I want to use music on TikTok. What do I need to consider?

In its “Music Terms of Service​”, TikTok differentiates between non-commercial and commercial videos.

Non-commercial TikTok videos are created by natural persons, are exclusively for personal entertainment and are not made for commercial purposes.

Commercial TikTok videos, however, serve commercial purposes, in other words, not personal purposes. If, for example, a product, a service or a brand is recommended and/or marketed or the video is sponsored, it is possible that a commercial purpose is involved. The actual decision whether a video is private or commercial, always depends on the individual situation. Videos on private TikTok accounts may also have a commercial character.

Did you know? Meta (Facebook and Instagram) also differentiates between non-commercial and commercial purposes for music use.

The private TikTok music library

If you are using TikTok for personal purposes, you can access the sound library with millions of songs directly in the sounds app and use those TikToks. Please take the following into account:

• You may only present or share videos with these sounds on TikTok but not on other platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. For the purposes of releasing them on other platforms, a separate authorisation must be acquired directly by the rightsholders. 
• You may not separately make available, distribute or perform TikTok music in the form of a self-contained audio without an accompanying video.
• Please follow the TikTok Community Guidelines: You may not use TikTok sounds in connection with illegal content or by breaching the TikTok Terms of Service.

The TikTok Commercial Music Library

If you use TikTok commercially, you can use the TikTok Commercial Music Library. The following applies once more: 

• Videos with commercial TikTok sounds may only be released and shared on TikTok, not on other platforms. 
• On top of that, songs may only be approved for use in certain countries.

Did you know? The TikTok Commercial Music Library only contains songs by musicians who have granted TikTok the relevant rights. This is why you hardly find well-known songs in the commercial music library.

How do I acquire a licence for music on TikTok which is not available in the music library?

If you want to use a specific song for your video that cannot be found in the TikTok Commercial Music Library, you must acquire a licence from the rightsholders. More on this on our page music in videos. 

In the case of private, non-commercial users, the synchronisation right on Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok and Facebook is already covered. You do not need to do anything else there.

Can I add my own sounds to TikTok?

It is possible that you use other songs and sounds for TikTok but if they are not from the Tiktok Music Library, you are responsible for clearing all required rights prior to using the song. These do not only include copyright but also all the rights of the performing artists. It may thus be possible that TikTok does not have the rights in the respective recording.

The consequence: If you upload this recording and cannot prove that you have acquired the exploitation rights in it, the video will be suspended/taken down. Should this occur repeatedly, it is possible that the entire account is suspended.

You can upload self-made sound effects or your own songs without material by third parties and use them on TikTok. Please do bear in mind that others may then use your works for additional purposes without you finding out about it. 

What happens when copyright is infringed?

If someone uses content protected by copyright without a licence or prior permission, they infringe copyright.  This can become expensive – especially in the case of non-private videos. What can happen specifically is this:

• You receive a warning and must take down all videos which include inadmissible content.
• If the rightsholders have instructed a law firm, you must bear the respective legal costs.
• You have to pay the licence fee retroactively, and it may be rather steep when it comes to commercial exploitation (e.g. a commercial video).
• You are obliged to provide information to which extent you have used the work and how high the turnover you generated was.

If you have violated the terms of use of TikTok substantially or repeatedly, your account may be deactivated or even closed.