How do I get paid for my music sales?

Setting up payouts on Fairbeat is a one-time setup that takes about five minutes. Follow these five steps.

Heads-up: Fairbeat's platform fee is currently 0% on all tiers (Free, Advanced). You only pay Stripe's standard processing fee (2.9% + €0.30 on EU cards, similar in other regions).

1. Open the Payments tab#

Go to Account → Payments in the marketplace sidebar.

You'll see the Stripe Connect card with the button Connect with Stripe. PayPal also appears, but its button is disabled with the "In development" label — it's not active yet.

2. Click Connect with Stripe#

Click Connect with Stripe. Fairbeat creates a Stripe Connect Express account in the background and redirects you to a Stripe-hosted onboarding page.

You'll be back on Fairbeat at /account/payments?stripe_connect=success once you finish.

3. Complete the Stripe onboarding checklist#

Stripe walks you through the standard Express onboarding. Fairbeat then runs a four-step checklist back on the Payments page:

• Charges enabled — identity verified (Stripe asks for your name, address, DOB, and a government ID)
• Payouts enabled — bank account confirmed
• Tax settings active — origin address and default tax rates set in your Stripe dashboard
• Tax registration active — at least one tax jurisdiction registered for VAT/sales tax collection

Each checklist row turns green as Stripe approves it (most rows are instant; some can take up to 24 hours).

4. Opt in or out of VAT (EU small-business sellers)#

If you're a German Kleinunternehmer or EU small-business exempt from VAT, you'll see a VAT exemption option in the same Stripe Connect settings. Toggle it on and Stripe Tax is disabled for you — your sales are charged without VAT.

If you're not exempt, leave it off and Stripe Tax handles VAT calculation automatically per buyer jurisdiction.

5. Create an invoice template#

Go to Performance → Invoice templates and create a template. This is required before you can publish your first beat — every sale auto-generates a PDF invoice using this template.

The template lets you set:

• Your business name and address
• Your VAT number (if applicable)
• Your tax ID
• Optional notes / payment terms

When and how you actually get paid#

Once everything is set up, the money flow is:

1. Buyer pays at checkout. Stripe charges the buyer's card via a direct charge on your connected account.
2. Funds land in your Stripe account immediately. No Fairbeat hold period.
3. Stripe pays out to your bank on its automatic schedule — typically 1–3 business days for Stripe Express accounts (your country and Stripe history determine the exact cadence). You can change the schedule from your Stripe dashboard.
4. You see the transaction in Performance → Finances: under the Activity tab you'll find every sale with status, license info, and a one-click invoice download. The Wallet tab shows your revenue stat card and credit balance breakdown.

Refunds aren't initiated by buyers — there's no buyer-facing refund button. If a buyer needs a refund, they submit a support ticket and we handle it manually. A refunded sale shows up as a negative transaction in your Activity tab.

For everything that comes before the sale (uploading, pricing, usage settings), see How do I upload a beat?.