Option 1 – Royalty Share (Distrokid Distribution)
You can sell your track incorporating our vocals on any digital download store or streaming service (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc) through Distrokid Distribution. You share the royalties with Free Vocals (the vocalists publisher) which are paid directly to us through the distributors automatic payment system. We pay our vocalists their royalties and you don’t need to supply us with sales reports, so you can focus on making music.
View the SAMPLE AGREEMENT
- No licensing fee
- Available to composers & record labels (small or large, new or established)
- No need to provide us with sales reports
- Royalty payments are made automatically through Distrokid
- No sales or streams? No problem. You only share royalties with us if your track makes money
- Not using Distrokid yet? Sign up through Free Vocals and get 7% off!
Restrictions:
- Vocal recordings are non-exclusive (other people can licence them)
- If you need exclusive rights you can buy Exclusive Acapellas or Custom Vocals
- You cannot use Content ID on a track incorporating our non-exclusive vocals
- You need permission from Free Vocals to feature a vocalist’s name in your track title or tag them
- You cannot share or sell the stand alone vocal recordings. The vocals must be downloaded from our website
Option 2 – Royalty Share (Other Distributors)
You can sell your track incorporating our vocals on any digital download store or streaming service (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc) or release it on CD/Vinyl. You share the royalties with Free Vocals (the vocalists publisher) and we pay our vocalists their royalties.
View the SAMPLE AGREEMENT
- No licensing fee
- Only available to established record labels who generate a significant amount of sales from their releases
- You need to provide us with verifiable sales reports every 6 months
- If you are a track composer or small independent label then you either need the Distrokid Royalty Share Licence or a Buy Out Licence. Sign up to Distrokid through Free Vocals and get 7% off!
Restrictions:
- Vocal recordings are non-exclusive (other people can licence them)
- If you need exclusive rights you can buy Exclusive Acapellas or Custom Vocals
- You cannot use Content ID on a track incorporating our non-exclusive vocals
- You need permission from Free Vocals to feature a vocalist’s name in your track title or tag them
- You cannot share or sell the stand alone vocal recordings. The vocals must be downloaded from our website
Option 3 – Buy Out Licence (Unlimited Master Recording Royalties)
The cost to licence this vocal recording for commercial use is: lei246.60
You can sell your track on any digital download store or streaming service (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc) or release it on CD/Vinyl. You will not have to pay us any royalties from sales of your track (the master recording incorporating the vocal recording).
View the SAMPLE AGREEMENT
- One time payment
- Unlimited sales & streams
- Monetize with advertising
- Worldwide (no territory restrictions)
- Perpetual (Licence lasts forever, you never pay us royalties from track sales)
- Our vocalists will be registered as writers on your track and will receive public performance royalties (radio play etc) direct from the performing rights organisations (PRS, SIAE, GEMA etc)
Restrictions:
- Vocal recordings are non-exclusive (other people can licence them)
- If you need exclusive rights you can buy Exclusive Acapellas or Custom Vocals
- You cannot use Content ID on a track incorporating our non-exclusive vocals
- You need permission from Free Vocals to feature a vocalist’s name in your track title or tag them
- You cannot share or sell the stand alone vocal recordings. The vocals must be downloaded from our website
Option 4 – Buy Out Licence (Unlimited Master Recording Royalties + Public Performance Royalties)
The cost to licence this vocal recording for commercial use will be confirmed when we receive your licence application, depending on the tracks potential and who your publisher is.
You can sell your track on any digital download store or streaming service (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc) or release it on CD/Vinyl. You will not have to pay us any royalties from sales of your track (the master recording incorporating the vocal recording) and you can register yourself as the sole writer with the performing rights organisations.
View the SAMPLE AGREEMENT
- One time payment
- Unlimited sales & streams
- Monetize with advertising
- Worldwide (no territory restrictions)
- Perpetual (Licence lasts forever, you never pay us royalties from track sales)
- Our vocalists will not be registered as writers on your track and will not receive public performance royalties (radio play etc) from the performing rights organisations (PRS, SIAE, GEMA etc)
Restrictions:
- Vocal recordings are non-exclusive (other people can licence them)
- If you need exclusive rights you can buy Exclusive Acapellas or Custom Vocals
- You cannot use Content ID on a track incorporating our non-exclusive vocals
- You need permission from Free Vocals to feature a vocalist’s name in your track title or tag them
- You cannot share or sell the stand alone vocal recordings. The vocals must be downloaded from our website
Searching for answers about Licensing our acapellas?
Check out our Licensing FAQ or email licensing@freevocals.com
At freevocals.staging.wpengine.com we record professional custom vocals. Original topline writing, sessions, backing harmonies and voiceovers. Our team of vocalists will work on your project, wherever you are in the world. We record for people just starting out, to major record labels, production companies and brands such as Universal Music Group, Fisher Price and the BBC.
Let’s talk about your project, email studio@freevocals.com or call our London office on 0208 958 3621.
