Music Terms of Service

Introduction

TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy, and we know that for some users music can be a part of that expression and individuality on TikTok. That's why we've partnered with music rights holders to permit the use of copyrighted music in your TikTok videos. These Music Terms are intended to help you understand how music can be used on TikTok.

As a TikTok user, you agree that your use of music will follow these Music Terms, the TikTok Terms of Service, the Community Guidelines and the Privacy Policy which govern your use of the Platform. All capitalized terms used but not defined in these Music Terms shall have the meaning set out in the TikTok Terms of Service.

General terms

TikTok offers its users a library of licensed music from which songs may be selected for inclusion in videos. If you include in your video a song that was not chosen from the licensed library, then you confirm that you are the creator of that music and/or that you have all the rights and permissions needed to use that music in your video. Except as expressly set out in these Music Terms, you acknowledge that no rights in the music—either in the sound recordings or the underlying compositions embodied in them—are licensed to you under the TikTok Terms of Service or these Music Terms.

How to include music in a video

Below we describe some ways that you may choose to include music in your videos. In short, you should only include music in a video if you are sure that you have the rights or permissions to do so.

Select audio from the general music library. When you upload your video content to TikTok, you can select music from a list of music recordings in our TikTok music library, which we call Sounds. Sounds are made available to individual users to include in their videos, so long as the videos are only for personal entertainment and non-commercial purposes. You shouldn’t use a music recording from Sounds for any commercial purpose–including associating the music with, or promoting, a brand or business–unless you have obtained the necessary rights to use the music in that manner.
Select audio from the commercial music library. You can also select music from the TikTok Commercial Music Library, which we call Commercial Sounds. Unlike Sounds, Commercial Sounds are made available to brands, businesses, commercial entities, advertisers or other Platform users (including individuals) that may be using the Platform for commercial purposes (collectively defined as a “Commercial User”). Music recordings selected from the Commercial Music Library can be used to promote a brand or for other commercial purposes. Your use of the Commercial Sounds is governed by the Commercial Music Library Terms here.
Upload your own music. Finally, you can also upload audio from your own personal device, such as audio that contains music we’ve licensed for use on the Platform or your own original work, by including such music directly in your TikTok video ("Original Sounds"). Your use of Original Sounds is governed by the TikTok Terms of Service. If you’re a Commercial User, you should not use an Original Sound uploaded by another user. If you're a Commercial User and you upload an Original Sound to your video, you confirm that (i) you own all the rights to the music included in the video; or (ii) the music is otherwise permitted by law; or (iii) you have permission from all necessary rights holders to use the Original Sound on the Platform.

How you can use music

Music is part of the TikTok experience. But, to use music on our Platform, you must follow a few rules.

Non-commercial uses. Unless you’ve selected a sound from our list of Commercial Sounds, music should only be used for personal, non-commercial purposes. Any other use of music to sponsor, promote, co-brand or advertise or in a way that creates an association between the music and a brand, product, good or service is prohibited unless you have obtained separate permissions and all necessary rights.
Short-form uses. Our global music license agreements may require us to place limits on the duration of music that can be used in your video. While specific limitations vary, uses of music up to one minute in length are generally permitted.
No alterations or modifications. You can not edit or alter the fundamental character of any copyrighted music, unless you created the underlying music or otherwise have the rights or permissions to do so.
No stand-alone audio. You should not use music separately as stand-alone audio without an accompanying video.
No illegal uses. Don’t use music in an illegal manner, in connection with illegal content, or in violation of our Community Guidelines. In addition, music shouldn’t be used in a political context or for political purposes unless you have separately obtained permission from all of the rights holders to do so.
Sharing videos on third-party platforms. In some cases, you may be able to share TikTok videos to third-party platforms through our service. If you do share your TikTok video to a third-party platform, your TikTok video would be subject to the terms and conditions of that third-party platform.

How you can use music if you’re using Commercial Sounds

Business or commercial uses: Music selected from the Commercial Sounds list can be used for business or commercial uses, such as use in association with a brand, logo or trademark or other brand identifying characteristics. Commercial Sounds are also made available for advertising, marketing, endorsing, sponsoring or publicizing (including so-called paid "hashtag challenges") a product and/or service on the Platform.
Shared only within the Platform: You may show or share videos that include Commercial Sounds created on the Platform within the Platform and using the sharing features on the Platform. Any uses outside of the Platform require you to obtain separate permission and license the necessary rights directly from all necessary rights holders unless otherwise authorized by the Commercial Music Library - User Terms.

If you use Commercial Sounds, please read the Commercial Music Library Terms Guidelines here, as they apply to your use of Commercial Sounds.

Using music in Live streams

There are limitations around how music can be included in Live streams. You cannot use Sounds or Commercial Sounds in a live stream. To use your own recorded music or perform music in your Live stream, you must have all rights and permissions you need to use or perform the music in the Live stream. In some cases, we’ve obtained licenses for users to perform copyrighted music, such as a cover of a song written by someone else, provided that you perform the song as written, and create all aspects of the song itself, without incorporating recorded music.

Permitted uses by law

As part of our mission to inspire creativity and bring joy, it is important to acknowledge that music may be used in transformative ways. While you must comply with these Music Terms, not all music is protected by copyright and not all uses of copyrighted music would be unauthorized or require obtaining permission. For instance, you may use works that are in the public domain, and certain uses of copyrighted works may qualify for an exception or limitation to copyright infringement, such as a parody or pastiche, in jurisdictions that recognize fundamental user rights.

TikTok respects intellectual property rights. We allow rights holders to report user content on the Platform that they believe infringes their copyrights. We have established policies that describe how rights holders can report claimed infringements and how users can dispute those reports. These policies apply to all types of copyrighted works, including music. For more information, see our Copyright Policy here. You should review these policies if you believe you have mistakenly received a takedown notification.

We may remove or mute your video if we have reason to believe your use of music is unauthorized. You acknowledge that our audio recognition system may detect unauthorized uses of music and your content may be muted. If your content is muted or removed in error, and you have the necessary rights to share music or your use may be permitted by law, you can appeal the issue through our in-app notification process or the counter-notification form here.