TikTok's Commercial Music Library (CML) is the set of tracks TikTok has cleared for commercial use, and it is the music to reach for whenever a post promotes a brand, product or service, including your own. TikTok's help page on commercial use of music says the licences it holds for music outside the CML do not cover commercial use, and its music terms limit the general Sounds library to personal, non-commercial posts. The Business Help Center article on how to use the Commercial Music Library describes it as a library of 1 million songs that is free for businesses.
This guide covers which music fits which kind of commercial post, how to find cleared tracks and what happens when audio is not cleared. Choosing between a personal and a business account is covered in our guide to TikTok creator and business accounts, and the paid partnership and disclosure toggles are in our TikTok disclosure settings guide. Instagram's music rules are different and are not covered here.
What counts as commercial use on TikTok
The Commercial Music Library User Terms define commercial uses as linking a sound with a brand, logo or trademark, and advertising, marketing, endorsing, sponsoring or publicising a product or service, including paid hashtag challenges. The Community Guidelines section on accounts and features adds a wider test for disclosure: commercial content includes anything that promotes your own brand or involves payment or perks from a third party. For a creator, that takes in:
- Paid partnerships and sponsored posts of any size.
- Videos about products a brand sent you free, because a gift is a perk.
- Affiliate and TikTok Shop videos that tag a product for sale.
- Posts selling your own merchandise, courses, services or memberships.
- Ads, including Spark Ads built from an organic post.
- Deliverables made through TikTok One, whose creator terms require CML tracks.
If you are unsure whether a post counts, the cautious reading of these rules is to treat any post with money, gifts or promotion behind it as commercial.
Post-type to music-source table
Match the post you are planning to a row. The source column names the TikTok document each rule comes from; the US and EEA versions of the Music Terms say the same thing on every point used here.
| Post type | Music you can use | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A personal post with nothing promoted | Anything in the general Sounds library, or Commercial Sounds | Sounds are licensed for personal entertainment and non-commercial purposes | Music Terms (US) |
| A creator branded post, paid or gifted | Commercial Sounds, or audio you own outright | A non-CML sound on a disclosed post needs the Music Usage Confirmation | Commercial use of music help page |
| Promoting your own merch, course or services | Commercial Sounds | Self-promotion is commercial content and needs the disclosure setting | Accounts and features guidelines |
| A TikTok Shop video tagging a product | Commercial Sounds | Marketing a product for sale is a commercial use under the CML terms | CML User Terms |
| Any post from a Verified Business Account | Commercial Sounds only; the general library is not offered | Business accounts see only Commercial Sounds when adding a sound | Account types on TikTok |
| A duet, Stitch or reaction made for a business | Commercial Sounds | The Business Help Center lists these formats among commercial activities | About the CML |
| A paid ad or a TikTok One deliverable | Commercial Sounds, used within the CML guidelines | The TikTok One creator terms make CML music a condition of deliverables | TikTok One Creator Program Terms |
| A sponsored or selling LIVE | Neither library; only music you have rights to play or perform | The Music Terms say Sounds and Commercial Sounds cannot be used in a live stream | Music Terms (US) |
| The same branded video reposted to Reels or Shorts | A track licensed separately for that platform | CML rights cover use on TikTok only | CML User Terms |
| A commercial post using another creator's original sound | Avoid it | Commercial users should not use original sounds uploaded by other users | Music Terms (US) |
The account types page also confirms the other side of the business row: General TikTok Accounts, which most creators use, can reach both the general music library and the CML.
Finding CML tracks: a search checklist
- On a personal account, start a video, tap Add sound, tap Sounds and pick Commercial Sounds from the dropdown. On a Verified Business Account, Add sound shows Commercial Sounds only.
- On the web, choose the region where the post or campaign will run before anything else, because the Business Help Center says availability depends on region.
- Narrow the list with the filters for usable placements, themes, genre, mood and duration, or search by name. The how-to article says up to 10,000 Commercial Sounds display at a time, so filtering matters.
- Read each track's Usable Placements if you browse on the web. The CML terms say a sound may only be used on the platforms listed there.
- Look for extra conditions on the track itself, which the CML terms say some sounds carry.
