Uppbeat is a newly launched music platform created to simplify the process for YouTubers and other digital content creators to discover and utilize high-quality, royalty-free music within their projects. This system is engineered to navigate the often-challenging landscape of copyright claims while ensuring artists receive appropriate compensation, presenting an alternative to current options like YouTube’s Audio Library and Creative Commons licensed music.

The concept for this venture originated with Lewis Foster and Matt Russell, the U.K.-based co-founders of Music Vine, a music-licensing company that has been operational for approximately six years.

The co-founders identified a growing need to cater to the creator community with a specialized product last year.

“We increasingly recognized that the creator community – encompassing YouTubers, streamers, and podcasters – has experienced substantial growth, yet a dedicated music platform optimally serving these users was lacking,” Foster explains. “This realization prompted us to envision the ideal music resource for creators, ultimately leading to the development of Uppbeat,” he states.

Development of the Uppbeat website commenced in September 2020, and it was publicly released on Monday.

A primary focus for Uppbeat is to resolve issues surrounding copyright claims for creators, particularly on the YouTube platform.

Currently, a copyright claim against music used in a YouTube video can result in lost revenue for the creator. While YouTube has implemented features and adjustments to its Content ID system to address this issue, it remains a persistent concern.

“A copyright claim can lead to a video being de-monetized on YouTube. Furthermore, resolving a dispute through YouTube’s system can take up to 30 days, which is a significant source of frustration for creators,” Foster explains.

Uppbeat’s music is designed to quickly resolve these claims.

Free users are required to include a credit in their YouTube video description to clear copyright claims, while paid users are automatically added to an approved list, removing this requirement.

Although a copyright claim may initially occur due to the need for track fingerprinting to prevent unauthorized use, Uppbeat states it will be cleared within approximately five minutes. The system achieves this by verifying the video description for the necessary credit and cross-referencing the claim against its list of paid users. This process is fully automated for increased efficiency.

Revenue generated from premium subscriptions, and eventually advertising, is distributed among the artists on a monthly basis, proportional to the number of times their music is downloaded.

“This structure ensures that artists will, on average, earn a comparable amount from tracks accessed through premium subscriptions as they do from free usage,” says Lewis. “It guarantees that artists receive payment even for free utilization of their work,” he adds.

The platform will also generate revenue through audio advertisements that play during music browsing and listening. (Currently, these advertisements primarily promote the paid subscription plan.)

Navigating Uppbeat’s music catalog is straightforward. The music is categorized by genre, theme, and style, presented in visually appealing rows designed to showcase the diverse range of music and beats available to YouTubers. This includes music specifically tailored for background use, as well as tracks designed to evoke various moods such as inspiration, tranquility, joy, and drama. The addition of a sound effects (SFX) library is planned for the coming months.

Uppbeat believes its established relationships within the music industry, cultivated through Music Vine, will enable them to secure higher-quality tracks compared to other free music services.

Currently, the startup is funded through revenues generated by Music Vine, but Foster indicates they have received interest from venture capitalists. However, the founders presently intend to maintain ownership control.

Uppbeat is currently testing both a referral program and a profit-sharing initiative. The latter will allow YouTubers who attract new customers to Uppbeat to receive the full revenue from those customers for a period of two years.

“This represents a significant commitment from our side,” Foster acknowledges. “However, our priority is to rapidly expand Uppbeat’s reach and recognition within the YouTuber community, and we are willing to share the resulting revenue. We believe this is a compelling approach to benefit the YouTuber community rather than pursuing substantial private investment,” he explains.

The startup is also exploring the possibility of offering shares in the company to select, prominent YouTubers, Foster adds.

Uppbeat currently operates with a team of eight employees and 12 freelance contributors, based in Leeds, U.K.