How To Access TikTok Commercial Music Library

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Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: May 21, 2024

TikTok 101

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Sound is essential to the TikTok experience. It plays a vital role in delivering entertainment, communicating mood, and establishing a creator’s identity. Modelled after the now-defunct app Musical.ly, TikTok has always had music and sound at its core. Free and easy access to a pre-cleared global music library hugely influenced TikTok’s unprecedented growth. If you’re interested to learn how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library, you’re in the right place!

A red neon sign that says ‘No music, no life.”

How To Access the TikTok Commercial Music Library: Different Ways To Find Your Beat

Knowing how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library should be first on any creator’s or brand’s to-do list. Any TikTok user can access the library in the app or desktop. You can browse more than one million songs and sounds in the music library. The licensed music and sounds are available for unlimited use in organic TikTok videos and TikTok ads via the Ads Manager. 

How To Access TikTok Commercial Music Library In-App

When creating a TikTok, you’ll see one of the most prominent tools is the Add Sound option. Here’s how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library in the app. 

  1. In create mode, tap Add sound at the top. 
  2. Under Discover, you can browse through Recommended sounds, Playlists, TikTop, New Releases, and other categories. 
  3. Tap on a sound to listen to it. Tap the bookmark icon to add it to your Favorites (it will go to your Favorites folder). 
  4. Tap the edit/scissors icon to cut the music to the section you want to use. Tap Done. The sound will be automatically added to the TikTok you’re creating. 

How To Access TikTok Commercial Music Library via Creative Center

The Creative Center is the best place to explore TikTok’s commercial music library in its entirety. You’ll need to use a browser — ideally on a desktop — for easier navigation. Here’s how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library via Creative Center.

  1. Open a browser and type TikTok Creative Center, then click on Audio Library on the navigation bar. Alternatively, you can copy and paste this URL on your browser: https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/music/pc/en.
  2. You’ll see two tabs: All Music and Playlist.
  3. In the All Music tab, you can select your preferred country to view Recommended Playlists and Top Music. You can filter results by Usage, Placement, Theme, Genre, or Mood. 
  4. In the Playlist tab, you can select your preferred region and filter results by Usage, i.e., TikTok commercial use or TikTok Series. Scroll down to view all Playlists. 
  5. Whether in the All Music or Playlist tab, clicking on a Playlist takes you to the Playlist Details page. The page will show you the Playlist’s top tracks. You’ll also see the artist name, song duration, usable placements, and tags for each track. 
  6. Click on any track to listen to it in its entirety.   

A person browsing through vinyl records.

How To Access Trending Songs

You can explore sounds in various categories when you know how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library. You can also search by music or artist name. But if you want to check out the latest top-performing sounds, go to the Trends tab in Creative Center. Here’s a quick navigation guide for brands and creators.

  1. Select your preferred region. 
  2. Under Popular, select a timeframe. You can view results for the last 7, 30, or 120 days. 
  3. Tick the New to Top 100 box to rank results according to the newest songs in the current top 100 list. 
  4. Tick the Approved for business use box to limit results to sounds pre-cleared for commercial use. 
  5. The Breakout tab shows a ranked list of songs that are growing in popularity at a significant rate. 
  6. Click on any song to see the top videos using it. 
  7. You can also check the analytics for each song for the timeframe you selected. 

A woman singing for an audience.

How To Access the TikTok Commercial Music Library: What Can You Find in the Library? 

You’ll find original audio from emerging and established artists when you know how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library. To date, the growing collection of sounds from around the world has breached the one-million mark. All sounds in the library are royalty-free and pre-cleared for commercial use. What does this mean?

If you need to use music from the library for promotional content, you don’t need to worry about licensing rights. The Audio Library “allows advertisers to browse, listen and search with multi-dimensional filters.” 

These are the various filters you can play with when exploring the Audio Library’s All Music tab:

  1. Usage. Choose between TikTok commercial use and TikTok Series. Music for TikTok commercial use is for marketing, advertising, sponsorships, endorsements, or publicity. This also applies to organic and paid content other than the TikTok series. Select TikTok Series if you will use commercial music in a paid video series. 
  1. Usable Placements. Select from TikTok, Helo, TopBuzz & BuzzVideo, or all placements. 
  1. Themes. Themes include food, sound effect, spring, danceable, healing, vlog, pet, DIY, beauty & fashion, etc. You can choose more than one theme or all of them. 
  1. Genre. Select from rock, pop, Latin, metal, classical, jazz, childhood, easy listening, etc. You can choose more than one genre or all of them. 
  1. Mood. Choices include excitement, chill, romantic, cute, dynamic, inspirational, sweet, and more. 
  1. Duration. Select a song duration — from 20 seconds to over one minute.   

A big audience at a live concert.

How To Access the TikTok Commercial Music Library and Other Common Questions

Knowing how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library opens the door to a world of harmonies and rhythms. Here are the most important things you need to know about TikTok’s Audio Library. 

