LICENSE
MEMES FOR
Marketing
Commercial use on Social Media
MEME
LICENSING
Memes have quietly become the most powerful form of communication on the internet. They work because no one can control why something becomes a meme.
Meme licensing was built to help creators get compensated when brands want to use their memes for commercial purposes. We fully support memes being used and shared by anyone, but have an issue with corporations exploiting their power for profit without ever paying or crediting the creators behind them.
Stock photos made image licensing simple for brands. Meme licensing brings that same logic to internet culture.
9s
Average online attention span is under 9 seconds.
10×
Memes generate 10× higher reach than traditional marketing visuals.
Forbes on marketing performance: meme-based content consistently outperforms conventional creatives.
72%
72% of Gen Z feel more connected to brands that understand internet culture.
PRWeek: The generation with the most purchasing power wants culturally fluent brands.
HOW LICENSING
WORKS.
01
Browse the Catalog
Discover licensed meme formats from original creators. Catalog assets are contractually cleared with creators and rights holders before listing
02
Select the Meme
03
Choose a License
Select Organic Post, Paid Ads, or Subscription. Feel free to contact us for agency, multi-brand, or large-campaign licensing.
04
Activate the License
Receive the meme asset and your legal license certificate. You’re licensed within your purchased scope and ready to post
BUILT FOR
YOUR INDUSTRY.
Select your industry first.
FOR E-COMMERCE.
Compare licenses
See exactly what’s included in each option. Tap or scroll to explore.
|
Per Post
Organic Post
Organic PostThis license is for brands that want to use one selected meme in a single organic social media post to promote a product, service, campaign, or company, without paid ads, boosting, or sponsored amplification. The selected meme may be used for commercial promotion, as long as the content is posted organically on the brand’s own social media channels and not used as paid media. The usage right applies to one meme and one campaign-specific post only. You can adapt the meme to fit your campaign goal and publish the same post across up to 3 social media platforms of the same brand. For example, the same post can run on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, but it must remain the same campaign post, not three different posts. The license must be activated within 60 days of purchase. After this window, the meme can no longer be posted under this license. |
Per Post
Paid Ads
Paid AdsThis license is for brands that want to use one selected meme in a paid campaign to promote a product, service, campaign, or company. The selected meme may be used for commercial advertising, including boosted posts, sponsored posts, paid social ads, display ads, and performance campaigns where ad spend is used to increase reach. The usage right applies to one meme, one ad account, and one advertising platform only. You can adapt the meme to fit your campaign goal and run it as paid creative on a single platform such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Google Ads. This may also include use in connection with a landing page or external website when the meme is used as part of that same paid campaign. Each additional platform requires its own license. Memes can help paid campaigns feel more native, relatable, and platform-relevant than traditional ad creative. Within 60 days of purchase, the meme must go live as a paid post or ad. During this same 60-day period, you can run paid promotion, boosting, sponsored distribution, and ad spend on the licensed meme. After the 60 days, no new ad spend may be invested in the meme. A boosted social media post that was already live may remain visible organically on your social media account, but no further paid spend, boosting, or sponsored distribution may be applied to it. Dedicated paid materials such as standalone ads, display ads, video ads, dark posts, sponsored placements, or dedicated campaign landing pages featuring the licensed meme must be discontinued, removed, or edited to remove the meme. If you need a longer paid campaign period, please contact us before purchase. |
Most Popular
Monthly
Subscription
SubscriptionThis subscription is for brands that want ongoing access to the meme catalog instead of licensing memes one by one. During an active subscription, your brand can use featured memes for organic social content across all of its own social media accounts and platforms. It is built for brands that post frequently, react to trends quickly, and need a steady flow of legally cleared meme content for campaigns, product launches, and everyday social media communication. The main benefit is flexibility: you can test different memes, adapt faster to current conversations, and keep your brand present in internet culture without buying a separate license for every single post. Paid advertising add-on Paid advertising is not included in the standard Subscription. The optional paid ads add-on unlocks paid campaign usage across supported advertising platforms, unlimited ad accounts connected to the same brand, and 10 personalized meme examples showing how memes from the catalog can be adapted for your brand. If the paid ads add-on or the Subscription itself is cancelled or not renewed, you keep full Subscription access until the end of your current monthly billing cycle. Only after your current cycle ends does the 30-day paid wind-down period begin. During this wind-down period, only already-running paid campaigns may continue. No new paid campaigns, new ad creatives, new ad sets, new ad accounts, new platforms, or new meme assets may be added. After the wind-down period, all paid spend, boosting, and sponsored distribution using catalog memes must stop. Paid advertising add-on Paid advertising is not included in the standard Subscription. The optional paid ads add-on unlocks paid campaign usage across supported advertising platforms, unlimited ad accounts connected to the same brand, and 10 personalized meme examples showing how memes from the catalog can be adapted for your brand. If the paid ads add-on or the Subscription itself is cancelled or not renewed, you keep full Subscription access until the end of your current monthly billing cycle”. Only after your current cycle ends does the 30-day paid wind-down period begin. During this wind-down period, only already-running paid campaigns may continue. No new paid campaigns, new ad creatives, new ad sets, new ad accounts, new platforms, or new meme assets may be added. After the wind-down period, all paid spend, boosting, and sponsored distribution using catalog memes must stop. |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage type | Single organic post | One paid campaign or boosted post | Monthly access |
| Price | From $49/post | From $89/post | From $299/mo |
| Organic rights | Included | Only for boosted posts | Unlimited |
| Paid advertising | — | Included | |
| Social platforms | Up to 3 | 1 platform | All platforms |
| Ad accounts | — | 1 ad account | — |
| Catalog access | One selected meme | One selected meme | Full meme catalog |
| Trend alerts | — | — | Monthly Meme Trend Overview |
| Billing | One-time | One-time | Monthly |
For Agencies & Multi-Brand Teams
Need licensing across multiple clients, sub-brands, or campaigns? We’ll tailor a plan that fits.
