How to Add Music to TikTok

Finding the perfect song for your TikTok is more than half the battle, it's the element that can turn a simple video into a viral trend. Getting your audio right is fundamentally important, whether you want to jump on a trending challenge, set a specific vibe, or share an original sound with the world. This guide walks you through every way to add music to your TikTok videos, from using the massive in-app library to uploading your own custom tracks and navigating the tricky rules for business accounts.

Good Music Can Make or Break Your TikTok

On TikTok, sound is everything. Unlike other platforms where users might scroll with the volume off, TikTok is a sound-on environment. The audio you choose does more than just play in the background, it acts as a shortcut to emotion, context, and discoverability. A trending sound can rocket your video onto thousands of "For You" pages, while a carefully chosen song can make your storytelling twice as effective. The right audio hooks viewers in the first three seconds, tells them what kind of video they're watching, and invites them to be part of a larger conversation. Think of music not as an afterthought but as a core component of your content strategy.

How to Add Music Directly from the TikTok Library

This is the most common and straightforward way to add popular or trending sounds to your videos. TikTok has licensing deals with major music labels, giving you access to a huge library of tracks right inside the app.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Open TikTok and Film Your Video: Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen to open the camera. You can either record a new video right there by holding the red button or upload a pre-recorded clip from your phone’s camera roll by tapping the 'Upload' button.
2. Access the Sound Library: Once your video is recorded or uploaded, you'll be on the main editing screen. At the very top of the screen, you’ll see an 'Add sound' icon with a music note. Tap it.
3. Browse for a Song: Now you’re inside TikTok’s audio library. You have a few options to find the perfect track:
   • Recommended: TikTok will show you sounds it thinks you’ll like based on your previous activity and the video content you just made.
   • Trending: This tab shows you what songs are currently going viral on the platform. Using a sound from here is one of the easiest ways to improve your video's reach.
   • Playlists: Here, you’ll find curated lists of songs based on genre, mood, or theme (like "Sad Vibes," "Workout," or "TikTok Classics").
   • Search Bar: If you have a specific song, artist, or even a phrase in mind, type it into the search bar at the top to find it directly.
4. Select Your Sound: Tap on any song to hear a preview. When you find one you like, tap the red checkmark button next to it. This will add the sound to your video and take you back to the editing screen.
5. Trim the Music: Now that the sound is applied to your video, you’ll see the song title at the top of the screen. To the right of it, you'll find a toolbar. Tap the 'Adjust' or scissors icon. A waveform of the song will appear at the bottom. Simply drag the waveform left or right to select the exact 15-, 30-, or 60-second clip you want to use. This is perfect for starting the music right at the chorus or a specific beat drop.
6. Adjust the Volume: On the right-hand editing toolbar, tap 'Volume.' Here you will see two sliders: one for 'Original sound' (the audio from your original video) and one for 'Added sound' (the music you just selected). You can lower your original audio to let the music shine, or lower the music volume to let your voice-over be the main focus. When you're happy, tap 'Done.'

From there, just add any text or effects you need, tap ‘Next,’ write your caption, and post your video!

How to Use a Sound From Another Creator’s Video

Ever been scrolling and heard an audio clip that a thousand other videos are using? Whether it's a funny voice-over, a remixed song, or a new trending sound, you can easily use it in your own video.

Here’s how to do it:

• Step 1: Find the Sound Source: On the video you're watching, look at the bottom-left corner of the screen. You’ll see a spinning record icon or a scrolling line of text with a music note next to it. That's the sound source. Tap on it.
• Step 2: Go to the Sound's Hub: This will take you to the sound's official page, where you can see the sound's name, the original creator, and a feed of all the other popular videos that have used it.
• Step 3: Use the Sound: At the very bottom of this screen, there's a big red button that says "Use this sound." Tap it, and TikTok will take you directly to the camera screen with that audio already selected and ready for you to record with.

This is the best way to participate in trends because it links your video directly to the trending sound page, helping more people find it.

Adding Your Own Music or Sounds (The Advanced Method)

Sometimes the sound you want isn't in TikTok’s library. Maybe it's a snippet from a podcast, a sound effect you created, or an instrumental track you have the license for. In these cases, you'll need to use a third-party video editing app.

Popular and easy-to-use apps like CapCut (made by the same parent company as TikTok), InShot, or Splice are great for this. The process is pretty similar across all of them:

1. Edit Your Video Externally: Import your video clips into your chosen editing app.
2. Add Your Audio Track: These apps allow you to import audio files directly from your phone. Add your song, voice-over, or sound effect and place it exactly where you want it on the video's timeline. You can adjust the volume, trim it, and even layer multiple audio tracks.
3. Export the Final Video: Once you're done editing, export the finished video to your phone's camera roll. The audio you added will now be embedded in the video file.
4. Upload to TikTok: Open TikTok, tap the + icon, and upload the video you just saved. Since the sound is already part of the video, you don't need to add anything from the TikTok library.

When you publish a video with your original audio in this way, the sound source at the bottom of the video will be listed as "Original Sound" and credited to your account. If it gains popularity, other creators can then tap it and use your sound themselves!

A Big Warning About Copyright

If you use the 'Original sound' method to upload a popular, copyrighted song that you do not own the rights to, be prepared for TikTok to mute it. TikTok's algorithm can detect copyrighted music and will either remove the sound from your video or remove the video entirely. This brings up an extremely important distinction between account types...

Business Accounts vs. Personal Accounts: Why You Can’t Find Popular Songs

One of the most common frustrations for brands on TikTok is the limited music selection. There’s a very good reason for this.

Personal Accounts

Personal or creator accounts have access to the General Music Library. This library is massive and contains millions of hit songs from mainstream artists. TikTok’s licensing agreements allow for this music to be used for personal, non-commercial entertainment. Using a Drake song in a dance video is fine. Using a Drake song in an ad for your shoe company is not.

Business Accounts

Business Accounts are restricted to TikTok's Commercial Music Library. This is a collection of over a million royalty-free tracks that are pre-cleared for commercial use. This means you can safely use them in advertisements, promotional posts, and any content related to your business without risking copyright infringement lawsuits from music labels.

Will you find the latest Taylor Swift hit in there? Absolutely not. The benefit here is protection. TikTok provides this library to protect both you and itself from massive legal headaches.

So, what can a business do?

• Get creative with the commercial library: There are plenty of good instrumental tracks and tunes that you can use to create a consistent brand sound.
• Create your own sound: Record a company jingle, a catchy slogan, or a funny soundbite. An original sound can become just as much of a branding asset as a logo.
• Use non-music trending sounds: Many trends revolve around funny quotes, bits of dialogue, or creator-made sounds, none of which are commercial music. Businesses can use these freely to participate in trends.

Final Thoughts

Mastering sound on TikTok is one of the most effective skills you can develop for growing your presence on the platform. We've gone over how to add sounds from the library, grab audio from existing videos, use your own original creations, and handle the important music rules for business accounts. Whichever method you choose, always put some thought into how your audio enhances your story and connects with your audience.

Once you’ve perfected your video masterpieces with the right audio, planning and scheduling them shouldn't be another headache. Finding a good social media tool that truly understands video content is vital. We created Postbase to streamline this exact process. Our platform is built from the ground up for short-form video. This means you can upload your content once and reliably schedule it across TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts without worrying if it will fail to post or lose quality. It's designed to give you back your time so you can focus on creating more great content, not just managing it.