  1. Who can use the Commercial Music Library? All TikTok users can access the Audio Library via the Creative Center. The in-app Commercial Music Library, however, requires a Business account. Business accounts must only use songs and sounds from the Commercial Music Library. 
  1. What can you use the pre-cleared sounds in the library for? All songs in the commercial library are available for marketing, advertising, sponsorships, endorsements, publicity, and other paid content. Creators, brand accounts, promotional partners, NGOs, and government organizations can also use them for organic content. 
  1. Where can you use the songs and sounds from the Commercial Music Library? The use of songs and sounds from the Commercial Music Library is limited to TikTok, Helo, and TopBuzz & BuzzVideo. According to Audio Library guidelines, “Some Music may only be used in Videos on select permitted platforms denoted by the “Usable Placements” restriction.”

How To Access the TikTok Commercial Music Library: Get To Know TikTok Marketing Sound Partners

TikTok Marketing Partners is a program that offers partner solutions to help businesses hit every goal. Explore the platform to find a marketing partner for your business strategy, or join the program as a badged partner. In addition to knowing how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library, explore sound-on marketing solutions via the program. 

What solutions can you get from TikTok Marketing Sound Partners? 

  1. Use music industry partnerships to drive brand engagement. 
  2. Get creative assistance via music supervision and playlist creation. 
  3. Get access to independent artists and help with custom sound creation or popular music licensing.

If you’re a business looking for a partner, here’s how to navigate the TikTok Marketing Partners platform;

  1. Access the platform via your preferred browser. 
  2. Click Work with a partner. 
  3. In the Partner Specialty category, select Sound. 
  4. Select your country/region or leave it blank. 
  5. Select your preferred language or leave it blank. 

A white phones with white earphones attached to it

Opportunities for Music Artists on TikTok

Learning to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library doesn’t only mean finding sounds and artists you love. It also means discovering emerging music artists on TikTok. The library does not only serve the music needs of businesses and creators. Indeed, the Commercial Music Library’s creation paved the way for countless music artists’ career success. 

TikTok’s Commercial Music Library recently launched the Artist Impact Program. According to TikTok’s announcement:

“[The] new program […] brings even more music from global artists onto the platform and provides greater opportunities for artists and brands to connect.” 

Artists have more opportunities to monetize their music by partnering with businesses that want to use it in their content. The program gives music artists “unprecedented opportunities to be discovered and re-discovered in markets around the world.”

TikTok has partnered with a number of global distributors to “fuel the pipeline of talent and artist-driven music.” Some of these brands include:

  • 411 Music Group
  • Amadeus Code, Inc.
  • Amuse Inc.
  • Believe
  • Blowout Inc
  • Create Music Group
  • Danal Entertainment Co, Ltd
  • DistroKid
  • Downtown Artist & Label Services
  • Epidemic Sound
  • Falcon Music
  • Fuse Adventures in Audio
  • Heavy Duty
  • JK Records
  • Kobalt
  • Mound Media Inc.
  • Music & New Co., Ltd.
  • PT Musica
  • Score a Score
  • Songtradr
  • Stem Disintermedia
  • SoundOn
  • Sub Pop
  • Thematic
  • Two AM Music Global
  • Vydia 

Artists from these labels can opt-in to the Commercial Music Library to expand their reach. The Commercial Music Library allows them to connect with brands for collaborations and with new and existing audiences. 

How To Access TikTok Commercial Music Library: Sound-On Best Practices

Knowing how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library is only the first step in a captivating sound-on strategy. Take note of the following best practices when using music to add energy and life to your videos. 

  • If you’re building brand awareness or looking to increase your exposure, find out what your audiences are listening to. Trending sounds can make you more visible to a wider audience. But if you want to land on your niche community’s For You feeds, use sounds they’re enjoying at the moment. 
  • Grab the opportunity to do a Duet or Stitch featuring a popular or relevant sound. These collaborative tools allow you to reach new viewers via the video’s original creator and the sound they use. 
  • You don’t always have to use a song in your videos to make them more engaging. Sound effects also work, especially if you’re trying to create a mood. 
  • Don’t shy away from using original sound from a new artist. Doing so can be advantageous if the artist works in your industry or shares your audience. 

Take Advantage of the Power of Sound on TikTok

Learning how to access the TikTok Commercial Music Library is one of the most impactful TikTok moves you’ll make. There are many ways that adding sound to your videos can benefit you, whether you’re a creator or a brand.

You cannot underestimate the power of sound on TikTok. A song can connect you with audiences following the same dance or lip-sync trend or sharing the same listening pleasure. Music can reinforce your video’s message or brand’s voice. A hit song can instantly launch your video into viral status. The right sound can create the perfect tone or mood for your viewers. 

Always use the sound-on option when creating videos. You might feel overwhelmed having access to more than one million pre-cleared commercial music. Fortunately, TikTok makes it easy for users to browse through sound selections and sort music results. 

Whatever message you want to convey or the atmosphere you want to create, there’s a sound for it on TikTok. Whether you’re creating an organic video or sponsored content, you don’t have to worry about licensing and copyright issues. 

Help new audiences discover your content by using trending music. Land your videos on the For You feeds of interested viewers when you use a song they’re listening to. Create a Duet or Stitch featuring popular music to get more exposure and new followers. Knowing how to access the TikTok Commercial Music library opens up tons of growth opportunities on the platform. 

Combine the sound advantage with the audience-targeting precision of AI when you team up with High Social. Sign up for a High Social plan to leverage their advanced, proprietary AI technology and further accelerate organic growth. High Social will help deliver your content straight to the For You feeds of interested and engaged audiences. Start growing your TikTok today!

TikTok 101