Music licensing has always been an important issue, and it has only gotten more complex with the proliferation of digital content and spaces. It has long been a major pain point for creators on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, who regularly have content removed or flagged for including copyrighted music. However, it's not just creators and fans who suffer from situations like this — it also hurts artists, whose music can't be easily discovered by users on these platforms.
Over the past several years, music licensing platform Thematic has worked to simplify the licensing process to make royalty-free music available on social media platforms and address the needs of both artists and creators. Artists or labels can license songs, which Thematic’s algorithm then recommends to creators based on their content themes.
“Thematic was born out of a simple premise,” explains co-founder and CEO Marc Schrobilgen. “Content creators want to use great songs to enhance their videos, and music artists need promotion to get discovered and grow their audience. As the founders of one of the first music-focused networks on YouTube, [Thematic co-founder and COO] Audrey Marshall and I developed an early framework that allowed creators to license music for their videos in exchange for promotion.”
The idea for the company was developed further in 2015, when co-founder Michelle Phan, a well-known YouTuber and figure within the global beauty community, was involved in a copyright infringement lawsuit over the use of music that she had been told was properly cleared.
“It was as a result of this battle that she identified the need for a safe, collaborative and scalable solution,” says Schrobilgen. “The result is Thematic, a peer-to-peer marketplace where content creators and music artists could support each other through community-based licensing.”
In today’s digital world, social media gives artists the opportunity to reach a wider community of fans — especially when you consider the increasingly popularity of YouTube as a music listening platform — as Schrobilgen notes, promoting music through influencer marketing is costly, time-consuming, and doesn’t always provide great value for the artist. Thematic is aiming to change that — one of its key features is that it’s free for both creators and artists.
“We've democratized music discovery,” says Schrobilgen, “so artists can organically reach new audiences and grow true fans. With the acceleration of UGC (user-generated content) provided by Thematic creators, not only are artists fortifying their existing streaming revenue but they're unlocking new monetization opportunities with brands, licensing, and their audience.”
Schrobilgen shares that like many other online platforms, Thematic has experienced a significant surge in users during the pandemic. “Artists who weren't able to perform live due to the lockdown were looking for new ways to engage with audiences and get their music discovered,” he says. “At the same time, more people than ever before were taking their careers online giving rise to the creator economy. Since we've removed all barriers to entry, I think Thematic happened to be a good resource for these creatives.”
Simplifying music licensing for digital consumption benefits all parties involved, and Thematic has created a model to make the process as seamless as possible. Schrobilgen notes that many of the platform’s users come for the tool but stay for the network, including a very active Discord community where creators can connect and share knowledge.
“This has really helped inform our roadmap,” he says. “We are now bringing these interactions to our platform and have started to introduce other creative assets to the marketplace such as sound effects, photos, and video footage. Although we've started with music, our vision is to become the go-to platform where content creators can help build their careers through the exchange of all creative assets and services.”
In addition to YouTube and Instagram, Thematic recently announced new partnerships with Twitch, Shutterstock, and Songtrust as it continues to scale and work towards achieving this vision.