How to License a Beat in Africa

One of the biggest barriers to licensing a beat from an African market has never been the music, it's the payment. Plenty of catalogues assume you have an international card, a PayPal account, or a US bank connection. That leaves out a huge number of artists across the continent who are ready to pay for a good beat but don't have access to those rails, and who often give up on a purchase entirely at the checkout page.

Mbeatz was built to remove that barrier entirely. You can license a beat and pay with M-Pesa directly from a Kenyan number, Airtel Money from across several African markets, Apple Pay, or a standard card, whichever is actually available to you. No international account required, no waiting for a bank transfer to clear before you can start recording.

What each license type actually covers

• Basic lease: non-commercial or limited-distribution use, good for demos, mixtapes, or testing a song before committing further
• Premium lease: covers commercial release, streaming, and radio submission, with trackout stems included
• Exclusive license: full ownership transfer, the beat is taken off the market entirely once purchased

Before you release anything commercially

If your track is going to streaming, radio, or YouTube monetization, make sure your license actually covers it. A Basic lease will not protect a commercial release, distributors and platforms can and do check licensing status, and getting caught with the wrong tier can mean a takedown after you've already built momentum on a track.

FAQ

What happens if I outgrow a Basic lease after release? Most producers allow an upgrade to a Premium or Exclusive license after the fact, contact the producer directly through mbeatz.org/producers to arrange it before your song scales up in distribution.

Do I get a written license document? Yes, your license document downloads together with your beat and stems, keep it on file in case a distributor or platform asks for proof of clearance.

License your beat today

Browse mbeatz.org/beats, choose the license that matches your plans, and pay with M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Apple Pay, or card. Your license document and beat stems download together, instantly.