Artlist Review (2024): Worth it or Not?

As a video editor, it can be find it difficult to source good quality stock music. Also finding stock music you can license at a decent price is especially difficult.

In this review, I’ll go over Artlist, a solid contender in the royalty-free music space, and help you determine whether its music quality, pricing, and website features might suit your needs.

Review Summary

Get 2 Months Free on all subscriptions. Unlimited royalty-free music and SFX for just $9.99/month. 🙌

What is Artlist?

Artlist is a royalty-free music site for content creators of all kinds, from filmmakers to YouTubers. It offers a huge library of tracks and SFX for licensing.

The site was created to provide high-quality audio for creators of all skill levels and to bridge the gap between cheap, low-quality music sites and expensive, high-tier licensing companies. 

Overall, I think it has achieved that goal — it offers substantial, high-quality content libraries, valuable flat-rate subscriptions, and excellent search filtering.

Who Should Use Artlist?

Artlist can be useful for a wide range of professionals and smaller businesses. The platform is especially good for people like me who need to use music for videos on a regular basis since it offers a flat-rate subscription. Artlist is mainly aimed at the following:

• Filmmakers
• YouTubers
• Small agencies
• Podcasters

How Does Artlist Work?

Artlist offers two main libraries: music and sound effects. When you sign up for any plan, you’ll get unlimited access to both of those libraries, which is awesome.

To sign up, follow these six steps:

1. Click here and go to the Artlist homepage.
2. Scroll down and click on the “Subscribe & Get 2 Extra Months” button.
3. Select a subscription.
4. Create an account.
5. Add payment details and check out as normal. (You won’t be charged for the first two months.)
6. That’s it!

All the music you download during your membership comes with a universal license and lifetime usage rights that never expire. This license covers commercial use — including paid and branded advertising — as well as monetization.

As a member, you can also download and use as much music as you want with one caveat: The maximum daily number of downloads is capped at 40 tracks.

Artlist Features

I find Artlist’s user interface pretty simple and easy. It has three main ways to search for and discover music: Browse, Spotlight, and For You.

• Browse: Search Artlist’s entire library of music using various filters, such as mood and genre
• Spotlight: Browse curated collections of music inspired by film or TV or based on various themes.
• For You: Displays personal music recommendations based on your preferences.

Let’s have a look at each section in more detail to better understand how to find certain music.

Browse Music

The main way to search for and download music on Artlist is in the Browse section, which contains the full library of music available.

Tracks are sorted by four main filters:

• Mood
• Video Theme
• Genre
• Instrument

Selecting one of those filters toggles even more specific filter options, which you can use to narrow your results even more.

Mood

The Mood filter presents users with tracks that evoke certain feelings and emotions. For example, filtering tracks by “Uplifting” gives you uptempo, percussive, and energetic results.

Video Theme

If your video has a specific purpose — like a corporate project or a travel video — the Video Theme filter can narrow down your search with various options.

Genre

The Genre category offers the more standard music genre-based search filters.

Instrument

Have a particular instrument in mind? No problem. The Instrument category provides the ability to filter tracks based on the type of instrument.

Spotlight

Artlist’s Spotlight section is another way to discover music on the platform. It offers music collections curated by Artlist staff. This section is useful for those who use the platform frequently because its playlists are a good way to keep up with new additions to the library.

Here are some examples of music collections in Spotlight:

• “Inspired by” collections
• Holiday-themed playlists
• Collections curated by YouTubers, filmmakers, and more
• “Best of” collections featuring the top tracks from a particular month or year.
• Newly released music
• Music that’s been hand-picked for use on specific platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

For You

Artlist recently added a smart For You section to its platform, which is similar to Spotify’s. This section shows music based on your behavior and activity.

There are four sections on the For You page:

• Top Genres: Artlist recommends music for you categorized by genre.
• Picks of the Week: Weekly selections, trending selections, and new releases
• Top Artists: A sampling of artists similar to the ones you have picked in the past.
• Top Albums: Albums that fit your demonstrated music preferences

Basically, the more you use Artlist, the better (and more personalized) the recommendations get which I find is a real time saver. 👌

Artlist Pricing

Artlist’s pricing structure is simple. Its flat-rate subscriptions mean that you pay one fee for access to the whole platform and all of its music.

