How to get your music on TikTok and Instagram: your song as a sound anyone can use
When someone films a Reel or a TikTok and searches for your song, it has to be in the app's music library. You can't upload it there yourself: your distributor delivers it, and not every song qualifies. Here is how it works on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts, which tracks are left out, how long it takes and what to check when your song doesn't show up.
How a song gets into the apps
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube fill their music libraries with what labels and distributors deliver. There is no "upload to library" button for an artist. The route is the same for all of them:
- Upload the release to a distributor (if you don't have one yet, read how to distribute your music on tontria.com).
- Select the social platforms. Some distributors list TikTok and Facebook/Instagram as stores; others group them under "social video monetization" and ask you to opt in for each release.
- Wait for the delivery. It is not instant: deliver a few weeks before release day.
- Search for the song inside each app and post with the official sound.
The same delivery is what lets you get paid when people use your song in their videos, according to the terms of your distributor.
Which songs are left out
The apps recognize the song by its audio fingerprint. If two artists deliver the same loop or beat, the system would claim other people's videos, so distributors are strict. CD Baby's rules (checked 22 October 2026), shared with YouTube, Meta and TikTok, leave out:
| Left out | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Covers, even with a license | You don't own the composition |
| Public domain songs and recordings | Anyone can use them |
| Non-exclusive beats, loops and kits, even if you paid for them | Other artists have the same audio |
| Sounds from audio libraries and DAW loops (GarageBand, for example) | Same reason |
| Unlicensed samples | Someone else owns part of the recording |
| The same recording delivered by two distributors | Only one can control it |
| Mashups, DJ mixes, karaoke or soundalike versions | Several recordings or someone else's song |
A track can also be refused if it is too repetitive or generic for fingerprint matching, and CD Baby says a removal after review is final. On a release with covers and originals, only the originals are delivered. If you lease beats, this is the part to check before signing: see the beat license agreement on TONTRIA Law.
TikTok: sound, Music tab and Artist Hub
- The sound. Once delivered, the song appears in TikTok's sound search with its title and links to the release. Search the title or your artist name and filter by Sounds.
- Your own sound before release. Post a video with the song as its audio: TikTok turns it into an original sound under your account. It works for teasers, but the official sound is the one to push on release day.
- Music tab and Artist tag. CD Baby's help (checked 22 October 2026) lists the steps: at least one track delivered to TikTok, then in the app Profile › menu › TikTok Studio › More tools › Artist Hub › Apply now; search your artist name, claim it and upload proof (a screenshot from your distributor, Spotify for Artists or Apple Music for Artists). The review can take up to 30 days. New releases are added to the Music tab within 30 days of reaching TikTok's library; if one is missing, use Report Missing Tracks in the Artist Hub.
How to promote the song once it is a sound — the 15 seconds, the five kinds of videos and the schedule — is in how to promote a song on TikTok.
Instagram and Facebook
- One delivery covers both. Meta's library feeds the music picker of Instagram Stories and Reels and Facebook.
- Timing. CD Baby says to allow at least 30 days after opting in. Check your own distributor's help for its time.
- Use it in your Reel. Create a Reel, tap the music icon, search the song and choose the section.
- First delivery wins. CD Baby's help explains that Meta keeps the metadata of the first delivery of a recording: if you released the song as a single and later on an album with the same ISRC, the album data won't replace the single's. A remix or radio edit needs its own ISRC.
- Not there yet? Post the Reel with the song already in the video; it shows as original audio, and you can rename the audio so people see the title.
More ideas for the account itself in Instagram for musicians.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube's help (checked 22 October 2026) says a song can be used in Shorts when its art track and recording come from a partner with a Shorts agreement, the match policy is not set to block and there are no other rights issues. In a Short of up to three minutes, up to 90 seconds of the song may be usable, depending on the song. Your distributor or label is the partner, so ask them if your song doesn't appear in "Add sound". For your own channel, you can always upload the Short with the song inside the video; if your distributor registers it in Content ID, ask it to allowlist your channel. More in how to promote music on YouTube.
When your song doesn't show up
- Is the platform selected for that release in your distributor? Check the release, not your account settings.
- Look at the delivery status, not the switch. CD Baby notes the opt-in switch can stay on after a removal; the status per platform tells the truth.
- Has enough time passed? Allow the time your distributor gives (CD Baby: 30 days for Instagram).
- Is the track eligible? Covers, non-exclusive beats and samples are the usual reasons.
- Do the artist name and title match your profiles exactly? A different spelling can send the song to another artist page.
- Still missing? Write to your distributor with the release link and the platform. It is the only one that can ask the app to fix it.
Once it's there: make the clips
A song in the library is only half the job: people use a sound after they've seen it in a few videos. Plan three or four vertical clips around the hook for release week — the chorus live, a lyric snippet, a cut from the music video, a studio moment — and post them with the official sound. The sizes for every app are in video sizes for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
TONTRIA Clips cuts those clips from the song, a show or the music video, in 9:16 with captions that follow the voice, and makes a lyric video from the Spotify or YouTube link — ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts the day your sound goes live.
Sources
checked October 22, 2026
- CD Baby Help Center: What content is eligible for Social Video Monetization?
- CD Baby Help Center: How to get your music on Instagram Stories and Reels
- CD Baby Help Center: How to set up your official artist page on TikTok
- CD Baby Help Center: Why is my release no longer available on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook?
- YouTube Help: Music eligibility for YouTube Shorts