Royalty-free music is music you can use without paying a royalty each time your content is played, once you hold a licence for it. It is not copyright-free, and the licence decides where the music may go. The YouTube Audio Library is cleared for videos on YouTube, Meta's Sound Collection licence covers content on Meta's products only, TikTok's Commercial Music Library is pre-cleared for commercial use on TikTok, and paid subscription libraries license by plan, with some splitting personal channels from client work and ads. Before you use a track, match the use (platform, sponsorship, podcast or paid ad) to the licence, and keep proof that you held it when you published.
This explainer sets out what the main free and paid sources actually license, using each platform's own terms checked on 2 October 2026. It ends with a decision table and a record template. For a head-to-head of two subscription libraries, see our Artlist vs Epidemic Sound licence comparison; for what to do once a claim arrives, see our guide to a YouTube copyright claim versus a strike.
What royalty-free does and does not mean
Every recorded song carries at least two copyrights. The US Copyright Office's circular on musical compositions and sound recordings explains that the composition (music and lyrics) and the sound recording are separate works, and a copyright in one is not a substitute for the other. A usable licence has to cover both, which is why a royalty-free library either owns both or has cleared both with the people who do.
Australia's collecting society makes the same point from the licensing side. APRA AMCOS says that putting music into ads, film, TV or your own video needs permission and a synchronisation licence from the owners of the musical work and the sound recording. On its licence selection page it adds that directly licensed music, also known as royalty-free music, does not need a PPCA licence and sometimes does not need an APRA AMCOS licence either, then warns that music which appears to be directly licensed often is not. “Royalty-free” describes a payment model; it does not prove the seller had the rights to give you.
Platform libraries: free to use, tied to the platform
The big platforms each run a library of cleared music, and each licence is written around its own platform.
- YouTube Audio Library. YouTube's Audio Library help page calls its music and sound effects copyright-safe, says Partner Program members can monetise videos using them and that downloads will not be claimed through Content ID, and requires a credit in the description for Creative Commons tracks. It also says YouTube is not responsible for “royalty-free” music from other channels or libraries and cannot advise on music issues off the platform. Separately, its Creator Music FAQ says tracks licensed through Creator Music can only be used in videos uploaded to YouTube.
- Meta Sound Collection. The Sound Collection terms grant a royalty-free licence for commercial or non-commercial use in content you create and distribute on Meta's products only, and bar using the audio separately from those products. Meta's business help on Instagram's music library says its licensed music library on Instagram is meant for personal, non-commercial use and that some business accounts cannot access it, pointing them to Sound Collection instead.
- TikTok Commercial Music Library. TikTok's business help page says businesses cannot use the general music library commercially and should use the CML for organic content, video ads and branded content on TikTok. TikTok's creator help on commercial use of music adds that if you post brand content with music from outside the CML, you must agree to a Music Usage Confirmation when the content disclosure setting is on.
Editing apps can add their own layer: CapCut's Commercial Sounds, for example, are limited to CapCut, TikTok and TikTok for Business, as our CapCut commercial use guide explains. Meta's music guidelines sum up the default across its apps: using music for commercial or non-personal purposes is prohibited unless you have obtained the appropriate licences.
Subscription libraries: the licence is the plan
Paid libraries sell unlimited downloads, but what you may do with a download depends on the plan you hold when you publish. The questions to ask any library before subscribing:
- Does the plan cover sponsored posts on your own channels, and is that different from making content for a client's channels?
- Are paid ads included, and on which platforms?
- Are podcasts, websites, streaming services or TV listed, or only social platforms?
- How many channels per platform can you register so the library's claims system recognises your licence?
- What stays licensed if you cancel, and does a video scheduled to publish after cancellation count as covered?
- Can you get a licence certificate or record for each download, to show a platform or a client?
Our Epidemic Sound and Artlist comparison answers these for two of the larger libraries, with links to each help centre.
Why licensed tracks still get Content ID claims
A valid licence does not stop a matching system from flagging your upload. YouTube's rules on what content qualifies for Content ID say that rights holders need exclusive rights to claim, that content licensed non-exclusively from a third party is ineligible as a reference, and that matches against so-called “royalty free” production music libraries must be routed to manual review before claiming. In other words, production-library music can sit in Content ID, and YouTube requires matches against it to be reviewed by a person before a claim is made.
