Public-domain classical music sync license
Public domain means the composition is free to use, but every recording of it is owned by someone, and that recording is what gets claimed. This page explains the split clearly: the notes belong to history, the master belongs to our legal entity, and your sync license covers our master for your named project. You never need a composition license for these works, you never owe royalties on the notes, and you get paperwork that proves the recording is yours to use.
Recommended starting tier: Creator $29 one-time
One project or series. Monetized YouTube, podcasts & wedding videos. Unlimited views.
What this license covers for sync
Your payment licenses one specific sound recording: a software render of a public-domain score, identified by Master ID and SHA-256 on your license PDF. It does not license the composition, because no license is needed for a public-domain work, and it does not cover anyone else's recording of the same piece. The tier sets where the recording may appear: Creator for one project or series with monetized YouTube, podcasts, and wedding video; Commercial adds client work, paid web and social ads, and multi project use; Broadcast and Film adds TV, cinema, festivals, streaming productions, and broadcast ads.
The practical rule is simple: match the tier to the most demanding placement in the project. A YouTube essay needs Creator, a client campaign needs Commercial, a festival run needs Broadcast and Film. Every tier is perpetual and worldwide inside its uses, delivers the WAV plus license PDF plus verification URL, and upgrades for the price difference only when plans grow.
Which tracks demonstrate the catalog
Bach Air on the G String is the canonical calm string bed for ceremonies, documentaries, and reflective montages. Mozart Turkish March shows the playful end of the catalog for intros and lively openers. Beethoven Symphony No. 5 first movement shows the dramatic end: tension and urgency in four famous notes. Together they prove one catalog can score tenderness, energy, and dread.
Debussy Clair de lune adds a dreamy modern era piano bed for night scenes, love stories, and slow travel footage, while Vivaldi Spring brings bright baroque strings for weddings, cooking, and upbeat social cuts. These five span baroque, classical, romantic, and modern eras, so whatever period flavor your project needs, a matching recording is already in the catalog with the same license terms.
How to use public-domain recordings safely
First, confirm the recording you publish is the one you licensed: match the Master ID or SHA-256 on your PDF before delivery, because a swapped file from another label breaks your chain of title. Second, keep the composition and the recording separate in your paperwork: tell clients and reviewers the composition is public domain and the recording is licensed from our legal entity under the named tier. Third, never upload the standalone WAV to stock or sample libraries, since resale of the recording is excluded.
After checkout through Stripe, download the WAV within 15 minutes, file the license PDF with the project, and store the verification URL where distributors or platforms can reach it. If anyone questions the music, the verification page shows licensee, track, tier, and issue date without exposing your email. That is the whole compliance burden: one license, one link, no royalty statements.
Why our masters stay claim free
Two facts protect you. The composition generates no composition claims because it is in the public domain in the United States, with notation sourced from public-domain editions rather than copyrighted critical editions or arrangements. The recording generates no claims from us because we never enroll our masters as Content ID references and never claim ad revenue from licensed uses. Most classical claims come from label recordings, and ours are simply absent from those systems.
Residual risk comes from third party systems matching the shared notes of a public-domain score, which no licensor can fully prevent. Our answer is documentation plus response: a public verification page for instant disputes and commercially reasonable efforts to release our own claim within 10 business days of a complete notice to support. One payment per track buys both the rights and the paperwork.
Preview the tracks for this use case
Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major
Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Clair de lune
The Four Seasons: Spring (La primavera)
License one of these tracks
One payment per track. Creator $29, Commercial $99, Broadcast & Film $499. Secure checkout with Stripe, 14-day money-back guarantee, and our masters are never registered with Content ID.
FAQ
If the music is public domain, why do I need a license?
The composition is public domain, but each recording of it is a separately owned sound recording. Publishing with someone else's recording without permission infringes their master rights even though the notes are free. Our license grants you rights in our recording, documented by Master ID and SHA-256, so platforms and clients can see exactly which recording you are entitled to use.
Do I owe royalties to anyone after licensing?
No. There is no composition royalty on a public-domain work and no per view or per use fee on our master inside your tier. You pay once per track, the license is perpetual and worldwide for the covered uses, and the only later payment that can arise is an upgrade for the price difference if the project outgrows its tier.
What does a Classical Sync license cover?
You license our software rendered master recording for one named project under the tier you buy, perpetual and worldwide. Creator ($29 one time) covers one project or series, including monetized YouTube with platform served ads, streaming podcasts, and wedding videos. Commercial ($99 one time) adds client and freelance work, music inside paid web and social advertising, small business marketing, and multi project use for the same licensee. Broadcast and Film ($499 one time) adds TV, radio, cinema, theatrical film, festivals, streaming and VOD productions, and broadcast advertising. Title to the recording stays with Magnolia Apps LLC. Every tier delivers the WAV, the license PDF, and a public verification URL.
Will this music trigger a YouTube Content ID claim?
Our masters are not registered with Content ID as reference files, so a licensed use starts claim free from our side. If a claim still appears, email licensing@thepodcastapp.dev with your license ID, your public verification URL, and the video URL. We use commercially reasonable efforts to release our claim within 10 business days of a complete notice. Third party or automated platform claims can still occur on any platform, and that pledge covers our own enrollment of the delivered master.
Do I have to credit the composer or Classical Sync?
No attribution is required. The underlying compositions are in the public domain, and you license only our recording of them from Magnolia Apps LLC. A credit line such as the track title and composer is welcome but optional. What you must not do is register the recording with a PRO, Content ID, or fingerprinting service, resell it as a standalone audio product or sample library, or sublicense it beyond delivering your named project.
What files do I receive after checkout?
Every license includes the licensed WAV (delivered by a 15 minute signed download URL and by email), a license PDF that records the terms version, hash, timestamp, Master ID, and SHA-256, plus a public verification URL of the form /verify?id= that proves the license to YouTube, clients, or distributors. Checkout runs through Stripe, one payment per track, with a 14 day money back guarantee. Keep the license ID with your project files so any dispute can be answered in one email.