—
0:00
0:00
Free beats — and everything you need to know before you use them.
Every beat in this library comes with the same license. No tiers, no upsells, no “you bought the MP3 lease so you’re capped at 5,000 streams” games. Think of it as an unlimited lease:
The beats in this library use third-party samples. I’m telling you this upfront because most producers won’t.
Here’s the industry reality — a huge portion of beats being leased and even sold “exclusively” right now are built on uncleared samples. Those artists are in the exact same legal position you’d be in with these beats — they just didn’t get told.
I’d rather you know. If a record starts moving, clearing the sample is your responsibility as the releasing artist. I wrote a full breakdown on how this works and why transparency here matters: Why Give Away Beats? →
Six terms up front — the complete agreement is right below.
Bird Lee Free License — Non-Exclusive License Agreement
This Non-Exclusive Free License Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made between Bird Lee (the “Producer” or “Licensor”) and you, the person who downloads the beat (the “Licensee” or “you”). This Agreement takes effect on the date you download an instrumental music file from the Bird Lee free beat library (the “Beat”), and applies separately to each Beat you download. No fee is charged for this license. By downloading the Beat, you accept and agree to every term and condition of this Agreement, and your agreement to these terms is the consideration for the rights granted below.
The Beat is delivered as a high-quality audio file, as such terms are understood in the music industry, via download from the Producer's website or via a download link sent to the email address you provide.
This Agreement is perpetual and does not expire.
(a) The Producer grants the Licensee a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable license and the right to incorporate, include and/or use the Beat in the preparation of one (1) new song, or to incorporate the Beat into a new piece of instrumental music created by the Licensee. The Licensee may create the new song or new instrumental music by recording their written lyrics over the Beat and/or by incorporating portions/samples of the Beat into pre-existing instrumental music written, produced and/or owned by the Licensee. The new work which incorporates some or all of the Beat is referred to as the “New Song”. Permission is granted to modify the arrangement, length, tempo, or pitch of the Beat in preparation of the New Song for public release.
(b) This license grants the Licensee a worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the Beat as incorporated in the New Song in the manners and for the purposes expressly provided for in this Agreement, subject to the restrictions and prohibited uses stated in this Agreement. The Licensee acknowledges and agrees that all rights granted in the Beat are on a NON-EXCLUSIVE basis and that the Producer will continue to license the Beat on the same or similar terms to other licensees. Subject to those restrictions:
(c) The Licensee is not required to account to, or pay, the Producer any royalties, fees, or monies paid to or collected by the Licensee in connection with the use or exploitation of the New Song as set forth in this Agreement. The Producer's only compensation under this Agreement is the Producer's share of the publishing in the New Song, collected through performing rights organizations as set forth in Section 5.
The Licensee agrees and acknowledges that it is expressly prohibited from taking any of the following actions and from using the Beat or the New Song in the following manners:
(a) The rights granted to the Licensee are NON-TRANSFERABLE. The Licensee may not transfer or assign any of its rights under this Agreement to any third party.
(b) The Licensee shall not synchronize, or permit third parties to synchronize, the Beat or the New Song with any audiovisual works EXCEPT the music videos expressly permitted in Section 3(b). This restriction includes, but is not limited to, use of the Beat and/or the New Song in television, commercials, film/movies, theatrical works, video games, and any other audiovisual form not expressly permitted in this Agreement.
(c) The Licensee shall not license or sublicense any use of the Beat or the New Song, in whole or in part, for any so-called “samples”.
(d) The Licensee shall not engage in any unlawful copying, streaming, duplicating, selling, lending, renting, hiring, broadcasting, uploading or downloading to any database, server, computer, peer-to-peer sharing or other file-sharing service, posting on websites, or distribution of the Beat in the form, or a substantially similar form, as delivered to the Licensee. The Licensee may send the Beat file to any individual musician, engineer, studio manager or other person who is working on the New Song.
(e) The Licensee may release and distribute the New Song through any music distributor, digital aggregator, record label or streaming platform (for example DistroKid, TuneCore, CDBaby or UnitedMasters), and may make the New Song available on all digital service providers. The Licensee may register the New Song with the Licensee’s performing rights organization (for example ASCAP, BMI or SESAC), provided the Producer’s fifty percent (50%) share of the underlying composition is properly reported.
