✎ Key Points:
» You can access commercial sounds on TikTok by logging into your account, going to your profile page, and clicking on the three dots icon at the top right corner to enter the Settings and Privacy page.
» Just click on “Manage account” and then select “Switch to Personal Account” under the Account Control header. Confirm the switch by clicking “Send back.”
How To Use Commercial Sounds On TikTok:
To fix the issue of This sound that isn’t licensed for commercial use, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to your TikTok profile
If you’re being displayed with the error message This sound isn’t licensed for commercial use, it’s because TikTok doesn’t allow professional accounts to use the commercial music. So you’ll need to switch to a personal account to fix it.
To begin with the method, you’ll need to open the TikTok application and then log in to your account by entering the login credentials like your username and password.
Next, from the Homepage of your account, you’ll need to go to the profile page of your account. To go to the profile page, you’re going to click on the Me button that’s at the lower right corner of the screen.
Step 2: Tap on the “three-dots” icon on your profile
After you go to the profile page of the application, you’ll be able to see three dots icons at the top right corner of the page, you’ll need to click on them.
After you click on the three dots icon, you’ll be taken to the Settings and Privacy page of your account. On the Settings and Privacy page, you’ll be able to get a list of options displayed after another.
On the list, you’ll be able to get different options like the Manage account, Privacy, Security and login, Business suite, etc.
As regular users can still use commercial music, switching to a personal account from a professional account will allow you to use all the mainstream music that is restricted to be used by the business profiles on TikTok.
Step 3: Tap on “Manage account”
After you are taken to the Settings and Privacy page of your account, you’ll be able to see the option Manage account.
Click on it. You’ll be taken to the ‘Manage Account’ page. From this page, you’ll be able to see the details of your account as well as switch from a business account to a personal account.
On the Manage Account page, you’ll be able to see two sub-sections. Under the Account Control header, you’ll find two different options: Switch to Personal Account and Switch to Creator Account.
The sounds to the TikTok Commercial Music Library are added constantly. New songs are added to the library to save the time of the creators and also help them avoid issues with copyright infringement.
Step 4: Select “Switch to Personal Account”
From the Manage Account page, you’ll be able to see the option Switch to Personal Account under the Account Control header.
Click on the option Switch to Personal Account and you’ll get a pop-up message which tells you that if you’re switching back to a personal account from a professional account, you won’t be able to get the analytics and other features that are only available for the business account. But you can still switch back to a professional account anytime you want.
After reading the pop-up message, click on the Send back option. Now you’ve switched to a personal account. Therefore, go back to the music library and try to add commercial music. Now you won’t get the error message anymore.
Why can’t you use commercial sound in TikTok:
There are these reasons below if you can’t use the commercial sound on TikTok:
1. If the music is copyrighted to a third party
You won’t be able to use a commercial sound in your TikTok video if it has copyright restrictions. When you’re creating a TikTok video, not all the music or sounds are for you to use.
You’ll have to obtain the appropriate rights to use them. Often commercial sounds on TikTok are protected by copyright restrictions which is why you or any creator won’t be able to use them on your videos and you’ll be displayed with the error message This sound isn’t licensed for commercial use.
However, you can still use other sounds or music that are not from the Commercial Music Library of TikTok. The Commercial Music Library provides creators with more than 15k tracks in several genres.
2. If that’s a Professional Account
The commercial sounds on TikTok can only be used by accounts that are not business or professional accounts.
The business or professional accounts on TikTok are not allowed to use mainstream music on TikTok from early May 2020.
The Commercial Music Library was released in May 2020 and since then the business accounts on TikTok are only allowed to use royalty-free music in their videos. If you want to use commercial music for your video, you’re going to have to switch from a professional to a personal account.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Can you use any song on TikTok?
On TikTok, you can use any kind of music for your video. However the commercial sounds are only available to be used by personal accounts and not business accounts. This change was brought back in May ’20.
The business accounts on TikTok are restricted to using the music which is in the Commercial Music Library. You can also create your music on TikTok if you’re not satisfied with the options provided in the library.
The professional accounts that are willing to use commercial music on their videos are responsible for making necessary arrangements regarding copyright and license issues or else they won’t be able to use the commercial music and will get the error message ‘This sound isn’t licensed for commercial use‘.
2. Can you get copyrighted on TikTok live?
On TikTok Live, you can get copyrighted if you play music in the background that’s restricted to be used without proper license or permission. You’ll end up getting a copyright dispute for using unlicensed music live.
Therefore, when you’re clicking on the Go Live button on TikTok, it will count down from three to zero, and then you’ll be cast live on TikTok. Make sure no songs are being played in the background that can lead you to a dispute.
If you’re playing any song that’s violating the restriction or isn’t allowed in the Terms and Conditions of TikTok, your ‘live’ would be cut off in the middle and you won’t be able to get the session on TikTok.
To use commercial music that is licensed, appeal to use it on your videos. Only after you have got the necessary permission, you’ll be able to use the commercial sounds and not get into copyright disputes.
