Songfindr vs Epidemic Sound: which one fits your project?
Epidemic Sound and Songfindr look alike at first glance. Both license music for video, both offer a subscription or a single track for a single production, both price by how you use the music, and both work inside Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio.
The difference is underneath: where the music comes from, what it sounds like next to everyone else's videos, and who gets paid when you license it.
At a glance
- The model. Epidemic Sound buys each track outright from its composers. Songfindr is the publisher of its catalogue, and the artist earns the majority of every licence.
- The catalogue. Epidemic Sound offers around 55,000 tracks, guided by data from YouTube views. Songfindr is a curated catalogue of independent artists and labels.
- Buying. Both offer subscriptions and single-track licences. Songfindr's single-track licences start at $49.
- In your editor. Both have Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio plugins. Songfindr's is built around the structure of each track.
- Beyond music. Epidemic Sound adds sound effects, AI voiceovers and track adaptations. Songfindr is music only.
Who gets paid when you license a track
This is the biggest difference, and it is a choice of model, not a detail.
Epidemic Sound acquires the rights to its music outright: composers receive an upfront fee per track, Epidemic owns the recording and the composition from then on, and streaming revenue is shared with the artist. Your subscription pays for the catalogue, not for a specific artist's work.
Songfindr works the other way round. We represent the music as its publisher, and every licence you buy pays the people who made the track: the majority of each licence fee goes to the artist, directly. When you choose a track for your project, you are paying its artist.
We also clear everything one-stop, recording and composition in a single agreement, and for large or unusual projects you get a quote from the rights holder itself.
Music made by artists, not to a brief
Epidemic Sound is open about how its catalogue is built: its music strategy draws on customer feedback and data from over 2 billion YouTube views a day, and it adds around 300 new tracks every month. That is a smart way to cover every need: the catalogue is built to fit what videos are asking for.
Songfindr's catalogue is chosen one track at a time from independent artists and labels, mostly electronic (drum and bass, dubstep, techno, house) along with downtempo, chillout and cinematic music. These are tracks artists made on their own terms, then chose to license. It will not cover every genre. It is built so that the track you pick still sounds like a choice.
A soundtrack that is not everywhere already
Epidemic Sound's music sits under a huge share of YouTube. That reach is the point of the service, and also its limit: the most popular tracks are heard across a great many channels, and audiences recognise them.
A smaller, independent catalogue gives your project a better chance of sounding like itself.
Licensing: close, with a few differences
On both services you can subscribe, or license one track for one production. Both price single tracks by use, from personal content up to broadcast, and both keep your work covered after you cancel: on Epidemic Sound, content published during the subscription; on Songfindr, every project registered during it, each with its own certificate.
On Songfindr:
- One track, one project, from $49. The licence covers that project forever.
- A subscription for regular needs: the whole catalogue, for as many projects as you like. Register each project while you are subscribed: it gets its own licence certificate and stays licensed forever, even after you cancel.
- One question sets the licence: where will the track be used? Personal covers your own channels and podcasts, Digital adds client and brand work online, Expanded adds physical spaces and events, All-Media adds broadcast.
Built around the structure of a track
Both services have plugins for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio. Songfindr's is designed around how editors cut music:
- Blocks, not waveforms. Every track is split into its sections: intro, verse, chorus, drop, outro. Click the drop, it plays; insert it right on your playhead, or let the plugin fill the gap before it so the build-up lands on your cut.
- Every version under one licence. Instrumental, vocal and alternate mixes unfold under each track, on the same structure, and one licence covers all of them.
- Try it in the cut first. Place any track before licensing it. The plugin uses a watermarked preview, then swaps in the full-quality WAV master once the track is licensed, without moving the clip.
- Find it by sound. Describe what you want in plain words, or drop in your temp track, and Music Match finds what sounds like it.
When Epidemic Sound is the better fit
If you need a very large catalogue, sound effects, AI voiceovers and tools to reshape tracks, all in one subscription, Epidemic Sound covers that ground, and Songfindr is not trying to. Many editors keep a broad library for everyday content and come to Songfindr when a project deserves music from an independent artist, paid properly for it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Songfindr a good Epidemic Sound alternative?
Yes, if you want independent music and artists paid on every licence. Songfindr offers the same two ways to buy, a subscription or a single track, and plugins for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio.
How are artists paid on Songfindr?
Songfindr is the publisher of its catalogue. The majority of every licence fee goes to the artist who made the track, directly.
Can I buy a single track on Songfindr?
Yes. Single-track licences start at $49 and cover one project forever. No subscription needed.
Can I use Songfindr and Epidemic Sound music in the same video?
Yes. Each track is covered by its own licence, so you can mix them as long as each licence covers how the video is used.