THE LICENSEE IS, HOWEVER, EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM REGISTERING THE BEAT AND/OR THE NEW SONG WITH ANY CONTENT IDENTIFICATION OR AUDIO-FINGERPRINTING SYSTEM — including YouTube Content ID, Audible Magic, or any comparable service that fingerprints a recording in order to claim, monetize or block other uploads — and from opting the New Song into any such content identification service where a distributor offers it as an add-on. The purpose of this restriction is twofold: to prevent you from receiving a copyright infringement takedown notice from a third party — including another artist who received the same non-exclusive license, or the owner of a sample contained in the Beat — and to prevent your registration from generating claims against other licensees of the same Beat. If you do not adhere to this policy, you are in violation of the terms of this license and your license to use the Beat and/or the New Song may be revoked without notice or compensation to you.
(f) As applicable to both the underlying composition in the Beat and the master recording of the Beat: (i) the parties acknowledge and agree that the New Song is a “derivative work”, as that term is used in the United States Copyright Act; (ii) there is no intention by the parties to create a joint work; and (iii) there is no intention by the Licensor to grant any rights in or to any other derivative works created by other third-party licensees.
(a) The Producer is and shall remain the sole owner and holder of all rights, title, and interest in the Beat, including all copyrights to and in the sound recording and the underlying musical composition. Nothing in this Agreement constitutes an assignment of any of those rights to the Licensee. The Licensee may not, under any circumstances, register or attempt to register the Beat and/or the New Song with the U.S. Copyright Office; that right is strictly limited to the Producer. The Licensee will, upon request, execute and deliver to the Producer any additional documents the Producer reasonably deems necessary to evidence the Producer's rights under this Agreement.
(b) For the avoidance of doubt, you do not own the master or the sound recording rights in the New Song. You have been licensed the right to use the Beat in the New Song and to exploit the New Song per the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, you do own the lyrics and any other original musical components of the New Song that were written or composed solely by you.
(c) With respect to the publishing rights in the underlying composition embodied in the New Song, the Licensee and the Producer agree that the underlying composition shall be owned and split between them as follows:
If the Licensee registers their interest in the underlying composition of the New Song with a Performing Rights Organization (“PRO”), the Licensee must simultaneously identify and register the Producer's interest, indicating that the Producer wrote and owns fifty percent (50%) of the composition and fifty percent (50%) of the publisher's share of the New Song.
(d) The Licensee shall be deemed to have signed, affirmed and ratified its acceptance of the terms of this Agreement by virtue of downloading the Beat.
Production credit in the form “Produced by Bird Lee” (or “prod. Bird Lee”) is appreciated wherever credits appear, but is not required. The Licensee has the right to use the Producer's approved name solely in connection with the New Song for the purpose of giving such credit.
(a) The Licensee shall have five (5) business days from receipt of written notice by the Producer to cure any alleged breach of this Agreement. Failure to cure within five (5) business days shall result in the Licensee's default, its breach of this Agreement, and, at the Producer's sole discretion, the termination of the Licensee's rights under this Agreement.
(b) If the Licensee engages in the commercial exploitation and/or sale of the Beat or the New Song outside of the manner expressly provided for in this Agreement, the Licensee shall be liable to the Producer for monetary damages in an amount equal to all monies paid to, collected by, or received by the Licensee, or any third party on its behalf, in connection with such unauthorized exploitation.
(c) The Licensee agrees that a breach or threatened breach of this Agreement may give rise to irreparable injury to the Producer which may not be adequately compensated by damages. In the event of a breach or threatened breach, the Producer may seek and shall be entitled to a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction restraining the Licensee from violating this Agreement, in addition to any other available legal or equitable remedy, including the recovery of damages. The Licensee shall be responsible for all costs, expenses and damages the Producer incurs as a result of any violation of this Agreement by the Licensee, including court costs, litigation expenses, and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(a) The Licensor makes no guarantee or promise that the Beat fits the particular creative use or musical purpose intended or desired by the Licensee. The Beat, its sound recording, and the underlying musical composition are licensed “as is” without warranties of any kind or fitness for a particular purpose.