License scope, usage limits, activation periods, and legal conditions are governed by our General Terms and Conditions; practical explanations and common questions are covered in our FAQ.
WATCH THE STORIES BEHIND OUR MEMES
EVERY MEME. CLEARED
FOR USE.
Browse the full library – every asset legally licensed and ready to deploy in your campaigns.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
Why do brands need a license to use memes commercially?
Most memes online are shared by private individuals for humour, commentary, or internet culture, usually without a commercial purpose. Commercial use is different. When a brand, company, or agency uses a meme, it becomes part of a business activity, whether that means promoting a product, growing a brand account, increasing reach, improving brand visibility, or supporting a campaign.
If a meme is protected by copyright or other rights, using it commercially without permission may constitute copyright infringement and can expose the brand to takedown requests, claims, or licensing disputes. Even if nothing is sold directly in the post, the meme is still being used for commercial benefit. That is why commercial meme use is treated differently and may require a license from the relevant rights holder
Do you work with the original rights holders?
MemeLicensing is a curated platform, not an open self-listing marketplace. Creators, rights holders, or third parties cannot simply upload and list memes themselves. Artnerra selects assets, reviews them before listing, and works through creator, rights-holder, or authorised licensing-partner agreements before making assets available for licensing. The exact license scope depends on the selected license and our General Terms and Conditions.
Which license should I choose?
Choose Organic Post if you want a one-time license for one selected meme in one normal, non-boosted social media post for your brand. This is the right option for standard organic brand content, for example an Instagram post, TikTok post, LinkedIn post, X post, or similar social media post without ad spend. The same campaign-specific post may be published across up to 3 social media platforms of the same brand, but it must remain organic.
Choose Paid Ads if you want a one-time license for one selected meme in paid distribution. This includes boosted posts, sponsored posts, dark posts, paid social ads, display ads, search ads, video ads, or performance campaigns. A Paid Ads License covers one meme, one paid campaign or boosted post, one advertising platform, and one ad account for the same brand.
Choose Subscription if one brand wants ongoing access to the meme catalog for frequent organic social media content instead of licensing memes one by one. The standard Subscription is for organic posting only and does not include paid advertising.
If you want ongoing catalog access and also want to use catalog memes in paid campaigns, choose the Subscription with the paid advertising add-on. The add-on extends the Subscription to paid usage for the same brand, including boosted posts, sponsored posts, paid social campaigns, and ad accounts connected to that brand.
How much does a license cost?
Pricing depends on the license type. The Organic Post License starts from $19 per post and covers up to 3 social media platforms for the same brand. The Paid Ads License starts from $49 per post and covers one meme, one paid campaign or boosted post, one advertising platform, and one ad account. The Subscription starts from $99 per monthly billing cycle and gives one brand ongoing organic catalog access across all of its social media platforms. Subscription billing runs monthly from the purchase date. Depending on the calendar month, a billing cycle can be 28 to 31 days. The optional paid advertising add-on extends the Subscription to paid campaigns and costs an additional $150 per billing cycle. We are also available for custom license arrangements. If you are an agency, an enterprise client, or have specific licensing needs, please contact us. All prices shown are net prices. VAT, sales tax, reverse-charge treatment, or other tax handling may be applied at checkout depending on your billing country, tax status, and applicable law.