How OctaveSync works
Finding the right sound, fast
Most stock audio sites make you audition preview after preview. OctaveSync is built around filters: over a hundred categories with dozens of subcategories under each, plus audio type, mood, tempo band, exact BPM range, duration, file format, vocals or instrumental, looping or one-shot, quality, author and price. Combine them and the list shows exactly what you asked for — nothing else.
Every row draws a waveform instead of loading audio, so a full page of results costs a handful of tiny cached files. You can see a track's shape — where it builds, where it drops — before you press play at all.
Previews are deliberately not the master
Pressing play auditions a preview clip, not the file you would buy. Previews are cut to 45 seconds and are downmixed or re-encoded at reduced quality. The master recording is stored on the filesystem outside anything the web server will serve — there is no URL that reaches it. It is released only through a checked download route, and only to the author, an administrator, or someone who has bought a licence.
Every track also carries a permanent 32-bit audio ID assigned at upload. Authors can change every other detail afterwards; that number never changes, so a licensed recording can always be traced back to its purchase.
Licences — the listed price covers presentation use
Each track's listed price buys the Standard — Presentation licence. Uses that reach far bigger audiences — podcasts and online video, advertising, games and apps, radio and television — carry an extended licence at a multiple of the listed price, in line with industry practice across the major audio libraries. Music used commercially almost always needs more than a presentation licence, so the tier you need is shown, priced, on every track page before you buy, and your purchase history records exactly which licence you hold.
| Licence | Covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard — Presentation | Internal presentations, personal projects, portfolios and non-commercial use. This is the listed price. | listed price |
| Web & Social Media | Websites, social posts, YouTube channels and other online publishing by a single organisation. | × 2 |
| Podcast & Online Video | Podcasts, online series and streaming video, including monetised channels, with unlimited episodes. | × 3 |
| Games & Apps | Interactive use inside a game or application, including repeated in-product playback. | × 6 |
| Online Advertising | Paid advertising campaigns delivered online, including pre-roll and paid social. | × 5 |
| Radio & Broadcast | Radio advertising, station imaging and broadcast programming. | × 7 |
| TV & Film | Television, cinema and film productions — the widest possible exposure. | × 9 |
A licence is per track and permanent. Buying a wider licence later is always possible; you are never charged twice for the tier you already hold.
Credits — £1 equals 1 credit
You buy audio with credits. Top up in advance using Stripe's secure checkout, then each download is deducted from your balance. Your balance is always visible in the menu, and we warn you when it drops below £10 worth so you're never caught short mid-project. Your purchase history — with permanent re-download links — lives in your account.
Authors earn 70% of every sale
When someone licenses your track, 70% of the sale is yours. The remaining 30% covers the platform's operational costs — storage, bandwidth, payment processing, review and development. Earnings accrue against every sale and are paid out monthly to your own Stripe account.
Payments go through Stripe — we never hold your card or bank details
Both sides of the money flow run on Stripe, a regulated payment provider used by millions of businesses:
- Buying credits: you pay on Stripe's own hosted checkout page. Your card number never touches OctaveSync's servers and is never stored by us — Stripe confirms the payment and we add the credits.
- Author payouts: you set up your own free Stripe account and link it in your OctaveSync account page. Each month we pay your 70% share directly to that Stripe account, and Stripe forwards it to your bank. Your bank details live with Stripe, not with us.
That separation is deliberate: the platform holding no card or bank data is the strongest protection we can give you.
What we accept
OctaveSync is a curated library, and every upload is reviewed by an administrator before it goes live. We accept recordings and compositions that are your own original work — or work you hold full rights to, including any performer, sample and publishing clearances. Original production, field recordings and sound design are all welcome. We do not accept uncleared samples or interpolations of other people's recordings; commercial music you do not own; recordings of identifiable people made without their consent; content that is unlawful, hateful or defamatory; or audio presented as something it is not. Submissions that fall short are declined with a reason, and repeated violations close the account. The full rules are in our Terms & Conditions.
Selling your audio
- Register (not currently open) — you'll get a 32-character recovery key by email and set up authenticator-app sign-in.
- Upload up to 20 files at a time in MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, OGA, OPUS, M4A, AAC, and tick the criteria they belong to — the same filters buyers search with, plus your own comma-separated tags. Duration, sample rate, channels and bitrate are read from the files automatically.
- Set your price in credits. You can change any detail later except the permanent audio ID.
- Link your Stripe account and get paid monthly.