(b) The Beat may contain samples, loops, or other elements of third-party sound recordings and/or musical compositions that have not been cleared or licensed for commercial use. The Producer makes no representation or warranty that the Beat is free of third-party rights. The Licensee acknowledges that use of the New Song may be subject to claims by third-party rights holders — including content identification claims, redirection of streaming or advertising revenue, or takedown of the New Song from any platform — and the Licensee assumes all such risk. The Producer shall have no liability to the Licensee arising from any such third-party claim.
(c) The Licensee is solely responsible for obtaining, at the Licensee’s own expense, any and all clearances, licenses, consents or permissions required from the owners of any third-party sound recordings, musical compositions, samples or loops embodied in the Beat before any commercial exploitation of the New Song. The Producer has no obligation to identify, disclose, obtain or pay for any such clearance. If the Licensee exploits the New Song without having obtained such clearances, the Licensee does so at the Licensee’s sole risk and expense. The Licensee is likewise solely responsible for clearing any third-party material the Licensee adds to or incorporates into the New Song.
(d) The parties shall indemnify and hold each other harmless from any and all third-party claims, liabilities, costs, losses, damages or expenses actually incurred by the non-defaulting party (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of any breach of any representation, warranty or obligation of the defaulting party contained in this Agreement, which has been reduced to final judgment; provided that the non-defaulting party has given the defaulting party prompt written notice of all claims and the right to participate in the defense with counsel of its choice at its sole expense. In no event shall the Licensee be entitled to seek injunctive or other equitable relief for any breach or non-compliance with any provision of this Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties and is intended as a final expression of their agreement. It cannot be altered, modified, amended or waived, in whole or in part, except by written instrument (email being sufficient) signed by both parties. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements between the parties, whether oral or written. Should any provision of this Agreement be held void, invalid or inoperative, such decision shall not affect any other provision, and the remainder of this Agreement shall remain effective. No failure by the Licensor to perform any obligation under this Agreement shall be deemed a material breach until the Licensee gives the Licensor written notice of the failure and the failure is not corrected within thirty (30) days of such notice (or, if not reasonably curable within thirty (30) days, the Licensor does not begin to cure within that period and proceed with reasonable diligence). This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Mississippi applicable to agreements entered into and wholly performed in said State, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. You agree that the exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any action, suit or proceeding arising under or relating to this Agreement shall be the state or federal courts located in the State of Mississippi. All notices under this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered by email, and shall be deemed given when received. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RETAINING AN INDEPENDENT ATTORNEY OF YOUR CHOICE TO REVIEW THIS AGREEMENT ON YOUR BEHALF, AND THAT YOU HAVE HAD THE UNRESTRICTED OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. Your download of the Beat serves as your signature and acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Yes — and it happens way more than people think. These beats aren't exclusive, so nothing stops two artists from recording over the same instrumental and releasing it the same week. No notification, no block, no heads-up. That's just how free, non-exclusive beats work. If you want to be the only voice on a beat, that's the whole reason Exclusives exist.
It's a piece of recorded music — a melody, a loop, a drum break — lifted from someone else's work and built into a beat. If the producer never cleared it with whoever owns that original recording, it's "uncleared." Uncleared doesn't mean illegal to listen to — it means the rights were never sorted out for commercial use. That's the whole reason these beats are free instead of sold under a standard license.
No — and that's not a Bird Lee rule, it's an industry one. Music supervisors and sync agencies require every element of a song to be 100% cleared and free of third-party rights before they'll even look at it. One uncleared sample is an automatic no. If sync is the goal, you need a fully original, fully cleared beat — which is exactly what Exclusives are built for.
Nothing dramatic, and nothing that lands on you personally. If the sample owner has it registered, the most likely outcome is a Content ID claim on your YouTube video — ad revenue routes to them instead of you. On streaming, your distributor might flag the upload or redirect royalties. No lawsuit, no channel strike in most cases — the system just moves the money. It's the same thing that happens to artists who paid for a lease on a sampled beat anywhere else. The claim is against the content, not you.
Honestly? It's not. Paying for a lease doesn't make the sample problem disappear. Most leased beats on any platform — BeatStars, Airbit, wherever — carry the exact same Content ID exposure if there are uncleared samples in them. The only real difference is I'm upfront about it and not charging you. You're getting for free what other producers charge lease prices for, with the same real-world limits. The one thing that actually solves it is an Exclusive — fully original, cleared, and registered under your name. That's coming.
Preview each layer · purchase the bundle to download
Your cart is empty