Can You Use Trending Audio in Instagram Branded Content? Music Rules for Paid Partnerships

Not safely if the sound comes from Instagram's licensed music library: Meta says that music is intended for personal, non-commercial use, and its Music Guidelines prohibit commercial use without your own licenses. For a paid partnership or a brand's own Reel, use Meta's Sound Collection, your own audio, or music licensed for that use.

Meta says: "Use of music for commercial or non-personal purposes in particular is prohibited unless you have obtained appropriate licenses." (Meta Music Guidelines)

Last checked against the platform's pages: October 25, 2026.

You have a brand deal, or you run a business account, and you want a trending sound under the Reel. This guide is for creators and for the brands that hire them. It sticks to Meta's and TikTok's own pages, as read on October 25, 2026, and says so where they are silent. It is general information, not legal advice.

The short answer

Why a paid partnership counts as commercial

Meta defines branded content as content that features or is influenced by a business partner "for an exchange of value". Free gifts, loaned products and affiliate links count too (Instagram Help). Meta's branded content policy uses the same idea: "such as monetary payment or free gifts" (Meta Business Help). For the label itself, see our guide to branded content and paid partnership disclosure.

Now the music side. Meta says: "The music available in our library is intended for personal, non-commercial use." (Instagram Help) The Music Guidelines say that commercial or non-personal use "is prohibited unless you have obtained appropriate licenses." They add: "Eligibility for, and participation in, Music Revenue Sharing does not by itself make a video commercial." (Music Guidelines)

None of these pages says in so many words that a branded content post loses the library. Meta only says that "certain business accounts and certain types of posts do not have access to the library" (Instagram Help), and it doesn't say which ones. Our reading, not Meta's: a post you were paid to make is hard to call personal, so don't count on library music being allowed.

Brands and business accounts posting their own Reels

Promoting your own products isn't branded content under Meta's definition, since there is no business partner, so it needs no paid partnership label (Instagram Help). For the music, though, a brand's own Reel is still commercial use, our reading of the Music Guidelines' line above.

If your account has no access to the library, Meta points you to Sound Collection (Instagram Help). Meta's audio troubleshooting page lists why a song may be missing: the library "isn’t available for your account type or in your country or region", or licensing agreements changed (Instagram Help). If a song you wanted isn't in your Audio tool, assume you can't use it. For the basics on Reels, see copyrighted music on Instagram Reels.

Trending audio is still someone's audio

Instagram says its trending audio feature is "only available in the US and on the Instagram mobile app." With a public account you can find "up to 50 audio tracks currently trending on Instagram", then tap Use audio (Instagram Help).

Instagram's Audio tool offers three kinds of audio: your own original audio, another creator's original audio, and licensed audio from the library (Instagram Help). A trending track is one of the last two. Trending does not mean cleared. If it is a licensed song, the library rules above apply. If it is someone's original audio, see the next section.

Instagram also re-labels uploaded music. When it detects licensed audio in your upload, it changes the credit from original audio to the artist and song title (Instagram Help). That label is a credit. It is not a license.

Another creator's original audio

When someone posts a reel on a public account, anyone on Instagram can record a reel using their original audio (Instagram Help). Your reel credits the audio to them and appears on the audio page for that track (Instagram Help).

Two catches for a paid post:

• Downloads lose the sound. Instagram says: "When you download these reels, all the audio will be removed from your download." That applies to reels with licensed audio or another creator's original audio (Instagram Help). If the brand wants a copy of the finished Reel, a download from Instagram won't have the sound.
• The audio can disappear. Instagram says: "Note that if audio included in your reel is deleted, all the audio in your reel will be removed." (Instagram Help) A silent deliverable in the middle of a campaign is a problem.

