Help center · Licensing and rights

Sonilo AI music licensing guide

What a Sonilo plan lets you do with the music and sound effects you generate: who owns them, whether you can use them in client work, paid ads, and monetized YouTube videos, and what happens to those rights if you cancel. Each section starts with the short answer and links the full one. Every answer is drawn from the current Terms of Service and pricing; last reviewed 2026-10-01.

Who owns the music and sound effects you generate

As between you and Sonilo, you own what you generate: the Terms assign you any rights Sonilo has in the output made for your account, Sonilo takes no royalty, and your plan decides how you may use it.

  • Do I own the music and sound effects I generate with Sonilo?

    Yes, as between you and Sonilo. Section 6.1 of the Terms assigns to you any rights Sonilo may have in the outputs generated for your account, subject to the plan-based limits on commercial use. Sonilo does not keep a royalty and does not claim ownership of what you make.

  • Is Sonilo music royalty-free?

    Yes. Sonilo charges by generation through plan credits and takes nothing afterwards: no per-use fees and no royalties on views, sales, or broadcasts. Paid plans need no attribution; a shared Free-plan download must be credited “Music by Sonilo”. The license is worldwide.

Commercial use in client work and paid ads

Sonilo output can be used commercially, including client deliverables and paid ads, when it was generated on Pro ($14.99 per month), Premium, or Enterprise; Free and Creator output is for personal, non-commercial use only.

  • Which Sonilo plans include commercial use?

    Commercial use starts on Pro ($14.99 per month): ads, sponsored content, client work, monetized channels, apps, websites, and indie games, with no attribution. Premium ($29.99 per month) adds film, television, broadcast, and studio games. Enterprise adds custom terms. Output generated on Free, or on an existing Creator subscription, is for personal, non-commercial use only. The rule is tied to the plan that was active when the track or sound effect was generated, not the plan you hold when you publish.

  • Can I use Sonilo output in client work and paid ads?

    Yes, from Pro ($14.99/mo) upwards, with no attribution. Client videos, agency deliverables, paid social, and pre-roll are general commercial use covered on Pro; a television or broadcast spot needs Premium or above. The license belongs to the account that generated the audio, so the freelancer or agency generates on a commercial plan and delivers the file plus its license certificate to the client.

  • Can I edit, remix, loop, or use Sonilo output in games, apps, and broadcast?

    Yes. You are free to trim, loop, pitch, layer, and combine generated music and sound effects with your own material, and no paid plan asks you to credit Sonilo. Where the result is published decides the plan: ads, client work, monetized channels, apps, websites, and indie games are covered from Pro upwards, while film, television, broadcast, and studio games need Premium or above. A game is indie when the individual or team behind it had under US$200,000 in combined revenue and funding over the last 12 months, and a studio game at or above that, on any platform. The line is checked when the sound is generated: a sound generated while you were under it stays covered for that indie game even after you grow, and anything generated after you cross it needs Premium. Personal, non-commercial projects can use Free or Creator output.

  • Can I post Free or Creator plan output publicly, and do I need to credit Sonilo?

    You can post Free or Creator output to a personal account that is not monetized, sponsored, or used for a business. A download made on the Free plan must be credited “Music by Sonilo” (or “Sound effects by Sonilo”) wherever you share it; Creator, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise output needs no credit. What you cannot do on Free or Creator is use the output commercially: ads, sponsorships, monetized channels, client work, or products you sell. Free plan exports are also preview quality.

  • Is Sonilo music safe to use commercially?

    Yes, when the music is generated on Pro ($14.99 per month), Premium, or Enterprise and used within that plan's scope. Those plans carry a commercial license with no attribution, the Terms assign you whatever rights Sonilo holds in your output, the music model is trained on licensed catalogs rather than scraped music, and each track can carry a license certificate that anyone can verify. Free and Creator output is for personal, non-commercial use only.

  • Can I use Sonilo music in sponsored posts and branded content?

    Yes, if the music was generated on Pro ($14.99 per month), Premium, or Enterprise. Sponsored posts, paid partnerships, brand deals, and branded content are commercial use, and the Pro license covers ads, client work, and monetized channels with no attribution. Free and Creator output cannot be used in a sponsored post, even on an account that is not otherwise monetized.

  • Can I use Sonilo music on TikTok and Instagram Reels?

    Yes. On any plan you can use Sonilo music and sound effects in TikTok videos and Instagram Reels posted to a personal account that is not monetized, sponsored, or promoting a business; a Free-plan download must be credited “Music by Sonilo” in the caption. Posts that earn money — sponsored posts, business or brand accounts, creator monetization programs, and paid promotion — are commercial use and need audio generated on Pro ($14.99 per month) or above.

Audio generated through the Sonilo API

Audio generated through the Sonilo API can be used commercially — in your own product and by your end users, including ads, client work and monetized channels.

  • Can my app's users use audio generated through the Sonilo API commercially?

    Yes. Audio generated through the Sonilo API can be used commercially — in your own product and by your end users, including ads, client work and monetized channels. The API is billed pay-as-you-go from a prepaid balance on platform.sonilo.com, not through a sonilo.com subscription plan, so no Pro or Premium plan is needed; Enterprise API customers follow their enterprise agreement.

