If you need music for a video, ad, film, or podcast in Australia, you have two real ways to license it legally. You can track down the rights yourself through the publishers and record labels, or you can license it directly from the artist on a platform built for it. This guide covers both, honestly, so you can pick the faster path for your project.
First, what a music licence actually is
Every recorded song carries two separate copyrights:
- The composition. The song as written, controlled by the songwriter and their publisher.
- The master recording. The specific recording you can hear, controlled by the recording artist or their label.
To use a song in a video, you need a synchronisation licence ("sync" for short) that covers both. Clear one but not the other and you are not actually cleared. This is the single thing most people get wrong.
Option 1: The traditional route (publishers and labels)
In Australia, songwriters and publishers are represented by APRA AMCOS, which is also where you start when you need to identify who controls a song. For a sync licence on a specific track, the usual path looks like this:
- Find the publisher that controls the composition, often by searching the APRA AMCOS catalogue.
- Contact that publisher and request a sync quote for your exact use.
- Separately find and contact the owner of the master recording, usually the label or the artist.
- Negotiate terms and price with each of them.
- Wait.
This is the correct route when you want one specific, well-known song and nothing else will do. It is also slow and uncertain. You are emailing rights holders, waiting on quotes, and negotiating two separate deals, often over weeks, with no guarantee of a yes at the end. For a national TV commercial that is part of the job. For a YouTube video, a brand film, or an indie short on a deadline, it is usually more friction than the project can carry.
Option 2: License directly from the artist
The faster route for most projects is to license music that is already cleared and priced upfront. That is what Tracksynk does.
Every track is uploaded by the named artist who wrote and recorded it, so both copyrights are handled in a single licence. You browse, pick the tier that matches how you are using the music, pay, and download the cleared licence in minutes. No publisher hunt. No label email chain. No waiting on quotes.
It is the same legal outcome, a sync licence covering both rights, reached in minutes instead of weeks.
What you get
- A sync licence covering both the composition and the recording, in one document.
- Plain-English terms shown before you pay, so you know exactly what is covered.
- A perpetual licence on the standard tiers. Keep the use up forever, no expiry.
- Human-made music only. No AI-generated tracks, no stock-library clones.
- 75% of the licence fee going directly to the artist who made it.
- No subscription. You buy the licences you need and keep them.
What it costs
Pricing is transparent and the artist sets the price within a suggested range:
- IndieSynk: $99 to $350 per track, for non-commercial creators and personal projects.
- StudioSynk: $450 to $3,500 per track, for monetised, branded, and indie-film work.
- CustomSynk: quoted per project, for broadcast, major streaming, theatrical, games, and global campaigns.
- PersonalUse: a flat $1.99, for personal listening only.
A 5% service fee applies on top of the track price. That is the whole cost. No plan to maintain.
Will you get a Content ID claim on YouTube?
Sometimes, if the artist has registered the track with a distributor. When that is the case we flag it on the track page, the artist clears it with their provider, and your downloaded licence is your proof if you ever need to dispute a claim. The licence stays valid throughout, so a Content ID flag never costs you the rights you paid for.
Australian-founded, cleared worldwide
Tracksynk is an Australian music licensing platform, and the licences are valid for use worldwide, billed in multiple currencies. So you get a local home with a global catalogue of independent artists, and a licence you can actually use wherever the project lands.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to use music in a YouTube video in Australia? Yes. Any music you did not create needs a sync licence to be used in a video, even a free or personal one. Using an unlicensed track risks a Content ID claim, demonetisation, or a takedown.
Can I just use music from the APRA AMCOS catalogue? APRA AMCOS helps you identify and, for some uses, license the composition side, but a video still needs a sync grant covering both the composition and the master recording. Licensing direct from the artist handles both in one step.
How fast can I license a track? On the direct route, minutes. Browse, pick a tier, pay, and download the cleared licence and the audio file straight away.
License your next track today
Skip the publisher chase. Browse human-made music from named artists, pick the tier that fits your project, and download a cleared licence in minutes.