# Music for Instagram Reels and TikTok: choosing audio for a brand

> Choose the audio after deciding where the video will appear and whether you may turn it into an ad. Instagram and TikTok clear different uses through their own libraries.


If a video will appear on a brand’s accounts, choose music for each destination. A song appearing in an app does not mean you can use it in every post, ad, or social network. Instagram and TikTok offer their own music libraries with specific commercial terms.

## Choose audio for the destination

Instagram’s licensed music library is intended for personal, non-commercial use. Some business accounts and post types cannot access it. Meta says Sound Collection may be available when that happens, and describes its music and sounds as available for commercial uses in Reels and Stories, including ads. Check what is available to your account and confirm the intended use before editing. ([Instagram Help: access to the licensed music library](https://www.facebook.com/help/instagram/402084904469945))

TikTok offers its Commercial Music Library for businesses. When selecting a track, you can filter by region and permitted placements. TikTok’s help page says its commercial tracks can be used in organic or paid content. Check the region and placement for the video you are making. ([TikTok Help: using the Commercial Music Library](https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/how-to-use-the-commercial-music-library))

Those permissions describe uses on each platform. They do not put the songs in the public domain or automatically let you download a track, add it to a video file, and post it anywhere. If you plan to share one version on both networks, check the audio terms for both destinations. If you do not have a license that covers both, make one version with audio cleared for Instagram and another with audio cleared for TikTok.

## One video, two audio versions

**Hypothetical example:** a small coffee roaster films fifteen seconds of freshly roasted beans falling into a bag. The team wants to post an organic Reel, upload the video to TikTok, and might promote it later. That plan requires checking the audio for each version before finishing the edit.

If the team chooses music inside Instagram and exports the video with that track included, it should not assume TikTok covers that audio. The team can make two edits with the same footage and different tracks, or choose music whose license explicitly covers both platforms and the planned use. The second option requires checking the license; the library’s name alone does not establish it.

## Keep a version you can score again

For the coffee video, we would save the edit with the voice and the recorded sound of the beans and bag on separate tracks, before adding library music. We would record while no third-party music was playing in the shop. That lets us change the music without rebuilding the voiceover or the rest of the edit.

For Instagram, we would choose a track whose intended use is covered by Meta's terms. For TikTok, we would start with the edit without that song and select commercial audio for the relevant destination and region. If the team later decides to pay for distribution, we would check advertising use and the post's eligibility before starting the campaign. Audio permission is one check; it does not guarantee that the entire Reel can be promoted.

Separating files this way is a production recommendation. It does not extend a song's license or replace checking it. For organizing originals and versions, use the approach in the [content library article](/en/guides/social-media-content-library/).

## Record why the track was approved

Before handing off the video, note the track title, the library where you found it, the destination platform, whether the post is organic or paid, the region, and the date you checked. This lets another team member tell an approved Reel track from audio cleared for an ad or TikTok.

For these libraries, “commercial” refers to the uses each platform describes under its current terms. It does not mean the audio is free of rights for every channel. For other destinations or uses, check the relevant license before reusing the file.

If you cannot find a song in Instagram’s editor, check [what can limit access to its music library](/en/solutions/instagram-music-unavailable/) for your account, format, and region.

If TikTok already muted a published video, open its notice and see [how to check the reason and change the sound when allowed](/en/solutions/change-sound-muted-tiktok-video/).

## Plan your next post in HeyMark.

Keep the idea, review the draft with your team, and see how it performed in the accounts you connected.

[Start free](https://app.heymark.ai) · [See how it works](https://heymark.ai/en/#product)

## Developer and agent resources

- [HeyMark MCP documentation](https://heymark.ai/en/mcp/)
- [llms.txt](https://heymark.ai/llms.txt)
- [Full site content for language models](https://heymark.ai/llms-full.txt)
- MCP protocol endpoint: `POST https://mcp.heymark.ai`
- OAuth protected-resource metadata: [/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource](https://mcp.heymark.ai/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource)
- MCP server card: [/server-card](https://mcp.heymark.ai/server-card)