If you post sponsored content, you need music that's licensed for brand deals, not only for personal posts. A sponsored video built on an uncleared track can be muted, claimed or taken down, and Instagram won't let a brand run a post that uses licensed in-app music as a partnership ad.
A sponsored post on your own channel is usually safe if the music comes from a platform's commercial library or from a library license that allows sponsorships. The risk sits with trending in-app songs, which TikTok and Instagram license for personal, non-commercial use. It also sits with any deal where the brand reposts your video or pays to promote it, because that's paid advertising and needs a license that covers ads.
In this article, we'll explain what counts as a sponsored post, set out the music rules on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, compare how Uppbeat, Epidemic Sound and Artlist license sponsored work, and give you a checklist to run before you agree to a brand deal.
In this article
- What music can you use in a sponsored post?
- What counts as a sponsored post for music licensing?
- Why a brand-promoted sponsored post needs a different music license
- TikTok music rules for sponsored posts
- Instagram and Facebook music rules for sponsored posts
- YouTube music rules for sponsored videos
- How Uppbeat, Epidemic Sound and Artlist license sponsored posts
- Which Uppbeat plan covers sponsored posts and brand ads?
- Which music license do freelance editors and creator teams need for sponsored content?
- What happens to sponsored posts when you cancel a music subscription?
- Sponsored post music checklist: 9 things to confirm before a brand deal
- Frequently asked questions about sponsored post music licensing
Key takeaways
- TikTok and Instagram treat sponsored and branded posts as commercial use, so trending in-app songs aren't licensed for them.
- TikTok's Commercial Music Library and Meta's Sound Collection are cleared for commercial use, but TikTok's commercial sounds can only be used on TikTok.
- When a brand boosts your post, runs it as an ad from your account (a Spark Ad on TikTok or a partnership ad on Instagram), or uses it in its own ads, the post becomes paid advertising, which many creator-level licenses exclude.
- Music library licenses separate sponsored posts on your own channel from brand-published copies and brand ads, so check which side of that line your deal falls on.
- On Uppbeat, Essentials and Creator cover sponsored posts on your own channels, Pro adds paid ads and client-published versions for solo creators and freelancers, and Business covers teams.
What music can you use in a sponsored post?
You can use any music you hold a commercial license for on the platform where the sponsored post goes live. In practice, that means a platform's own commercial library, royalty-free music from a library whose license allows sponsorships, music you own, or a track you've licensed directly from its rights holders.
Each source works differently:
- Platform commercial libraries. TikTok's Commercial Music Library and Meta's Sound Collection are cleared for commercial use inside their own apps.
- Royalty-free music libraries. A subscription license can cover the same track on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and your own website, as long as its terms allow sponsored content.
- Original music. Music you wrote and recorded yourself needs no license, though a platform may ask you to confirm you own the rights.
- Direct licenses. A commercial song needs permission from both the publisher (a sync license) and the record label (a master license), as our guide to how music licenses work explains.
Trending in-app songs usually don't qualify. TikTok and Instagram license them for personal, non-commercial use, and a sponsored post is commercial use on both platforms.
What counts as a sponsored post for music licensing?
A post counts as sponsored, and so as commercial use, when a brand pays you, sends you free products or pays you commission to make or share it.
The platforms define it in similar terms:
- TikTok lists advertising, marketing, endorsing, sponsoring and publicizing a product or service as Commercial Uses in its Commercial Music Library terms.
- YouTube treats paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements as paid promotion, including videos where a company has given the creator money or free products, according to YouTube's help center.
- Instagram says its licensed music library is intended for personal, non-commercial use, in Instagram's help center.
Many music licenses treat affiliate posts the same way as sponsorships. Uppbeat's licenses, for example, say your material may include “affiliations or sponsorships.”
Disclosure is a separate requirement from licensing. YouTube asks you to tick the paid promotion box in your video details, and TikTok and Instagram have their own branded content labels, but none of these settings licenses the music in the post.