On permission, Instagram's copyright page says it's "generally a good idea to get written permission from the author of the work". It also says: "In most cases, you shouldn’t use someone else’s copyrighted work if you don’t have permission." On fair use, it says: "Commercial, or for-profit, uses are less likely to be considered fair use." (Instagram Help)

Sound Collection: the safe default, with one catch

Meta says Sound Collection has over 14,000 royalty-free songs and sounds, and "The content in Sound Collection can be used for commercial purposes like ads." You find it by tapping Audio in the Reels camera (Instagram Help).

The catch is where it works. Meta's Sound Collection Terms license the audio "for commercial or non-commercial purposes" on Meta's products only, and say: "You may not perform, distribute, make available or otherwise use the SC Audio Content separately from the Meta Company Products." (Sound Collection Terms) So the TikTok or YouTube version of the same video needs other music.

Partnership ads and boosting

Instagram says: "Branded content ads are now called partnership ads." A brand can boost your post into one if you allow it. While it runs, "you won't be able to edit the content" (Instagram Help). Choose your music before you post.

If you turn on Allow brand partner to boost when you create the post, Instagram shows a screen if the content is ineligible, and "When you share your content without resolving issues, it can’t be used as a partnership ad." (Instagram Help) The pages we read do not list music as a reason a post can't become a partnership ad, so check that screen before you post.

Music added in Ads Manager is limited too: "The music currently consists of royalty-free audio from the Meta Sound Collection." Meta also says that music isn't available for Instagram ads built from existing posts, so the sound has to be right in the post itself (Instagram Help).

If the same video goes to TikTok

TikTok's Commercial Music Library terms say that "Advertising, marketing, endorsing, sponsoring or publicizing" a product or service counts as a Commercial Use. They also say: "Commercial Sounds are the only sounds made available on TikTok for Commercial Uses." Those sounds may be used inside TikTok only (TikTok Commercial Music Library terms). TikTok's Unlimited Sound Library tab isn't available to business accounts, and TikTok points them to the Commercial Music Library instead (TikTok Creator Academy).

So neither app's library travels. Each version needs that app's commercial library, or music licensed for every platform you post on. See the side-by-side music rules.

What happens if the music isn't cleared

Meta says that if you post music owned by someone else, your content "may be blocked, muted or removed if your use of that music is not properly authorized." You may be able to dispute the action from the notification (Music Guidelines).

If a track is muted, you can replace it, but "You can only replace a muted track one time." (Instagram Help) More in what to do when music is muted.

Repeat problems add up. Under the repeat infringer policy, your account "may be disabled or your Page removed" (Instagram Help). See how long strikes last.

Settle the music in the deal

Our advice, not Meta's. Agree these in writing before you shoot:

• Who picks the track, and who pays for or holds the license.
• Which platforms the video will run on, and for how long.
• Whether the brand will boost it as a partnership ad.
• Whether the brand needs the file with sound, and what you deliver if the sound is lost.
• What happens if the audio is muted or removed: who swaps it, and by when.
• Who handles the disclosure. See the FTC disclosure rules for influencers and sponsored post rules side by side.

What the official pages don't say

• Which accounts and post types lose access to the music library.
• Whether the paid partnership label itself removes songs from the Audio tool.
• Whether reusing another creator's original audio comes with any right to use it commercially.
• Whether licensed music stops a post from becoming a partnership ad.
• How Instagram's audio detection works.

Check it before it goes live

FYProof checks your video, caption and hashtags against the published rules of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn before you post, then tells you what could get the video removed or restricted, where it happens, and how to fix it. Start free, no card needed, at fyproof.com. Results are estimates, not guarantees.

Before you post a paid partnership Reel

• Audio from Sound Collection, your own recording, or music licensed for paid social posts
• No library song or trending sound under a paid post
• Written permission for any other creator's original audio
• A license that covers every platform the video will run on (Sound Collection is Meta-only, TikTok's Commercial Music Library is TikTok-only)
• The paid partnership label on, with the brand tagged
• No issues on the eligibility screen if the brand will boost it
• The brand told that a download from Instagram may come without sound
• The deal says who fixes the audio if it is muted