Monetized YouTube videos and copyright claims

Audio generated on Pro, Premium, or Enterprise can be used in monetized YouTube videos; Sonilo does not register generated tracks with Content ID, and a claim on Sonilo audio can be disputed with the track's license certificate.

  • Can I use Sonilo music and sound effects in monetized YouTube videos?

    Yes, if the audio was generated on Pro, Premium, or Enterprise. Monetized channels are named explicitly in the commercial scope of those plans. Free and Creator output may be posted to a personal, non-monetized channel but not to one that runs ads, memberships, or sponsorships.

  • What is a Sonilo license certificate and how do I get one?

    A license certificate is a document Sonilo issues for audio generated on Pro, Premium, or Enterprise. It records what was generated, under which plan, what you may do with it, and where the training data came from, and it carries a code that anyone can verify at sonilo.com/verify-license. To get one, open the track in your library and choose Download commercial license.

  • Will Sonilo music get a Content ID claim on YouTube?

    It should not. Sonilo does not register generated tracks with YouTube Content ID, and each track is a new generation from a model trained on licensed catalogs rather than a copy of an existing recording, so Sonilo puts nothing into the fingerprint database that your track could match. No service can promise a claim will never appear; if one does on audio generated on Pro or above, dispute it and attach the track’s license certificate.

What happens to your rights when you cancel or downgrade

Rights follow the plan that was active at generation, so audio you generated and exported on Pro or Premium keeps its commercial scope after you cancel or downgrade; export it and download its certificate before the plan ends.

  • What happens to my rights if I cancel or downgrade my Sonilo plan?

    Rights are decided by the plan that was active when the output was generated, so audio you generated and exported on Pro or Premium keeps its commercial scope after you cancel. What you lose is access: projects are kept in your library only while you are subscribed, so export the audio and download each license certificate before the plan ends.

Releasing music to Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services

No Sonilo plan includes releasing a generated track through a distributor to Spotify, Apple Music, or other streaming services; the license covers music used in videos, ads, client work, and monetized channels.

  • Can I distribute Sonilo music to Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services?

    No. Releasing a generated track as a record through a distributor to Spotify, Apple Music, or other streaming services and stores is not part of any Sonilo plan's license. Pro covers general commercial scoring — music under a video, an ad, a client deliverable, a monetized channel, or an indie game — and Premium adds film, television, broadcast, and studio games, with no attribution. Free and Creator output is personal and non-commercial.

Sound-effects licensing

Generated sound effects are licensed exactly like generated music, and files from the free sound-effects library are free for commercial use, no credit needed.

  • Do Sonilo sound effects have the same license as the music?

    Yes. Text-to-SFX and video-to-SFX output is licensed exactly like the music: personal use on Free and Creator, commercial use on Pro, Premium, and Enterprise, with a downloadable certificate on Pro and above. The free sound-effects library is different: its files are free for personal and commercial use without an account or credit, and a free download comes without a certificate; Pro and above can get one for any of them.

  • Can I use the free Sonilo sound effects library commercially?

    Yes. Every file in Sonilo's royalty-free sound effects library is free to download and use in personal and commercial projects, such as monetized videos, ads including paid ad campaigns, client work, apps, and games, with no account, no credit, no royalties, and no revenue cap. A free download doesn't include a license certificate (Pro and above can get one). You may use the files inside your own projects, including products you sell, but not sell, share, or give them away on their own. The music library is different: its tracks are free for personal use, and commercial use of them needs Pro ($14.99 per month) or above.

Training data and provenance

Sonilo's music model is trained on professionally licensed catalogs, including content authorized through Shutterstock, and every license certificate records that provenance.

  • What was Sonilo trained on, and why does it matter for my license?

    Sonilo's music model is trained on professionally licensed catalogs, including content authorized through its Shutterstock partnership, rather than on scraped music. That is why each license certificate carries a "Training data" line reading "Licensed catalogs only, incl. content authorized via Shutterstock." For you it means a documented provenance story to give a brand, broadcaster, or procurement reviewer who asks where the music came from.

How Sonilo compares with other AI music generators

Suno, ElevenLabs, Soundraw, AIVA, Mubert, Beatoven.ai, and Sonilo all offer commercial use on some plan while Udio currently offers none, and they differ on ownership, rights after cancelling, and YouTube claims.

  • How do AI music generator licenses compare for commercial use?

    Most AI music generators allow commercial use only on a paid plan, and their terms differ on three points that matter for video: who holds the rights, whether they survive cancelling, and how YouTube claims are handled. As of October 1, 2026, Suno (Pro, $10 per month), ElevenLabs (Starter, $6 per month), Soundraw, AIVA, Mubert, Beatoven.ai, and Sonilo (Pro, $14.99 per month) offer commercial use, and Udio currently offers none. Sonilo ties rights to the plan active when a track was generated, keeps them after you cancel, issues a license certificate you can attach to a YouTube dispute, and trains its model on licensed catalogs including Shutterstock's.

Still unsure?

The licensing overview sets out the rights and source evidence, including the licensed-catalog training and the certificate. For enterprise terms, exclusivity, or an indemnity requirement, talk to sales.