Why a brand-promoted sponsored post needs a different music license
Music that's cleared for an organic sponsored post isn't automatically cleared when the brand reposts it or pays to promote it.
Once a brand puts budget behind your video, it becomes advertising. Uppbeat's User Agreement defines Paid Advertising as material made by you or for you that has paid distribution and exists only to promote a product or service. Many creator-level licenses, including Uppbeat's Basic License, exclude it.
Here's how each common use of a sponsored video changes what the music license has to cover:
Scroll sideways to see all four columns.
| How the sponsored video is used | Who publishes it | Paid distribution? | What the music license needs to cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic sponsored post on your own account | You | No | Sponsored or branded content on your own channels |
| The brand reposts or uploads the video to its own account | The brand | No | Publishing by a client or other third party |
| The brand boosts your post, or runs it as a TikTok Spark Ad or Instagram partnership ad from your handle | You, with the brand’s ad budget | Yes | Paid advertising |
| The brand runs your edit as its own ad in its ad account | The brand | Yes | Paid advertising and publishing by a client |
| The brand adds the video to its website, or to a TV, streaming or cinema campaign | The brand | Depends on the placement | Client publishing on the brand’s own website; broadcast TV, streaming services and cinema, which many subscription licenses exclude |
Checked in November 2026. Plans and terms change often, so always confirm on the provider’s site.
Agree on the usage terms before you choose the track. If the brief includes Spark Ads, partnership ads, boosting or paid usage rights, pick music under a license that covers paid advertising from the start, because replacing the audio after the post goes live means re-editing and, often, reposting.
TikTok music rules for sponsored posts
On TikTok, a sponsored post needs music from the Commercial Music Library or music you've licensed for commercial use yourself.
TikTok describes its Commercial Music Library (CML) as a pre-cleared global library of 1 million songs that businesses can use for free. Businesses can't use the general music library commercially, and TikTok tells them to use the CML for organic posts (including duets, reacts and stitches), video ads and branded content.
TikTok's CML terms set three limits that matter for sponsored work:
- Commercial Sounds can only be used in videos posted and shared on TikTok. Using them on other platforms, TV, radio or in cinema needs separate permission from the rights holders.
- Commercial Sounds are the only sounds TikTok makes available for commercial use, and TikTok grants no commercial rights to any other sound in the app.
- If TikTok loses the rights to a Commercial Sound, it may mute or take down videos that use it.
TikTok says the licenses it holds for music outside the CML don't cover commercial use. If you use an original sound or music from outside the CML with the content disclosure setting turned on, you must agree to TikTok's Music Usage Confirmation stating that there's no copyright-protected music in the post, or that you hold and have paid for all the necessary licenses.
For a campaign that runs on TikTok, Reels and Shorts at once, a CML track covers only the TikTok version. A music library license that covers every platform lets you use the same track in each cut: Uppbeat's licenses, for example, list YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon and Twitch as open distribution platforms.
Instagram and Facebook music rules for sponsored posts
On Instagram and Facebook, sponsored posts need Meta's Sound Collection, original audio or separately licensed music, because the in-app music library is for personal, non-commercial use.
Instagram's help center says its licensed music library is for personal, non-commercial use, and that some business accounts and post types don't have access to it. Meta's Music Guidelines prohibit using music for commercial or non-personal purposes unless you've obtained the appropriate licenses, and say you remain solely responsible for any music in content you post or promote.
Meta's Sound Collection is the in-app alternative. Instagram describes it as over 14,000 royalty-free songs and sounds that are safe to use in Reels and Stories and can be used for commercial purposes like ads. Its terms grant a royalty-free license for commercial or non-commercial use in content on Meta's products only, and don't allow use separately from them, so the same track can't go into the TikTok or YouTube version of a campaign.
Partnership ads add one more rule. Instagram's guidance for creators on partnership ads says content that includes licensed music can't be run as a partnership ad, and recommends royalty-free music instead.
