What Is a Beat Lease? Non-Exclusive Beat Licences Explained

Short answer: a beat lease is a non-exclusive licence. You pay the producer, you get the right to record a song on their beat and release it, and the producer keeps owning the beat. They can lease the same beat to other artists too.

That last part surprises a lot of people. If you want to be the only artist who ever uses a beat, you need an exclusive deal, and that's a separate (and much more expensive) conversation with the producer.

What a lease on Ziki gives you

When you license a beat on Ziki you get our Standard Non-Exclusive Licence. In plain terms:

• The MP3 as the producer uploaded it.
• The right to record and release one new song on the beat, and make money from it.
• Streaming, downloads, radio and live shows, up to 100,000 combined streams and sales.
• One music video, including a monetised YouTube upload.
• No expiry for the song you release under it, worldwide.

You have to credit the producer, usually as "prod. by" plus their name. The full wording is on our licence page.

What a lease doesn't give you

You don't own the beat. You can't resell it, re-upload the instrumental on its own, or claim it on YouTube Content ID as yours. And if your song blows past the stream cap, you'll need to talk to the producer about an upgrade. Most producers are happy to have that conversation. A song doing 100k streams is good news for them too.

Lease, exclusive or free beat?

	Lease (non-exclusive)	Exclusive	Free beat
Cost	Low to moderate	Much higher, negotiated	Free
Others can use the beat	Yes	No, from the sale on	Yes
You may release a song	Yes, one song, within the limits	Yes, on the agreed terms	Only with the producer's written go-ahead
Who owns the beat	The producer	Depends on the contract	The producer

For most new artists, lease first. It's cheap enough to test a song with real listeners before you commit serious money. Exclusives make sense when a song is clearly working, or when you're recording something you plan to push hard with a label or a big campaign. Keep in mind that an exclusive bought later doesn't cancel leases the producer sold before it.

What about free beats?

A beat being free to stream or download isn't the same as permission to release a song on it. If a producer offers a free beat, get their go-ahead in writing (a DM or email is fine) before you put your song out, and credit them either way.

Before you pay: a quick checklist

1. Listen to the whole beat, not just the preview, if the producer has a longer clip on their page or socials.
2. Read the licence summary on the track page. On Ziki every beat shows the licence before you pay.
3. Check the stream limit against your plans. If you expect a big push, ask the producer about an upgrade up front.
4. Note the producer's name exactly as they want it credited.

After you buy

• Keep your proof. Keep the email you used and the M-Pesa or card confirmation. If you were logged in, the beat is saved under Library → Purchased so you can download it again.
• Credit the producer in your song title or description on every platform.
• Agree the split. A lease covers the beat, but if the producer also co-wrote the song, agree the songwriting split in writing. The free split sheet generator helps.
• Release it. Upload your finished song and link back to the producer. Our guide to uploading your music walks through it.

Paying for a beat in Kenya

Beats on Ziki are priced in KES and you can pay with M-Pesa or a card at checkout. The download is ready straight after payment. Browse what's available under Beats in the marketplace or on the Instrumental page.

Producer? See how to sell your beats online in Kenya.