What happens when you cancel a music licence

The pattern

Music subscriptions license what you publish, not what you download. Across the providers whose terms could be read, the rule is the same in outline. A video published while you were paying keeps its licence. A video published after you stop does not, whatever is sitting in your downloads folder.

Provider by provider

Provider	Videos published while subscribed	New videos after cancelling
Epidemic Sound	Stay cleared permanently	Monetised by Epidemic Sound
Artlist	Stay cleared forever if on the Clearlist	Cannot be added to the Clearlist
Envato	Completed projects keep their licence	Not allowed, even with earlier downloads
Bensound	Covered if published before expiry	No new downloads or channels

Epidemic Sound. "All content published while the subscription was active remains cleared to monetize permanently." After that, new content using its music "will result in monetization by Epidemic Sound".

Artlist. "Channels and videos registered to Clearlist during an active subscription remain cleared forever." But "You can't link your channels or videos to the Clearlist after the license expires."

Envato. "Completed end products retain their license", and "You cannot use downloaded items to create new end products after your subscription ends, even if you downloaded the item before cancellation."

Bensound. After a plan expires you can no longer download tracks or licence certificates, or clear new YouTube channels. Projects have to be published before the plan expires.

The catch

"Stays cleared" only covers videos that were set up correctly at the time. A video on a channel you never safelisted is not protected, and after cancelling you may have no way to add it.

Epidemic Sound attaches the condition directly. Content stays cleared "as long as you correctly safelist the channels". Artlist closes its Clearlist to new entries the moment the licence expires.

Before you cancel

1. Check that every channel you published on is connected in your account.
2. Publish anything that is finished. An unpublished edit loses its licence with Envato, and cannot be published with Epidemic Sound music.
3. Download your licence certificates or invoices and keep them. Bensound removes access to certificates when the plan ends.
4. Search your scheduled uploads for anything using the library's music and move it forward or swap the track.

Providers not covered here

Soundstripe, Storyblocks and Musicbed are missing from the table because the help pages read for this guide do not say what happens after cancelling. Ask them directly before you subscribe.