YouTube music rules for sponsored videos
On YouTube, a sponsored video follows the same copyright rules as any other upload: every track needs a license, and Content ID can claim music you haven't cleared.
The requirement specific to sponsored videos is disclosure. If your video includes paid product placements, endorsements or sponsorships, YouTube's paid promotion guidance says you have to tell YouTube by selecting the paid promotion box in your video details, and paid promotions must follow Google Ads policies.
For music, the main YouTube risk is a Content ID claim on a video the brand has paid for. Uppbeat's paid plans let you safelist your YouTube channels: the User Agreement says the Channel Safelist prevents copyright claims for Uppbeat content on safelisted channels, and videos uploaded while you're subscribed stay protected after you cancel. Essentials includes 1 safelisted channel, Creator 3, and Pro and Business 10 each.
Safelisting tells YouTube you have permission, so claims are stopped before they happen. If one does appear, you can release it straight away with the claim release tool in Uppbeat's copyright-safe center.
If the brand uploads your sponsored video to its own YouTube channel, that channel needs coverage too. On Uppbeat, that means a plan whose license lets a client publish your work (Pro or Business), and both plans let you safelist up to 10 YouTube channels.
How Uppbeat, Epidemic Sound and Artlist license sponsored posts
Each library draws the line between personal and commercial use in a different place, so the plan you need depends on whether the brand will publish or promote your sponsored post.
Scroll sideways to see all five columns.
| Library, plan and license | Sponsored posts on your own channels | The brand publishes your video | Paid ads | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uppbeat Essentials and Creator (Basic License) | Covered: the license says material may include affiliations or sponsorships | Excluded: only you may publish, and material published by a client is excluded | Excluded | Individuals publishing their own content |
| Uppbeat Pro (Solo Professional License) | Covered | Covered: a client you produced the work for can publish it | Covered | Individuals and solo professionals; organizations with more than one member need Business |
| Uppbeat Business (Business & Team License) | Covered | Covered: you, a client or your organization can publish it | Covered | Teams, companies and organizations |
| Epidemic Sound Creator | Covered on your own channels; one monetized channel per platform | Excluded for third-party channels and websites | Digital ads excluded | Individual creators making content for their own channels |
| Epidemic Sound Pro | Covered | Covered: videos published on clients’ channels can be cleared by URL | Online campaigns covered, except for major publishers (over USD 5 million annual turnover), corporations (over USD 10 million) and government entities | Freelancers and businesses; cinema, TV shows and TV ads need Enterprise |
| Artlist Music & SFX Social (Social license) | Described for creators who don’t work with clients or brands; commercial work excluded | Client work excluded | Excluded as commercial work | Personal creators; one channel each on YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, plus one podcast |
| Artlist Music & SFX Pro (Pro license) | Covered as branded content | Covered as client work | Covered as advertising and paid media | Professional creators and commercial or client projects; billed annually |
Checked in November 2026. Plans and terms change often, so always confirm on the provider’s site.
Uppbeat's Basic License names sponsorships explicitly, so Essentials and Creator cover the most common deal: a sponsored post on your own channel. Epidemic Sound's Creator plan also covers sponsored content on your own channels, while Artlist describes its Social license for creators who don't work with brands.
All three libraries put brand ads and brand-published copies on a higher tier: Uppbeat Pro or Business, Epidemic Sound Pro and above, or Artlist's Pro license.
Which Uppbeat plan covers sponsored posts and brand ads?
On Uppbeat, Essentials and Creator cover sponsored posts on your own channels, and Pro or Business cover the same video when a brand publishes it or runs it as an ad.
