Music for reels: licences and safe choices

Why music is the risky part of a reel

A song has owners: usually the composer, the lyric writer, the music label and a publisher. Using it in a video that promotes your business is a commercial use. Paying for a streaming app does not give you that right, and neither does crediting the artist in your caption.

When a reel uses music without the right licence, the platform may mute the sound, block the reel in some countries, or remove it. Repeated problems can limit an account. Copyright owners can also take action outside the platform.

Licence words, explained simply

• Royalty-free: you pay once, or nothing, and do not pay per play. It does not mean free of rules. Read what uses are allowed.
• Commercial use: you may use it to promote a business. This is the permission you need.
• Attribution required: you must credit the creator in a set way, usually in the caption.
• Personal use only: not allowed for business reels, even small ones.
• Sync licence: permission to put music together with video. Big songs need this from the owners directly.

Safe sources, roughly from simplest to most work

• The business-safe music library inside each platform's own app, used when you post from that app. Business accounts often get a smaller library than personal accounts.
• Free audio libraries run by platforms for creators, such as the YouTube Audio Library, used under their stated terms.
• Paid stock music sites that clearly allow commercial social media use, with a licence you can download and keep.
• Music made for you by a local musician, with a short written agreement that says you can use it in ads and posts.
• No music at all: the real sound of your shop, kitchen or workshop can be just as engaging.

How music works in AI Marketing Master

The reel editor does not include a music library, licensed or otherwise. You upload your own music file, choose whether to keep the clip sound underneath, and the music fades out at the end of the reel. Because the music is joined into the MP4 on our server, it is your file and your responsibility.

The media library lets you mark the rights for each file: owned, client supplied, licensed, AI generated or unknown, with a licence expiry date. Keeping music files there, marked correctly, makes it easier to see later what you are allowed to use.

When to use the platform's own music instead

If you want a trending sound that a platform licenses for use inside its app, you usually need to add it in that app when posting. A sound added inside the app is not the same as uploading the same song in your own MP4. For those reels, make the video without music in our editor, then add the sound in the platform app yourself. Check that the sound is available for business accounts in your country.

A short music checklist before approval

• Do I have a licence or written permission for this track?
• Does it allow commercial use on social media and, if needed, in ads?
• Has the licence expired, or does it cover only one country?
• Is any credit required in the caption?
• Is the music too loud over someone speaking?