Uppbeat
Uppbeat is a UK-based subscription platform founded in 2021 that distributes royalty-free music, sound effects, stock video, motion graphics, and LUTs from indie artists to over 4 million content creators, monetizing via self-serve tiers from $0 to $13.99 per month.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLeeds, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Uppbeat does
Uppbeat (operating under the legal entity Music Vine Limited) is a UK-headquartered, web-based subscription platform founded in 2021 that distributes royalty-free creative assets to content creators. Its core offering is a deep, rights-cleared library—over 2,500 categories across royalty-free music, sound effects, stock video, motion graphics, and color-grading LUTs—contributed by a curated network of independent artists, producers, and composers that includes Grammy-nominated and Emmy-winning contributors. The company claims approximately 4 million creators using the platform, with a 4.7-star Trustpilot rating across ~2,000 reviews serving as social proof.
The product surface is cloud-based and self-serve. Differentiating technical features include an AI-powered playlist generator that takes natural-language descriptions of mood or scene and returns matching playlists; a Sync Preview tool that synchronizes uploaded video clips against candidate tracks in real time; an automatic YouTube channel Safelist that pre-registers channels to suppress copyright claims; advanced filtering across a taxonomy of 2,500+ categories; project organization via Boards; and curated Zones for browse by vibe (gaming, travel, chill, epic). All assets are marketed as human-made, with the platform explicitly positioning itself against AI-generated stock content and promising fair compensation to contributing artists.
Monetization is a four-tier monthly subscription: Free ($0, 3 downloads and 25% catalog access), Essentials ($5.59/month, unlimited music and SFX), Creator ($7.99/month, full library plus stock video up to 1080p and motion graphics/LUTs), and Pro ($13.99/month, 4K stock video, extended organizational and advertising licensing, priority support). Go-to-market is product-led and community-driven: customers sign up directly at uppbeat.io without sales intervention, growth depends on SEO, a Discord community, referral incentives, and creator showcase pages featuring named users such as Brandon Li and Pick Up Limes. The company has disclosed ~$6.1M in funding from a March 2022 round and operates with 11–50 employees; it is led by co-founder and managing director Matt Russell. Public information does not include further funding rounds, enterprise customers, financial performance, or ownership structure beyond the Music Vine Limited entity.
Uppbeat firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Uppbeat
- Legal name
- Music Vine Limited
- Website
- https://uppbeat.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Uppbeat is a UK-based subscription platform founded in 2021 that distributes royalty-free music, sound effects, stock video, motion graphics, and LUTs from indie artists to over 4 million content creators, monetizing via self-serve tiers from $0 to $13.99 per month.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Uppbeat industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Music Publishers (512230), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Creator/Artist Direct-to-Fan Streaming & Membership (MPAIACAF), Social/UGC Music Platforms (Short-Form, Social Listening) (MPAIACAE), On-Demand Music Streaming Platforms (MPAIADAA)
Keywords
Where Uppbeat is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leeds
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Uppbeat business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans: Tiered monthly subscription model with four levels: Free (limited downloads), Essentials ($5.59/mo), Creator ($7.99/mo), and Pro ($13.99/mo). Each tier provides escalating access to music, sound effects, video, and licensing options.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free - Entry-level for individuals with limited access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Essentials - Core music and sound effects access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Creator - Full library access for individuals and small teams |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro - Ultimate creative plan for power creators and businesses |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Uppbeat product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Uppbeat is a subscription-based creative assets platform that distributes royalty-free music, sound effects, stock video, motion graphics, and color grading LUTs to content creators via tiered monthly plans. The platform is differentiated by human-made, rights-cleared content from indie artists, automatic YouTube channel safelisting, an AI playlist generator, and a Sync Preview tool that lets users audition tracks against uploaded video clips before download.
