TikTok announced Sounds For Businesses to make creating TikTok content with licensed music more affordable for small businesses.
Businesses that use Twitter for marketing and advertising can now choose music with the appropriate commercial use licensing through the TikTok Audio Library.
This allows individuals and businesses to choose audio selections specifically cleared for organic content and ad creation.
Why It Matters
According to TikTok, 68{6cb8abfeb559d66631b8e4d3acbefbf94e33aab91056d243d8f72af0fa67e1d6} of users find remembering a brand’s messaging easier if it is paired with a song they like. 62{6cb8abfeb559d66631b8e4d3acbefbf94e33aab91056d243d8f72af0fa67e1d6} of those who enjoy the music will take the time to learn more about the brand because they feel they share similar tastes.
With over 500,000 pieces of music and sounds in the Commercial Music Library, businesses can find music that matches their ideal customer’s preferences.
How To Choose Commercial Use Audio On A Desktop Browser
You can browse the audio selections available for commercial use by visiting TikTok’s Audio Library in the Creative Center and selecting TikTok commercial use under Usage. Note that there is a different selection for TikTok Series paid videos.
You can filter the results by theme, genre, mood, and audio duration to match your content.
Once you find the audio you want, click the Use in TikTok Video Editor links to create your video with the selected audio.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023How To Choose Commercial Use Audio On The TikTok App (iOS)
Start by tapping on the plus icon to create a new video. Once you choose your video and upload it, tap on Add Sound at the top.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023Next, tap the magnifying glass icon to search the full Audio Library.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023At the top of the next screen, tap on the Sounds dropdown.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023This will reveal the music and sounds licensed for commercial use.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023Once you choose your audio, you can continue creating your TikTok video as usual.
Why Choosing The Right Licensing For Your Audio Matters
If you use music or sounds that have not been commercially licensed, TikTok can remove the audio from your video without notice, based on their Community Guidelines.
If your audio is removed due to a copyright issue, you may be able to a new sound to your video by going to your video and tapping on the notice that says sound removed – view details.
If you see an option on the following screen to change the sound, you can choose new audio for your video.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023Note that if you talked in your video, all of it is gone. Changing the sound on your video will not bring back the talking portion of your audio.
This can be exceptionally frustrating if you are a content creator who spends a lot of time adjusting the video content to match the audio.
How To Protect Your Audio Selection
In addition to choosing commercially licensed audio from TikTok’s audio library, you can prevent your audio from being removed by TikTok by going to your Creator Tools in the TikTok app.
You can toggle the option to do a copyright check on your audio before publishing your video.
Screenshot from TikTok, February 2023This is particularly useful if you choose audio for your video from another video creator, such as Canva. It can save you from losing all your work due to copyright infringement.
Read more here about Sounds for Business on TikTok.
Featured Image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock
