‘Free’ can be deceiving, so double check you aren’t thieving!

Free backing tracks have to specifically say they’re free for commercial use if you want to use them in your RouteNote releases.

A lot of ‘free’ beats, especially those listed on YouTube, are often free for non-profit use only. They won’t say this in the title; usually it’s in the “Show More” section underneath the video:

Others won’t say non-profit, but also won’t say free for commercial use. These usually still require a purchased lease, and will have a purchase link somewhere in the description:

If you’re using a free beat, it needs to specifically say it’s free to use for commercial releases:

Ensure you read the information that comes with the beat carefully. Check that you don’t need to buy a licence before you start work on your track.

If the beat you’ve used is free for commercial use and we ask you about it, send in a link to where you got it from originally/where it says it’s free for commercial use, along with your username and UPC, and we’ll be able to get your release approved.

Copyright content in backing tracks

Sometimes, beats leasers use content that’s under copyright in their backing tracks. We find this is most common with free backing tracks; someone’s used samples from a high profile record to make a beat they’ve put together for fun, then they’ve put it on YouTube and said anyone can use it. In cases like this we understand that people who’ve downloaded and used that backing track won’t know that there’s copyright content in it, but we won’t be able to accept the release.

Check out the full RouteNote Style Guide here!

See also:
Can I use a backing track in my release?
Can I use a purchased backing track in my release?
Can I use a backing track for my release if I have an agreement with the producer?