With over 25 million subscribers on YouTube, NCS Music is a label dedicated to promoting free music for electronic music lovers and creators, but how is a free-to-use music model sustainable?

NCS allows any of its music to be downloaded for free and encourage YouTube creators to use it in their videos, without getting hit by copyright claims. So where does their money come from?

The majority of income for NCS and its artists is generated through music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Google Play Music. They place ads on their YouTube videos too, which for a channel generating 100-150 million views per month is substantial. They also sell licenses for use outside of YouTube and Twitch.

Why allow people to use your music for free? All NCS require when you use their music in your videos is a credit in the description. NCS decided the benefits of extra promotion outweigh the amount lost from YouTube Content ID.

Upload your music to RouteNote today for free. We can help you get on the top music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Content ID. You get free choice of where you music goes and whether or not YouTube Content ID is best for you.