How to Find the TikTok Music Library

Finding the perfect sound for your TikTok video can feel like the difference between five views and five million. Good news: TikTok’s massive music library is built right into the app, making it simple to find trending audio without ever leaving your creation screen. This guide will walk you through exactly where to find the library, how to navigate its different versions for personal and business accounts, and how to spot viral sounds that can give your content a serious boost.

Why the Right Music is a Game-Changer on TikTok

On TikTok, sound isn't just background noise, it's often the main character. Unlike other platforms where you might scroll with the volume off, TikTok is an audio-on experience. A trending sound acts like a hashtag, connecting your video to a larger conversation and helping new audiences discover your content. When a sound goes viral, users actively seek out videos using that audio, giving creators who hop on the trend early a major advantage in visibility. Using the right sound gives your content context, taps into an existing trend, and ultimately makes it far more shareable. Whether it’s a clip from a hit song, a funny line from a movie, or an original audio from another creator, the sound you choose is one of the most important creative decisions you'll make. To learn more about getting your content seen, read our guide on how to go viral on TikTok.

Finding the TikTok Music Library: The Core Methods

TikTok gives you a few different ways to find and save sounds. You can search for audio while you’re creating a video, or you can browse and save sounds you discover while scrolling through your feed. Here’s a breakdown of each method.

Method 1: Accessing the Library Through the Creator Tool

This is the most direct way to add music when you’re in the middle of creating content. It's perfect when you have a video already filmed and just need to find the right audio track to complete it.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Open the Creation Screen: Start by tapping the plus icon (+) at the bottom center of your screen to open the camera.
2. Find the "Add Sound" Button: At the very top of the camera screen, you’ll see a musical note icon next to the text "Add sound." Tap it.
3. Browse the Music Library: This will bring you to the main audio library screen. Here, you'll find a massive collection of music broken down into helpful categories:
   • For You: An algorithm-driven feed of sounds TikTok thinks you'll like based on your viewing history and a mix of trending audio.
   • Playlists: Curated lists often organized by theme or genre, such as "TikTok Viral," "Summer," "Hip-Hop," or "Indie." These are great for discovering new sounds within a specific vibe.
   • New Releases: A playlist of the newest popular songs added to the platform.
   • Search Bar: At the very top, you'll find a search bar. Use this to look for a specific song title, artist, or keyword.
   • Favorites: Any sound you’ve "favorited" in the past will show up here, making it easy to find and reuse your go-to audio clips.
4. Select and Trim Your Sound: Once you find a sound you like, tap on it to preview it. Tap the red checkmark to add it to your video. From there, you can use the trimming tool (the scissor icon on the right-hand panel of the creation screen) to select the exact 15- or 60-second clip you want to use.

Method 2: Discovering Sounds on Your "For You" Page

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from just scrolling. Your For You Page is a real-time report on what's trending. If you hear a sound you love in someone else's video, you can instantly save it for your own content.

1. Listen While You Scroll: As you’re watching videos on your FYP, pay attention to the audio.
2. Tap the Sound Icon: At the bottom-right of the screen, you’ll see a spinning circle icon with a musical note (or album art) inside. This represents the sound being used. Tap on it.
3. Explore the Sound Page: This takes you to a dedicated page for that specific audio clip. At the top, you can see the sound title and artist. Below, there's a feed of other popular videos that have used the same sound. This is a fantastic way to get ideas for how to use it in your own way.
4. React to the Sound: From this page, you have two main options:
   • Add to Favorites: Tap the "Add to Favorites" button to save the sound in your library for later. This is the best option if you're not ready to create a video right away.
   • Use this sound: Tap the big red button at the bottom of the screen labeled "Use this sound" to immediately open your camera with the audio pre-loaded and ready to go.

Commercial vs. General: Understanding TikTok's Two Music Libraries

This is where many businesses and creators get confused. Not all accounts on TikTok have access to the same music. To protect against copyright infringement, TikTok offers two distinct sound libraries: one for Personal/Creator accounts and a more restrictive one for Business accounts.