Scroll sideways to see all seven columns.
| Uppbeat plan | Price | License | Sponsored posts on your channels | Brand-published versions and paid ads | Assets | Channel Safelist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic License | Covered, with the supplied credit on music | Excluded | 3 free downloads, topped up by one each month; access to 25% of every library | Paid plans only |
| Essentials | $8.99/month, or $6.99/month billed yearly | Basic License | Covered | Excluded | Unlimited music and sound effects; limited stock video, motion graphics and LUTs | 1 YouTube channel |
| Creator | $12.99/month, or $8.99/month billed yearly | Basic License | Covered | Excluded | Unlimited music, sound effects, stock video (up to 1080p), motion graphics and LUTs | 3 YouTube channels |
| Pro | $24.99/month, or $14.99/month billed yearly | Solo Professional License | Covered | Covered for individuals, freelancers and solo professionals | Everything in Creator, plus stock video up to 4K and WAV files for music and sound effects | 10 YouTube channels |
| Business | $34.99/month, billed yearly, excl. tax | Business & Team License | Covered | Covered for teams, companies and organizations | Everything in Pro | 10 YouTube channels |
Checked in November 2026. All prices are in USD. Prices may differ in your region, so check the pricing page for local rates. Plans and terms change often, so always confirm on the provider’s site.
Every Uppbeat license is worldwide and covers open distribution platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon and Twitch, plus your own websites and podcasts. None of the standard licenses covers broadcast TV, video-on-demand streaming platforms, radio or cinema; Uppbeat arranges those through custom licensing, which you can ask about on the pricing page.
Two practical points apply to brand deals:
- Your plan at the time of download sets the license. Uppbeat's User Agreement says your plan decides which license applies on download, so a track downloaded on Creator carries the Basic License, which doesn't cover paid ads. If a brand might run your post as an ad, download the track on Pro or Business before you start the edit.
- The brand gets the finished video, not the track. All three Uppbeat licenses prohibit sharing or redistributing the original audio, so a brand team that wants to cut its own versions needs its own license.
Which music license do freelance editors and creator teams need for sponsored content?
Freelance editors cutting sponsored videos for a creator or brand need a license that covers client work, and creators who run their channel as a team need one that covers organizations.
- Freelance editors and videographers. Uppbeat's Solo Professional License (Pro) covers individuals, and businesses where you're the only employee, producing work for a client. It lets that client publish the work, including as paid advertising. To audition tracks first, the Basic License allows a 90-day trial download for solo professionals and organizations, as long as you get Pro, Business or a custom license before the work is published or shown.
- Creators who run their channel as a business with staff. Uppbeat's licenses define an organization as a business, team or agency with more than one member that you represent or work for. Organizations can't use the Pro license and need Business.
- Talent managers, agencies and in-house teams producing sponsored content. The Business & Team License covers teams, companies and organizations, and the User Agreement lets Business subscribers share login details with other members of their organization solely for work within it, but not with anyone outside it.
What happens to sponsored posts when you cancel a music subscription?
Sponsored posts you published while subscribed usually stay licensed after you cancel (Epidemic Sound and Uppbeat both work this way), but tracks you downloaded and haven't used can't go into new posts.
On Uppbeat, the two questions have separate answers:
- Published sponsored posts. All three Uppbeat licenses let you keep using music in material whose first distribution happened while you were subscribed. On YouTube, videos uploaded to safelisted channels before your subscription ends stay protected from claims.
- Unused downloads. The User Agreement says content downloaded on a paid plan must be added to your project while you still hold that plan, and downloaded content can't be used once the subscription has ended. It also prohibits downloading and stockpiling content for use after your subscription.
Sponsored post music checklist: 9 things to confirm before a brand deal
Before you agree to a brand deal, confirm where the video will run, who will publish and promote it, and whether your music license covers each of those uses.
- Every platform in the brief. List each platform and format (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Stories, the brand's website) and check that your license covers all of them, not only the one you post first.
- Who publishes. If the brand will post the video on its own account or website, your license must allow a client to publish it.
- Paid usage. If the deal includes Spark Ads, partnership ads, boosting or other paid usage, your license must cover paid advertising.
- Usage period. Note how long the brand can use the content, and check what your license says about use after you cancel.
