Music licensing services:Which are most popular?

Name: Music licensing services: Which are searched most?
Creator: Brandwave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September 2026, Musicbed was the most searched music licensing service worldwide, accounting for 65.6% of all searches among the five services we track. When we checked with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, Epidemic Sound showed up in every answer. Epidemic Sound was recommended most often, coming first in three out of four responses that gave a list.

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Top music licensing services in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Epidemic Sound appeared every time. Epidemic Sound was recommended most often, coming first in three out of four answers that gave a list. Artlist was second, and Musicbed was third.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

How many AI answers named each brand
Brand	ChatGPT	Google	Answers that named it
Epidemic Sound	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
Musicbed	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 1 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Artlist	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 1 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Soundstripe	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	3 of 5
PremiumBeat	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	2 of 5

Epidemic Sound5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Musicbed4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Artlist4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Soundstripe3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
PremiumBeat2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about music licensing services

5 answers

Asked ChatGPT
“Which music licensing service should I use?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best music licensing services?”
1. 1Epidemic Sound
2. 2Artlist
3. 3Musicbed
4. 4Soundstripe
5. 5PremiumBeat
Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best music licensing service for royalty free music?”
1. 1Epidemic Sound
2. 2Artlist
3. 3Musicbed
4. 4Soundstripe
5. 5PremiumBeat
Searched Google, AI Overview
“royalty free music”
1. 1Epidemic Sound
Searched Google, AI Overview
“music licensing services”

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 21, 2026.

Which music licensing services do people search for most?

This chart shows how often people search Google for each music licensing service by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all five music licensing services we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.

Share of searches among music licensing services worldwide, by month

Month	Musicbed	Artlist	PremiumBeat	Epidemic Sound	Soundstripe
Oct 2025	67.7%	7.4%	20.3%	0.66%	4%
Nov 2025	64.7%	8.6%	23.6%	0.94%	2.1%
Dec 2025	68%	9.1%	20.3%	0.99%	1.7%
Jan 2026	71%	9.5%	17.4%	0.85%	1.3%
Feb 2026	67.1%	13.4%	16.4%	0.98%	2.2%
Mar 2026	65.3%	13.1%	16%	0.95%	4.7%
Apr 2026	65.6%	19.6%	13.1%	0.78%	0.95%
May 2026	65.6%	19.6%	13.1%	0.78%	0.95%
Jun 2026	65.8%	19.7%	13.2%	0.64%	0.78%
Jul 2026	65.6%	19.6%	13.1%	0.78%	0.95%
Aug 2026	65.6%	19.6%	13.1%	0.95%	0.78%
Sep 2026	65.6%	19.6%	13.1%	0.95%	0.78%

Rank	Brand	Share of searches	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month
1, held 1st	Musicbed	65.6%	49.5K	0%
2, held 2nd	Artlist	19.6%	14.8K	0%
3, held 3rd	PremiumBeat	13.1%	9.9K	0%
4, held 4th	Epidemic Sound	0.95%	720	0%
5, held 5th	Soundstripe	0.78%	590	0%

1.Musicbed
65.6%
Held 1st. 49.5K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
2.Artlist
19.6%
Held 2nd. 14.8K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
3.PremiumBeat
13.1%
Held 3rd. 9.9K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
4.Epidemic Sound
0.95%
Held 4th. 720 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
5.Soundstripe
0.78%
Held 5th. 590 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Which brand is most popular in search among music licensing services worldwide?

5 brands

In September 2026, Musicbed was the most searched among music licensing services worldwide, with an estimated 49.5K branded searches, 65.6% of all searches for the five we track. Artlist is in 2nd place, 46 percentage points behind at 19.6%.

Global music licensing services, last 12 months ending September 2026
Brand	Share of searches	Peak	Low	Rank
Musicbed	67.7% → 65.6%	71%Jan 2026	64.7%Nov 2025	1st
Artlist	7.4% → 19.6%	19.7%Jun 2026	7.4%Oct 2025	3rd → 2nd
PremiumBeat	20.3% → 13.1%	23.6%Nov 2025	13.1%Apr 2026	2nd → 3rd
Epidemic Sound	0.66% → 0.95%	0.99%Dec 2025	0.64%Jun 2026	5th → 4th
Soundstripe	4% → 0.78%	4.7%Mar 2026	0.78%Aug 2026	4th → 5th

Each finding as a sentence

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Musicbed’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide decreased from 67.7% to 65.6%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Artlist’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide increased from 7.4% to 19.6%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PremiumBeat’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide decreased from 20.3% to 13.1%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Soundstripe’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide decreased from 4% to 0.78%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Musicbed’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide peaked at 71% in January 2026 and was lowest at 64.7% in November 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Artlist’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide peaked at 19.7% in June 2026 and was lowest at 7.4% in October 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PremiumBeat’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide peaked at 23.6% in November 2025 and was lowest at 13.1% in April 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Soundstripe’s share of searches among music licensing services worldwide peaked at 4.7% in March 2026 and was lowest at 0.78% in August 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Artlist rose from 3rd to 2nd among music licensing services worldwide.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PremiumBeat fell from 2nd to 3rd among music licensing services worldwide.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Epidemic Sound rose from 5th to 4th among music licensing services worldwide.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Soundstripe fell from 4th to 5th among music licensing services worldwide.

How did search popularity change for music licensing services worldwide in September 2026?

4 changes

Estimated monthly branded searches for Artlist worldwide rose 174.1% over 12 measured months, from 5.4K to 14.8K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Epidemic Sound worldwide rose 50% over 12 measured months, from 480 to 720 in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Soundstripe worldwide fell 79.7% over 12 measured months, from 2.9K to 590 in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for PremiumBeat worldwide fell 33.1% over 12 measured months, from 14.8K to 9.9K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted for music licensing services?

5 search terms

Each brand's share of searches among music licensing services comes from the terms listed under its name. When people mostly search for a brand because of something else it sells, only the searches that name this product count here.