Product overview
Uppbeat is a unified creative assets platform offering a comprehensive suite of royalty-free digital content for creators. The platform provides five core product categories: Music Library (royalty-free music from indie artists and composers), Sound Effects, Stock Video, Motion Graphics, and LUTs. These products are accessible through tiered subscription plans (Free, Essentials at $559/month, Creator at $799/month, and Pro at $1,399/month) that progressively unlock additional features like channel safelisting, higher resolution video exports, and team licensing. Key differentiating features include an AI-powered playlist generator that creates personalized music selections based on natural language descriptions, a Sync Preview tool for testing tracks against video footage, and a Safelist feature that automatically protects YouTube channels from copyright claims. All assets are human-made and fully rights-cleared, marketed as copyright-safe and legally compliant for publishing anywhere.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Safelist channels automatically prevent copyright claims
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Uppbeat
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Uppbeat technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Uppbeat partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Uppbeat competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Epidemic Sound: Epidemic Sound is the leading subscription-based royalty-free music and sound effects platform for content creators, offering a similar licensing model and target audience (YouTubers, podcasters, social media creators) as Uppbeat, with a significantly larger catalog and brand spend.
- Artlist: Artlist is a subscription-based creative assets platform offering royalty-free music, sound effects, stock footage, and templates for video creators — directly comparable to Uppbeat's bundled music + SFX + video + motion graphics offering and similar SMB/prosumer pricing model.
- Musicbed: Musicbed licenses high-quality music from independent artists for films, brands, and content creators — directly comparable to Uppbeat's artist-led, label-quality positioning, though Musicbed historically skews more toward film/brand clients than SMB creators.
- Soundstripe: Soundstripe is a subscription music, sound effects, and stock video library targeting YouTubers, agencies, and small businesses — closely aligned with Uppbeat's product scope and SMB/creator pricing tiers.
- PremiumBeat: PremiumBeat is a royalty-free music library owned by Shutterstock serving video producers, filmmakers, and content creators — a comparable licensing model with similar target use cases for background and soundtrack music.
- Bensound: Bensound is a royalty-free music library offering subscription and individual licensing for content creators and businesses — comparable in artist-led model and SMB creator target, though with a smaller and less curated catalog than Uppbeat.
Broad incumbents
- Envato Elements: Envato Elements is a broad subscription marketplace offering music, video, graphics, templates, and other creative assets under a single license — comparable to Uppbeat's bundled offering but spanning a much wider category set with a more established ecosystem.
- Storyblocks: Storyblocks is an unlimited-download subscription service for stock video, audio, and images used by video creators and agencies — directly comparable to Uppbeat's stock video and SFX libraries with a similar SMB self-serve model.
- Pond5: Pond5 is a large marketplace for royalty-free video footage, music, sound effects, and images serving professional filmmakers, agencies, and brands — comparable in catalog breadth and licensing structure though more marketplace than subscription.
Emerging players
- Splice: Splice is a music creation and sample marketplace primarily for music producers, with growing sound effects and creator tools — partially overlapping with Uppbeat's audio licensing focus but oriented toward music-makers rather than video content creators.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Uppbeat social profiles
Digital presenceUppbeat financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Uppbeat leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Uppbeat funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Uppbeat M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Uppbeat
What does Uppbeat do?
Uppbeat is a subscription-based creative assets platform that distributes royalty-free music, sound effects, stock video, motion graphics, and color grading LUTs to content creators via tiered monthly plans. The platform is differentiated by human-made, rights-cleared content from indie artists, automatic YouTube channel safelisting, an AI playlist generator, and a Sync Preview tool that lets users audition tracks against uploaded video clips before download.
Is Uppbeat a public or private company?
Uppbeat is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Uppbeat founded?
Uppbeat was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Uppbeat based?
Uppbeat is headquartered in Leeds, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Uppbeat make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Plans.
Who are Uppbeat's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Epidemic Sound, Artlist, Musicbed, Soundstripe, PremiumBeat and Bensound. Broad incumbents are Envato Elements, Storyblocks and Pond5. Splice is listed as an emerging player.
Does Uppbeat have an API?
No public API is recorded for Uppbeat.
What industry is Uppbeat in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAKAD, Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements), with a secondary code of MPAIACAF, Creator/Artist Direct-to-Fan Streaming & Membership. Its NAICS code is 512230 and its SIC code is 7372.