Registering your channels with the library before you publish, where it offers that, and keeping your licence record are your protection, because the record is the evidence for a dispute. The steps and deadlines for disputing are covered in our claim versus strike guide, and the wider question of earning from videos that contain other people's music is covered in monetising YouTube videos with copyrighted music.
Podcasts and paid ads
Podcasts sit outside the video platforms' libraries, so music in an episode needs its own licence. Spotify's copyright guidance for podcasters says content described as royalty-free is not necessarily free to use however you want and tells creators to check that a licence covers podcast use. Its policy on music in podcasts also says podcasts should not be used to distribute music tracks or DJ mixes, and that Spotify can remove such episodes regardless of licensing.
Paid ads need the closest check. TikTok's CML explicitly includes video ads on TikTok and the Sound Collection terms allow commercial use within Meta's products, but neither stretches to the other platform. A campaign that runs as a TikTok ad, an Instagram ad and a YouTube pre-roll needs either music licensed for all three or three different tracks.
Music licence decision table
Find your use case, then check the source's terms and keep the proof listed. This summarises the pages linked above; individual tracks can carry extra conditions.
| Use case | Music source to check | Allowed under the source's terms? | Proof to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monetised long-form video on your YouTube channel | YouTube Audio Library track | Yes, with a description credit if the track is Creative Commons | Track title, licence type shown in Studio and the attribution text you used |
| Reusing that Audio Library track in an Instagram Reel | YouTube Audio Library track | Not addressed by YouTube's help page, which covers YouTube use | Choose a track whose own licence names Instagram, and save that licence |
| Sponsored Reel or Facebook video for a brand | Meta Sound Collection track | Yes on Meta's products; the terms allow commercial use there | Track name, download date and a dated copy of the Sound Collection terms |
| Putting a Sound Collection track in a YouTube video or podcast | Meta Sound Collection track | No; use outside Meta's products is barred | A separate licence for the other platform, kept with the episode files |
| Branded TikTok post or a TikTok video ad | TikTok Commercial Music Library | Yes on TikTok, which lists organic, ad and branded content | CML track name, the account used and the CML terms date |
| Brand content using a sound from TikTok's general library | TikTok general music library | No; TikTok says those licences do not cover commercial use | Swap to a CML track or a direct licence before posting |
| Podcast intro, outro or bed music | Subscription library or a direct licence | Only if the plan or licence lists podcasts | Plan name, licence certificate and the episode it was used in |
| Client video or ads running across several platforms | Subscription plan with client and ad cover, or a direct sync licence | Depends on the plan; personal-creator tiers may exclude it | Licence certificate naming the use, the client and the campaign dates |
| A chart song or your own cover of one | Commercially released music | Not royalty-free; a sync licence from the song's owners, plus the recording's owners if you use their recording | Written sync licences from each rights holder |
Licence record template
Keep one entry per track per piece of content, in the same folder as the project. If a claim arrives a year later, this is what you will need.
- Track title, artist or composer, and the library's track ID.
- Source and plan: the library or platform, the plan name and whether it covers personal, sponsored, client or ad use.
- The account used: the email or channel the download was made from.
- Download date, plus a saved copy or screenshot of the licence terms on that date.
- Licence certificate or receipt reference, if the library issues one.
- Channels registered with the library's claims system, and the date each was added.
- Where the content was published: platform, URL, publish date, and whether it was organic, sponsored or paid.
- Attribution wording required, and where you placed it.
- Subscription status at publication, and the renewal or cancellation date.
- Claims received, the dispute submitted and the outcome.
Limitations of this music licence explainer
This is general information based on terms and help pages as published on 2 October 2026, not legal advice. Platforms update their music terms, individual tracks can carry their own restrictions, and regional rules differ: the APRA AMCOS points above describe the Australian system, and other countries have their own collecting societies. The licence shown for a specific track inside a library always takes precedence over a general summary.
For broadcast or streaming-service distribution, large paid campaigns, or a dispute with a rights holder that a platform cannot resolve, speak to a lawyer who works on music licensing, or contact the collecting society in your country.