- Offline placements. Broadcast TV, streaming services, radio and cinema usually need a custom license.
- The music source. Keep trending in-app songs out of sponsored cuts. Use a platform commercial library for a single-platform post, or a library license for a multi-platform campaign. On Uppbeat, Custom Duration gets a track to the exact length of each cut, and Sync Preview lets you hear it against your footage before you download.
- Who clears the music. Agree in the contract on whether you or the brand is responsible for music rights, and name the license you're relying on.
- Records. Keep the track title, license name and download date for every sponsored post, so you can answer a brand's or platform's question about rights.
- Disclosure. Turn on each platform's branded content or paid promotion setting, which you need on top of the music license.
Frequently asked questions about sponsored post music licensing
Can I use copyrighted music in a sponsored post?
Only if you hold a license that covers commercial use. That license can come directly from the rights holders (a sync license from the publisher and a master license from the label), from a platform commercial library such as TikTok's CML or Meta's Sound Collection, or from a music library whose license allows sponsored content. Trending songs in TikTok's and Instagram's general libraries are licensed for personal, non-commercial use, so they aren't cleared for sponsored posts.
Can I use a trending TikTok sound in a sponsored post?
Usually not. TikTok says businesses can't use its general music library commercially, and its CML terms make Commercial Sounds the only sounds available for commercial use, so a trending sound outside the CML needs your own commercial license.
Is a sponsored post on a personal account still commercial use?
Yes. TikTok's CML terms define Commercial Uses by what the video does, such as advertising, endorsing or sponsoring a product, not by account type, and Instagram says its licensed music library is for personal, non-commercial use.
Do I need to credit the artist in a sponsored post?
It depends on the license. Free music often comes with a credit requirement, while paid licenses usually don't, so check the attribution terms for each track. On Uppbeat, the Basic License requires Free users to include the supplied credit whenever they use the music. On paid plans, safelisting your YouTube channel means there's no code or credit to add to each video.
Can I use the same track across TikTok, Reels and Shorts in one campaign?
Yes, if your license covers each platform. TikTok's commercial sounds are licensed for TikTok only, while Uppbeat's licenses cover open distribution platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, so one Uppbeat track can go into every cut.
Can a brand use my sponsored video in a TV or streaming ad?
Only if your music license covers broadcast or streaming, and many subscription licenses don't. Uppbeat's standard licenses don't. The Basic, Solo Professional and Business & Team licenses all exclude broadcast TV, video-on-demand streaming platforms, radio and cinema, and Uppbeat offers custom licensing for those. Epidemic Sound's Pro plan also excludes TV ads, while Artlist says its Pro license covers TV and streaming platforms.
Can I send the brand the music file so its team can make more edits?
Usually not. Library licenses cover the music inside your finished video, not the audio file on its own: Uppbeat's licenses prohibit sharing or redistributing the original audio, Epidemic Sound doesn't allow standalone or third-party use, and Artlist says its music can't be shared as standalone audio. Anyone on the brand's side who edits with the track needs their own license, and Uppbeat's Business plan covers a whole organization.
Does Uppbeat use AI-generated music?
No. Uppbeat's About page explains how every asset is human-made, with no AI-generated music, sound effects, footage or motion graphics. Artists keep full ownership of their work and earn an ongoing share of every download, free or paid, and Uppbeat has paid them more than $10 million.
How to license music for your next sponsored post
License the music for every use in the brand brief before you edit: the platforms, who publishes the video and whether the brand will pay to promote it.
For organic sponsored posts on your own channels, a platform commercial library or a library license that names sponsorships covers you. For brand reposts, Spark Ads and partnership ads, you need a license that covers paid advertising and client publishing.
To use one track across every short-form platform, read our guide to copyright-safe music for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. For team-level licensing, see what marketing teams should check in stock media licenses. You can start with a free Uppbeat account, or compare Uppbeat's plans to find the license that fits your brand deals.