Packages
- Silver Package (Hook / Chorus only)
- Gold Package (Hook / Chorus, 1 verse and harmonies)
- Platinum Package (Hook / Chorus, 2 verses, harmonies and ad-libs)
Jingle / DJ Drop / Tag
Jingles, DJ Drops and Tags are spoken words or phrases that you can use over your tracks and mixes or for podcasts and radio broadcasts. For example “You’re listening to (YOUR ARTIST NAME)” or “(YOUR ARTIST NAME) in the mix!” View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Tag-DJ-Drop-Recording-Buy-Out-Licence-Agreement.pdf
- Jingle / DJ Drop / Tag (Spoken word – 3 variations) – lei176.14
- Jingle / DJ Drop / Tag (Spoken word – 6 variations) – lei327.13
Session Vocals
You provide the instrumental backing track, written lyrics and guide vocals (or instrument melody) and our vocalists record the vocals to be used in the final production. View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Session-Recording-Buy-Out-Licence-Agreement.pdf
- Backing Vocals – lei427.78
- Silver Session Vocals from guide lyrics – lei478.11
- Gold Session Vocals from guide lyrics – lei729.74
- Platinum Session Vocals from guide lyrics – lei981.38
Writing and Guide Vocals
You provide the instrumental backing track and our vocalists write the lyrics and record guide vocals for another vocalist to record. Guide vocals will be supplied as an mp3 and cannot be used in the final production, they are just to be used as a guide. View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Writing-and-Guide-Vocals-Licence-Agreement.pdf
- Silver Writing and Guide Vocals – lei629.09
- Gold Writing and Guide Vocals – lei880.72
- Platinum Writing and Guide Vocals – lei1132.36
Original Vocals – Royalty Share
You provide the instrumental backing track and our vocalists write original lyrics and record the final vocals for your production. You share the royalties from sales of the master recording and public performance royalties with us (the vocalists publisher). Our standard royalty share is 50% (where there is one composer/producer and one vocalist) or 33.3% (where there are two composers/producers and one vocalist) but we are happy to negotiate. View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Recording-Royalty-Licence-Agreement.pdf
- Silver Package Original Vocals – Royalty Share – lei729.74
- Gold Package Original Vocals – Royalty Share – lei1233.01
- Platinum Package Original Vocals – Royalty Share – lei1736.28
Original Vocals – Buy Out (Master Recording Royalties)
You provide the backing track and our vocalists write original lyrics and record the final vocals for your production. With the buy out option you do not have to share any royalties from sales of the master recording. (the vocalist will be registered as a writer on the track and will receive public performance royalties from the performing rights organisations) View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Recording-Buy-Out-Licence-Agreement.pdf
- Silver Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (Master Recording Royalties) – lei981.38
- Gold Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (Master Recording Royalties) – lei1484.65
- Platinum Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (Master Recording Royalties) – lei1987.92
Original Vocals – Buy Out (inc Copyright & Publishing)
You provide the backing track and our vocalists write original lyrics and record the final vocals for your production. With the buy out option you do not have to share any royalties from sales of the master recording and you will receive 100% of the public performance royalties from the performing rights organisations. You will completely own the vocal recordings. View the sample agreement here – Custom-Vocal-Recording-Buy-Out-Licence-Agreement-inc-Copyright-Publishing.pdf
- Silver Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (inc Copyright & Publishing) – lei1484.65
- Gold Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (inc Copyright & Publishing) – lei1987.92
- Platinum Package Original Vocals – Buy Out (inc Copyright & Publishing) – lei2491.19
How does it work?
1 – Decide
Which vocalist is suitable for your track? Which custom vocals package do you need? Do you need the vocalist to write original material or record from guide vocals/lyrics? Do you want to share the royalties or buy out the vocal recordings? Just ask us for more information if you need advice and we will be happy to help.
2 – Deadlines
If you have a deadline for the vocal recording, let us know and we will advise if the vocals can be provided in that timescale. Every project is different and there may be a waiting list.
3 – Discuss
Fill out the contact form or email studio@freevocals.com and we will reply within 48 hours. We can answer your questions and discuss agreements and recording fees. There’s no obligation to proceed until you’re ready and we’re happy to work within your deadlines. Please provide detailed instructions if you have any specific requirements for your project.
4 – Record
Original Vocals: We need your audio track as an .mp3, or .wav file. If you have any specific ideas or references for inspiration, then send them in your instructions but our vocalists can write for you from scratch if you need.
Session Vocals: We need the audio track as an .mp3, or .wav file with guide vocals and/or lyrics (Please provide guide vocals on a separate track)
You will be sent an invoice for a 50% deposit before our vocalists start recording: Payment is accepted via PayPal or BACS payment.
5 – Reasonable Changes
You will be emailed an initial mp3 demo for your approval. Then we can discuss any reasonable changes that you need and the vocals will be adjusted as necessary. Some examples of unreasonable changes would be changing the backing track, bpm or the key after the finalised instructions or requesting changes in dynamics or style that were not originally specified. Please be as detailed as possible with your instructions and listen to examples of the vocalists voice to make sure they are suitable for your track. Our vocalists only accept custom vocals projects that they feel confident they will be able to deliver quality vocals for.
6 – Final Take
When the vocals have been finalised, they will be sent to you by email as raw/dry 24Bit .wav files after the final payment is received.
