flowy isn't built for the youtuber putting music under a monetized video. mubert and soundraw are built for that, and they're better at it. if you're producing content with music in the background, that's the right shelf to shop on.
but the question of whether you can use flowy tracks in a podcast or a video keeps coming up, and the answer has more nuance than a one-line tos line can carry. this piece walks through the actual situations.
the short version
personal use is included with any MP3 download from flowy. commercial use is by email; we work it out per case and usually say yes. the reason we don't have a blanket commercial license yet is that the underlying legal ground on AI-generated music is still moving (see the licensing piece for the full version).
what counts as commercial: ads, monetized YouTube content, client work you're paid for, sync placements in film or tv.
what doesn't really count as commercial in any practical sense: a personal vlog with a few hundred subscribers, a hobby podcast, a charity stream. nobody's going to sue you, no rights holder is going to claim, the platforms don't have content-id matches against flowy tracks because they're generated.
specific use cases people ask about
YouTube videos under 10k subscribers
practical risk is zero. content id doesn't match flowy tracks. monetization status on your channel doesn't change the legal question, only the optics. if you want a clean paper trail, email and we'll send a one-line confirmation.
YouTube videos over 100k subscribers
same legal situation, higher visibility. agencies and brand partners sometimes ask for explicit licenses for the music in your videos before signing deals. get the license in writing now and avoid a deal-blocker later. it's free, usually one email round-trip.
podcast background or intro / outro
fine for personal use. for monetized shows, get a written license; podcast platforms (spotify, apple) occasionally audit and a paper trail is faster than re-recording episodes.
twitch streams
twitch's DMCA exposure is real but only matters when content id matches a copyrighted track. flowy tracks don't match anything because they're generated. you're safe on twitch. keep clip uploads to youtube in mind, same logic applies.
music in a paid ad
agencies want explicit licenses with title-chain. flowy can provide a written license. agencies vary on whether they'll accept it; some require recordings with full performing- rights-organization clearance, which AI music can't provide. ask before you commit to using flowy on a paid spot.
music in a feature film or major-label release
not yet. sync licensing requires title-chain that AI-generated music can't provide at the moment, and the legal situation around AI music ownership is exactly the case where a film's E&O insurance would balk.
training your own AI model on flowy output
no. the tos is explicit on this. derivative training is the one place AI music vendors are universally protective.
what to ask for in writing
if you're using flowy in a commercial context, here's the text you should ask for in your license email:
- perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive rights to use the specific tracks (or all tracks from a specified date range) in your specific use case.
- a representation that the output is not, to our knowledge, infringing on third-party rights.
- a clear statement that no attribution is required (or, if it is, what form).
- confirmation that the right survives subscription cancellation for tracks already downloaded.
we'll provide all four for any commercial use. high-value cases (paid ads, film, sync) we usually want a quick call to understand context. flowy isn't designed as a stock-music service; we're flexible because we know we're slightly out of category here.
tools that are better fits if you're producing content
- mubert for general background music with explicit royalty-free licensing baked in.
- soundraw for section-by-section intensity editing tuned to a video's energy curve.
- aiva for orchestral and cinematic cues with editable MIDI output.
- epidemic sound, artlist, musicbed if you want curated human music with explicit per-track licenses.
flowy is for the listener at the keyboard, not the editor in the timeline. some people use it for both anyway and that's fine. if that's you, email and let's make the license clean.