- Note any track marked Premium. The CML terms say Premium Tracks can carry an extra fee, shown when ad inventory is bought.
- Record the track title, the date and where you found it in your brief or deal folder, so you can answer a brand's question months later.
- Switch on the music copyright check on the TikTok Studio posting page, which warns you before posting if a sound is likely to be muted.
- Turn on the content disclosure setting for anything commercial, then post.
Original sounds and the Music Usage Confirmation
You do not have to use the CML when you own the audio: your own voice, sound you recorded on location or a track you composed. The commercial music help page says that if you use an original sound or music from outside the CML on a post with the content disclosure setting switched on, you must agree to the Music Usage Confirmation. That is a statement that the post contains no copyright-protected music, or that you have obtained and paid for every licence it needs.
The Music Terms put the same duty on any commercial user who uploads an original sound: you confirm you own the rights, the use is allowed by law, or every rights holder has given permission. Stock or royalty-free music bought elsewhere only works if that licence covers commercial use on TikTok, so read it rather than assuming. The Business Help Center tells businesses to check with their legal team before using other users' original sounds or other licensed audio.
Edits, track length and AI-made music
Three smaller rules in the Music Terms catch creators out. First, you may not edit or alter the fundamental character of copyrighted music unless you created it or hold the rights, so a heavily remixed or re-pitched version of a library track is not automatically covered. Second, TikTok's music licences can limit how long a track plays; the terms say uses of up to one minute are generally permitted, while specific limits vary. Third, the section on AI music says an AI-generated music video should not be used for endorsements, should be disclosed with captions, hashtags or the AI-generated content label, and should not use a person's voice or image without permission. For sponsored posts, a CML track used as published is the simplest choice.
What happens to audio that is not cleared
The Music Terms say TikTok may remove or mute a video if it has reason to believe the music use is unauthorised, and that its audio recognition system can detect such uses. TikTok's Creator Academy article on muted videos describes what you then see: an Inbox notification and a Change sound prompt on your profile and the video details page. When only part of the music breaks the rules, only that section is removed, and voice and other audio keep playing. You can swap in another track or appeal, and an approved appeal removes the violation and restores the audio.
Paid work carries extra risks. The CML terms say that if TikTok loses the rights to a Commercial Sound, it may take down or mute videos using it, with no liability to you. The TikTok One creator terms say a deliverable that breaks the music rule can be judged ineligible for payment or paid at a reduced amount. And the CML terms make you responsible for claims arising from unauthorised use, including general library tracks used commercially. For the other ways a post can be held or restricted, see our guide to a TikTok video under review.
Two TikTok pages that seem to disagree
The Creator Academy muting article calls TikTok's Unlimited Sounds Library fully licensed and free to use, and says TikTok handles the copyright side. The commercial music help page says licences outside the CML do not cover commercial use. Read quickly, those sound contradictory. They are not: the muting article is written for everyday posts, while the Music Terms, which are the binding document, limit Sounds to personal entertainment and non-commercial purposes. For anything branded, gifted, affiliate or self-promotional, the CML is the library that applies.
What to settle with a brand before you post
- Who chooses the track, and confirmation that it comes from the CML or from audio you own.
- Whether the brand plans to reuse the video on its website, Instagram or YouTube. CML rights stop at TikTok, so off-platform use needs its own licence or a different track.
- Whether the brand will run your post as a Spark Ad. That stays on TikTok, and our Spark Ads code guide covers the authorisation.
- Who re-edits and reposts if the track is later muted or withdrawn from the library.
- The wider usage rights, which our content usage rights checklist works through clause by clause.
The same rule follows you into TikTok's paid ad projects. Our guide to the TikTok Creative Challenge covers briefs where the video runs as an ad, and our TikTok Shop samples guide covers the product videos you owe sellers, both of which need cleared music.
Limitations of this guide
This guide draws on TikTok's Help Center, Business Help Center, the CML User Terms, the US and EEA Music Terms and the TikTok One creator terms as they read on 1 October 2026. Licensing deals change, tracks can leave the library and menu labels move between app versions, so check the track and the terms when you post rather than relying on an old brief. This is general information, not legal advice. For high-value campaigns, off-platform reuse or music you commissioned yourself, ask a lawyer who handles music licensing to review the contract.