The TikTok Commercial Music Library (CML)

If you've set up your profile as a Business Account, you will automatically be given access to the Commercial Music Library.

• What It Is: The CML is a collection of over 1 million songs and sounds that have been pre-cleared for commercial use. This means you can use any track from this library in promotional content - like ads, branded videos, or any post that markets a product or service - without worrying about copyright strikes or legal issues. All the music in the CML is royalty-free for business use on TikTok.
• Who It’s For: Brands, retailers, advertisers, and organizations. If the primary purpose of your account is to drive sales or promote your business, you need to use a Business Account and the CML.
• The Catch: The CML does not include most popular, chart-topping songs from major recording artists. While you’ll find great production music and tracks from emerging artists, you won’t be able to use the latest trending hit from Drake or Taylor Swift. This can make it harder to jump on mainstream audio trends.

The General Music Library

If you’re using a Personal Account or a Creator Account, you get access to the everything-in-here library.

• What It Is: The General Music Library contains millions of songs, including everything from the biggest pop hits and throwback classics to viral user-created sounds and meme audio. It’s the full, unrestricted TikTok experience.
• Who It’s For: The majority of individual users and content creators whose primary goal is entertainment and community building, not direct promotion.
• The Rules: The music in this library is licensed for personal, non-commercial entertainment purposes only. That means you can use a hit song as the background for your dance video, but you technically can’t use that same song to make a video explicitly advertising your t-shirt company. Using copyrighted sounds for marketing falls into a legal gray area, and TikTok restricts Business Accounts from this library to protect both the brands and the music licensors.

Which Account Type Should You Choose?

Still not sure? Here’s a simple way to decide:

• Choose a Business Account if: Your main goal is to promote a product or service. You prioritize legal safety and access to features like the Business Suite and ad platform over having access to mainstream music.
• Choose a Creator Account if: You're an influencer or public figure who wants to build a community. You value having access to all the trending sounds and want creator-specific analytics without the restrictions of a Business Account. This is a good middle ground for many.
• Choose a Personal Account if: You’re just here for fun and have no plans to monetize your content.

You can switch your account type anytime in your settings under "Manage account."

Actionable Tips for Finding Trending Sounds

Knowing where to find the library is the first step. Knowing what to look for is how you go viral. Here are some strategies for finding Trending Sounds before it peaks.

1. Trust Your For You Page Algorithm

The FYP isn't random. It’s designed to show you what’s popular right now. If you hear the same sound clip three or four times within a 10-minute scrolling session, that’s a strong signal it’s trending. Don’t ignore it - save that sound to your Favorites immediately.

2. Use the "TikTok Viral" Playlist

Inside the music library, TikTok does some of the work for you. One of the pinned playlists is often called "TikTok Viral" or a similar name like "Trending Sounds." This is a curated list of songs that are currently gaining momentum. Check it regularly to stay ahead of the curve.

3. Keep an Eye on Rising Sounds

When you look at a Sound page, you'll see how many videos have been made with that audio. A truly viral sound might have millions of videos. But the sweet spot is often finding a "rising" sound - one that only has a few thousand videos but is growing fast. Getting in early on these can make your video one of the breakout hits.

4. Search for Industry-Specific Trends

Trends aren't always global dance crazes. Sometimes they’re specific to a niche. Try searching the library with keywords relevant to your industry. For example, a small business owner might search "small business tips," a book-lover might search "#BookTok," and a fitness coach might search "workout motivation" to find sounds that are popular within their specific communities.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the TikTok music library is a fundamental skill for anyone serious about growing on the platform. By understanding how to find, save, and select sounds effectively - and by knowing the critical differences between the commercial and general libraries - you can elevate your content strategy and tap into the powerful trends that drive discovery.

Once you’ve found the perfect audio, the next step is actually planning and scheduling your content seamlessly across all your platforms. To help streamline that process, we designed Postbase with a visual calendar built specifically for today's short-form video formats. You can see your entire TikTok, Reels, and Shorts schedule at a glance, helping you post consistently without feeling overwhelmed.