That backing track is not part of your license. You may not use or copy it in your release without further permission. It is there to demonstrate the vocal, nothing more - and it is the single easiest term on this page to overlook.
What You Can Do With the Vocal
The license is deliberately generous about the creative work.
- Edit it however you like. Chop it, pitch it, rearrange it, use one phrase as a hook and drop the rest. The only limit is that the result must not be harmful or obscene.
- Release more than one track with it. You may release as many tracks containing the master, or parts of it, as you like. One purchase is not one record.
- Give it your own title. Your release does not have to carry the name the vocal was listed under, and each release can have a different one.
- Keep your own publishing. Your publishing rights stay yours. We offer publishing and sync services to artists who want them, but it has never been a condition of anything.
What You Cannot Do
Three limits, and they all protect the same thing - the artist’s performance staying the artist’s.
- Re-record it. You have the right to use the master recording you purchased. You may not re-record it - not with a different singer, and not with the original artist either. If you want a performance built to your track from scratch, that is what our custom vocal service is for.
- Use the reference backing track. The music the vocal was demonstrated over is not licensed to you, and needs separate permission.
- Resell or sub-license the vocal on its own. Your license is to use the recording in your own music. It does not let you pass the vocal master on as a standalone asset, and if you sign your track to a label, that deal covers your track rather than the vocal inside it. There is example wording for exactly that situation on our non-exclusive guide.
The Term and the Release Commitment
Non-exclusive licenses are perpetual and carry no release commitment. If you buy one and never use it, nothing happens.
Exclusive licenses work differently, because exclusivity takes a vocal off the market for everybody else. An exclusive license is granted for an initial three years, during which the track must be released publicly. Release it inside that window and the license becomes perpetual. Fail to, and the agreement may be terminated, with the vocal returning to the platform for another producer.
It is not a penalty clause so much as a fairness one. An artist who takes a vocal off sale entirely is entitled to expect the record to actually come out.
Credits and Metadata
The vocalist decides how they are credited. They choose the name or alias, they decide whether to be title-credited on the release, and they may change their mind at any point before it goes out.
Making the credit accurate is the producer’s job. That means correct credits in the DSP metadata on every release, not just the first one, and it applies even where the artist has chosen not to appear in the track title - they still need crediting on label copy and registrations. Their crediting details are on the licensing agreement.
You are also expected to keep the artist informed of every deal involving a track that contains their vocal. If you sign it to a label, they should know.
Royalty Shares
Artists set their own terms, which include the share of publishing and the share of the master they retain. Both are typically around 25%, and never more than 50%. You see the terms before you buy - there is nothing to negotiate after the fact and nothing hidden in the agreement.
HitVocals takes no royalties. We keep our commission on the sale itself and nothing after it. There is no ongoing cut of your master, your publishing or your neighbouring rights.
If you self-release, paying the artist their share falls to you. Our royalties guide works through what that looks like in practice, including the arithmetic.
Changing the Agreement Later
Completing a sale signs the initial licensing agreement, and it is legally binding from that point. That said, nothing stops you and the artist agreeing something different afterwards - a variation, or an entirely new agreement - if you both want to. You are put in direct contact once a sale completes, which makes that conversation straightforward.
HitVocals is not a party to what happens to the project after the purchase. We connect you, we set out the terms, and the agreement is between you and the artist.
Licensing Terms, in Plain English
A few words on this page do a lot of work. If any of them are new, they are worth two minutes.
- Master
- The finished sound recording. What you license from HitVocals is a master, not a song.
- Composition
- The underlying song - lyrics and melody - a separate piece of property from any recording of it.
- Stem
- An individual part of a recording delivered as its own file, rather than everything bounced together.
- Wet and dry
- Processed and unprocessed versions of the same vocal. Dry lets you produce it yourself.
- Exclusive
- Licensed to one client only, and taken off the market.
- Non-exclusive
- The same recording may be licensed to more than one producer.
- Perpetual
- The license does not expire. It runs for as long as the rights themselves last.
- Term
- The period a license runs for. Exclusive licenses start with a three-year term tied to release.
- Sub-license
- Passing on rights you hold to somebody else. Your license does not permit it for the vocal on its own.
- Label copy
- The credit and metadata delivered with a release, and where the artist’s credit has to appear.
Reading Your Actual License
Everything above is a summary. The agreement supplied with your purchase is the document that governs, and it is worth reading rather than skimming.
You do not have to buy anything to see one: example licenses are downloadable from the support panel in your user area, so you can read the terms in full before you commit. If something in one is unclear, ask us. A licensing question answered before a purchase is worth a great deal more than one answered after a release.
Common Questions About Vocal Licensing
The terms producers ask us about most often, in plain English.
What am I actually buying when I license a vocal?
You are licensing a master recording - a specific performance by a specific artist - for use in your own music, on the terms set out in the agreement. You are not buying the song outright and you are not acquiring the underlying songwriting. The recording and the composition are two separate things with two separate sets of rights.
What is the difference between an exclusive and a non-exclusive license?
A non-exclusive license means the same recording can be licensed to other producers too, so more than one release may legitimately feature it. An exclusive license means the recording is yours alone. Non-exclusive licenses are perpetual with no release commitment; exclusive licenses run three years initially and become perpetual once you release the track. Exclusive costs considerably more, which is what the exclusivity is buying.
How long does the license last?
Non-exclusive licenses are perpetual. Exclusive licenses are granted for an initial three years, during which the track must be released publicly - do that and the license becomes perpetual. If the track is not released within three years, the agreement may be terminated and the vocal returned to the platform.
Can I use one vocal on more than one track?
Yes. You may release as many tracks containing the master, or parts of it, as you like, and each release can carry a different name. You do need to credit the artist properly on every one of them and keep them informed of any deals involving those tracks.
Can I chop up or edit the vocal?
Yes. Pitch it, chop it, rearrange it, build a hook from a single phrase - the license does not restrict how you use the recording creatively. The one stated limit is that the result must not be harmful or obscene.
Can I use the backing track that came with the vocal?
No, not without further permission. Vocals are often recorded over a reference backing so you can hear how the performance sits, but that music is not part of your license. It is there to demonstrate the vocal. This is the term people most often miss.
Can I re-record the vocal with another singer?
No. Your license is to use the master recording you purchased. Re-recording it is not permitted, with a different singer or with the original artist. If you want a performance created specifically for your track, that is what the custom vocal service is for.
What share does the artist take?
The artist sets the share of publishing and the share of the master they retain as part of their licensing terms. Both are typically around 25%, and never more than 50%. The terms are visible before you buy. HitVocals itself takes no royalties at all beyond the commission on the sale.
Do I have to credit the vocalist on my release?
Yes. The vocalist chooses the name they are credited under and whether they appear in the track title, and can change their mind before release - but accurate credit in your DSP metadata is your responsibility, on every release. Even where an artist has chosen not to be title-credited, they still need crediting on label copy and registrations.
Can I see a license before I buy?
Yes. Example licenses are downloadable from the support panel in your user area, so you can read the full terms before committing to anything. If a clause is unclear, contact our team and we will talk it through.
Not Sure Which License You Need?
Ask before you buy rather than after you release. Tell us what you are making and where it is going, and we will tell you plainly which license fits and what it will commit you to.
support@hitvocals.co.ukEvery Vocal, Cleared Before You Buy
Terms written down, artists paid fairly, and a real person to ask when something is not obvious. Browsing is free.
Or email us at support@hitvocals.co.uk