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Thank you for your Reply. Helped a lot. I will keep that in mind. 

Hi all, I'm building a music licensing service for games and would like to hear from people who actually make and release games before I go further. It isn't open yet, so there's no link, I'm only asking.

The idea: independent artists license complete tracks (no sound effects) for games. While you build, licences are free (30 days, renewable). When you release, you pay a small entry price per song, then a small amount for every player who hears that song for the first time, counted by an SDK in the game (Unity first). It works the same in every store and business model, free games included, and players never need an account. The artist earns from every player instead of getting a one-off fee.

As an example: €0.50 entry and 0.5 cents per player. A song in a game that 10,000 people play would then cost €0.50 + €50 in total.

What I'd like to know:

1. Where does your music come from today (asset packs, a composer, free/CC music), and roughly what did it cost you?

2. Would per-player pricing put you off compared to a flat fee? Would you need a cap per song or per game?

3. If your game is free, would this make sense for you at all, or only for paid games?

4. Would an SDK that reports first listens be a deal-breaker (offline play, privacy, web builds)?

5. Which engine do you use?

Honest answers are welcome, including "I'd never use this, and here's why." Thanks!