Here are their three main Music & SFX plans and a breakdown of what’s included:

	Personal $9.99/month	Unlimited $16.60/month	Team $28.20/month
Unlimited music	✔	✔	✔
Unlimited SFX	✔	✔	✔
Universal downloads	✔	✔	✔
Lifetime use	✔	✔	✔
Cleared for YouTube	✔	✔	✔
Social media	✔	✔	✔
Podcasts	✔	✔	✔
Paid ads	✘	✔	✔
Client work	✘	✔	✔
Commercial work	✘	✔	✔
Websites & all online platforms	✘	✔	✔
Broadcast & TV	✘	✔	✔
Customized terms	✘	✘	✔
Customized licenses	✘	✘	✔

Artlist now offers a new subscription called Artlist Max which provides creators with music, sound effects, stock footage, templates, plugins, and editing software.

Here is a breakdown of what’s included.

	Max Social $29.99	Max Pro $39.99	Max Teams $68.00
Music	✔	✔	✔
SFX	✔	✔	✔
Footage	HD	8K	8K
Video Templates	✔	✔	✔
Video Editing App	Creator	Pro	Pro
Image Editing App	Creator	Pro	Pro
Plugins	✔	✔	✔
Option to upgrade and get RAW/LOG footage	✘	✔	✔
Members	1	1	2–7

Artlist Max Vs. Envato Elements

Both Artlist Max and Envato Elements are great options for sourcing multiple creative assets under one subscription. Not sure which one to choose? I’ll do a quick breakdown.

They both offer unlimited downloads; however, one of the main differences is that Envato Elements has a much larger collection and more types of assets. This makes it ideal for content creators like YouTubers, bloggers, and designers.

However, despite having a smaller library, it’s clear that the quality on Artlist Max is slightly higher. For example, a lot of the stock video on is shot by top cinematographers on high-end cameras like Reds or Arri Alexas. Also, Artlist Max offers 8K video, which is not available on Envato Elements, which only goes up to 4K.

The same goes for music. While Artlitst doesn’t have the same number of tracks, it curates a lot of the content, so it does offer a slightly higher quality.

When it comes to licensing, both Envato Elements and Artlist are pretty closely matched with their royalty-free licenses. The only difference is that with Envato Elements, you’ll need to license an asset for each new project you work on. Artlist, however, offers one single license. I find this saves time with new projects.

Pricewise, Envato Elements is definitely better value for money if you consider only the monthly subscription price and the sheer volume of assets. But if you want higher-quality videos and better tracks for your edit and you don’t mind spending a bit more on a subscription, then Artlist Max Pro might be the way to go.

Both platforms are very easy and user-friendly in terms of user experience, but Envato Elements might have a slight edge for those who are looking for a site with everything under one roof. The platform’s vast array of assets means that users can source almost everything they need for a project from a single website.

In my opinion, Envato Elements is more for content creators, whereas Artlist Max specializes in providing resources for more professional video editors like me.

Is Artlist Worth it or Not?

Pros	Cons
✔ Unlimited music and SFX downloads	✘ You can’t buy Music and SFX separately
✔ Affordable subscription plans	✘ No free trial
✔ Great search features	✘ Library is not as big as other platforms
✔ High-quality music
✔ One worldwide license

In short, yes! I think Artlist is a great option for filmmakers who need constant access to music for editing. If you go through a lot of music in a year, its flat-rate subscription plan can be a huge value, especially compared to how much it would cost to license individual tracks.

The only drawback is that you can’t buy music and SFX separately. Also, Artlist’s library is not as big as other royalty-free music sites (however, the quality is much higher). 

So if you are looking for a platform with great search filters and an excellent user experience, all with the simplicity of buying a single annual license, then I would say Artlist is a better option.

Artlist FAQ

Is Artlist truly unlimited?

No, not technically. While there is no overall limit, you are limited to 40 songs and 100 SFX each day. After you reach the daily limit, you will see a message asking you to come back the next day.

Is the music royalty-free?

Yes, the music available on Artlist is royalty-free as long as you use it within the terms of the usage license.

Is Artlist copyright-free?

Yes, Artlist’s license is valid worldwide, so you can use the assets in your films anywhere on the planet. 

Can I share my videos on multiple channels?

With the Pro license, you can publish your projects to as many channels as you’d like. These options also cover commercial and branded projects as well as client work. There’s no need to register your channels, so you and your clients are always covered!

Is Artlist Max worth it?

Artlist Max is a new all-in-one plan that gives you everything you need to stay creative. The Max plans include access to music, SFX, footage, and templates.

Is Artlist safe?

Yes! All communications, data, and payments are encrypted.