Artlist vs Epidemic Sound Comparative Guide
Looking for the best platform for royalty-free music? Read our comparative guide between Artlist and Epidemic Sound to find out which one offers the best music library, user experience, and licensing options.
With the rise of online videos, presentations, and stream channels, it's essential to have access to music without infringing on copyright. These two platforms aim to simplify the acquisition of musical licenses without copyright and make it easier for users to access the music they need for their projects. We will compare their music library, musical quality, search filters, user experience, differential features, licensing, and price to help you determine which platform is best for you.
How Does Epidemic Sound Differ From Artlist?
Let's now compare two music services, Epidemic Sound and Artlist, in various categories:
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Licensing
Epidemic Sound offers two licenses: Personal and Commercial. The Personal license is for content creators like Youtubers, influencers, and streamers, allowing them to monetize their videos on social platforms and podcasts. However, it only allows use of the music for the duration of the subscription. The Commercial license is for businesses, providing access to their library of over 30,000 songs and 60,000 effects with unlimited use in digital ads, social media, and websites.
Artlist only offers one annual license. It provides unlimited use of their music on all platforms and mediums, forever, for video productions. However, for non-video use, you have to contact them for guidance. Artlist also allows artists to sell their music on other platforms. Artlist wins due to its simplicity and allowing the use of the music after the subscription period ends.
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User Experience
Epidemic Sound has a modern and simple design when entering the platform, but when searching for songs, the user has to scroll through an endless list. Changing filters requires scrolling back up to the top menu, which puts Epidemic Sound at a slight disadvantage compared to its competitors.
On the other hand, Artlist boasts an intuitive and refreshed design with simple menus. The website's clean, modern, and user-friendly design makes browsing a pleasure. Everything you need is just a click away: the song name, author, genre, duration, etc. The search menus and filters are always visible on the left side of the page. Therefore, the winner of the user experience is Artlist.
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Musical Quality
When it comes to the quantity of tracks, there is a clear disparity between Epidemic Sound and Artlist. However, if we shift our focus to the quality of the audio tracks, the two platforms are on equal footing. Both companies work with talented independent artists from around the world, who provide top-notch music. The standards for accepting new artists and music tracks are also quite high in both companies. Thus, it is difficult to declare a winner in this category, as both Epidemic Sound and Artlist meet the industry's quality requirements perfectly. Therefore, it is a tie between the two services.
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Search Filters
Both Epidemic Sound and Artlist offer a range of filters to help users search for the perfect song. Epidemic Sound offers filters such as Genres, Mood, Musical Movement, Locations, Energy, Tempo, and Duration, with subgenres available to make searches more accurate. It also has the option to search for albums of songs with specific themes, such as music for corporate videos, fashion, or Christmas.
Artlist offers similar filters to Epidemic Sound, such as Mood and Genres, and adds an Instrument filter, making it stand out from its competitor. It also has “Spotlights” and a “Video Theme” option in its search menu. When users click on the name of a particular song, they are taken to a page with information about the song and options for similar themes.
In this aspect, Artlist is the winner as it offers more intuitive menus and a more pleasant browsing experience.
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Music Library
The Swedish platform, Epidemic Sound, boasts the largest music library compared to all other similar services available. With over 30,000 tracks and 60,000 sound effects, Epidemic Sound surpasses its competitors in terms of quantity. Its longevity in the industry, being a benchmark since 2009, is a contributing factor to this gap in comparison. This gap is not closing but instead expanding as its music library is updated and expanded every week, adding an average of 80 to 150 songs per month. Artlist, although seven years younger, still offers a substantial library of 8,000 audio tracks and growing at a similar pace as Epidemic Sound. The winner in this category is, without a doubt, Epidemic Sound.
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Differential Features
After evaluating the differential features of both Epidemic Sound and Artlist, it appears that Epidemic Sound has the edge. The option to download complete tracks or separate instrument stems is a significant advantage. The “Find Similar” feature in the music player and the “Stems” option gives users more flexibility in creating their desired sound. However, Artlist's variety of remixes and the “Video Theme” search menu is commendable features. Ultimately, Epidemic Sound's “Stems” feature gives it the winning edge.
The Pros And Cons Of Artlist And Epidemic
The following are the strengths and weaknesses of Artlist and Epidemic Sound after an extensive comparison of both services:
Artlist Sound Pros & Cons
Epidemic Sound Pros & Cons
Conclusion
The comparison of Artlist and Epidemic Sound reveals both platforms offer top-notch quality music and diverse search filters, but each has its strengths and weaknesses. Artlist offers an intuitive design and an annual license for unlimited use of their music in video productions forever. Epidemic Sound, on the other hand, offers two licenses (Personal and Commercial) and boasts the largest music library. Additionally, Epidemic Sound has a feature allowing users to download separate instrument stems, making it the winner in the Differential Features category. Ultimately, the choice between Artlist and Epidemic Sound depends on the specific needs and preferences of the user.
