How to Play Music on TikTok Live

Playing music during your TikTok LIVE can transform the vibe from a flat monologue into an engaging, professional-level broadcast. It helps fill awkward silences, sets the mood, and can keep your audience tuned in longer. This guide breaks down the rules, the risks, and three different methods - from simple to advanced - for safely and effectively adding background music to your streams.

The Big Question: Is Playing Music on TikTok LIVE Allowed?

This is where most creators get confused. You can add popular, trending songs to your short-form TikTok videos from their massive music library, so why is LIVE so different? It all comes down to licensing. The agreements TikTok has with music labels and publishers typically cover use in short, user-generated videos, not long-form, live broadcasts. Using music on a LIVE is legally more like broadcasting a radio show than making a 15-second dance clip.

Understanding Copyright and Its Consequences

Almost all popular music is protected by copyright. When you stream a song you don't own the rights to, you're technically committing copyright infringement. TikTok has powerful automated systems in place to detect this.

If the system flags copyrighted audio in your stream, one of several things can happen:

• Your LIVE gets muted: A pop-up will appear warning you of the infringement, and your audio might cut out for viewers.
• Your LIVE is terminated: TikTok might just end your stream on the spot.
• You get a copyright strike: Your account receives a formal warning. Accumulate too many, and you risk losing features or having your account suspended.
• Your account gets banned: In serious or repeated cases, you could lose your account entirely.

Personal vs. Business Accounts

The rules differ depending on your account type. Business Accounts are under closer scrutiny and have much more limited access to popular music across the platform, including LIVEs. This is because their use is considered "commercial." Personal Accounts sometimes have more flexibility, but the risk of using unlicensed popular music remains significant.

To be safe, assume you cannot play a random popular song from Spotify without a plan. Now, let's explore the methods that actually work.

Method 1: The In-App Music Feature (Safest, But Limited)

Once you’ve gone LIVE, TikTok sometimes provides access to a small, pre-cleared library of music you can use without any risk. This feature isn't available to every user or in every region, and the music selection is often generic background tracks. However, it's the only 100% platform-approved way to add music.

How to Use the In-App Music Feature

1. Start your LIVE stream by tapping the + button and swiping to LIVE.
2. Once you are live, look at the menu of options at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap on the icon labeled "Enhance."
4. Inside that menu, you should see an option for "Music."
5. Tapping this will open a small library of playlists and songs that TikTok has cleared for use in LIVEs.
6. You can search for a track, select one, and adjust the volume with a slider so it sits nicely behind your voice.

Pros: Zero risk of copyright strikes or getting muted. It's incredibly easy to use if it's available to you.

Cons: The library is extremely limited. You won't find chart-topping hits, and the selection often feels like stock music. The feature is also not widely available, so it may not be an option on your account.

Method 2: The "Second Device" Strategy (Most Common)

This is the most popular workaround for adding music to a TikTok LIVE. The concept is simple: you broadcast from your phone, and you play music from a separate device like another phone, tablet, or a laptop with a speaker. Your streaming phone’s microphone picks up both your voice and the background music.

Best Practices for Good Audio Quality

Just setting your second phone down and pressing play can sound cheap and unprofessional. The goal is clear background music, not distorted noise. Here’s how to do it right:

• Don't use the device's internal speakers. They are tinny and small. Connect your second device to a decent portable Bluetooth speaker. This will give the music far more depth and clarity.
• Mind your placement. Don't put the speaker right next to your streaming phone's mic. The music will overpower your voice, and you might get feedback. Place the speaker a few feet away, slightly off-axis from where you are speaking. Play around with it before going live! Record a short video of yourself talking with the music playing to hear how it sounds.
• Control the volume. Start with the music at a very low volume and slowly increase it until it's just audible enough to set the mood. Your voice should always be the primary sound viewers hear. Think "coffee shop background playlist," not "live concert."

The Copyright Risk (And How to Minimize It)

Let's be clear: playing a Top 40 hit from Spotify through a speaker is still technically a public broadcast of copyrighted material. TikTok's algorithm can - and often does - pick it up. However, you can significantly lower your risk by being smart about your music choice.

What to Play:

• Royalty-Free Music: This is your safest option. Platforms like Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and Soundstripe offer huge libraries of high-quality music. You pay a subscription fee for a license that allows you to use their tracks in your content, including live streams, without any copyright worries.
• Indie Artists &, Remixes: Automated systems are excellent at identifying official studio recordings. They are far less effective at flagging obscure remixes, instrumental versions, lo-fi covers, or tracks from smaller, independent artists.
• Keep it low: Playing music quietly as ambience makes it harder for automated systems to get a clean enough sample to identify the track.

What to Avoid:

• Major Label Hits: Don't play the newest Taylor Swift or Drake song at full volume. This is the fastest way to get your stream automatically flagged and muted.
• Playlists of Popular Songs: Mixing it up is good, but a stream that consists of back-to-back popular music is a huge red flag on the platform.

Method 3: The Pro Method: Using a PC with Streaming Software (OBS)

If you're a streamer, gamer, or want the absolute most professional sound and control, streaming from a computer using software like OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is the way to go. This method requires access to TikTok LIVE Studio, their desktop streaming program that provides you with a stream key. This feature usually requires you to meet certain follower and streaming-hour thresholds.

How It Works (The Simplified Version)

OBS is a free program that acts like a virtual video production studio on your computer. Instead of just turning on your camera, you use OBS to mix multiple sources together into one professional broadcast.

1. Set up OBS: Download OBS Studio (it's free) and set up your scene. You’ll add your webcam as a video source and your microphone as an audio source.
2. Connect TikTok: You’ll get a "stream key" from TikTok LIVE Studio. You paste this key into the "Stream" settings in OBS to link them.
3. Add Your Music Source: This is the game-changer. In OBS, you can add another audio source, like "Desktop Audio." Now, any sound playing on your computer - whether it's from a royalty-free music player, Spotify, or your game - will be piped directly into your stream.
4. Balance Your Audio: OBS has a built-in "Audio Mixer." Here, you have separate sliders for your microphone and your music. You can perfectly balance the levels, making your voice loud and clear while the music sits perfectly in the background. You can even apply filters like noise gates or compressors to make your voice sound incredible.
5. Go Live: When you're ready, you hit "Start Streaming" in OBS, and your perfectly mixed audio and video feed will be sent directly to your TikTok LIVE.

OBS and Copyright: The Same Rules Still Apply

Just because you’re using professional software doesn't give you a free pass on copyright. TikTok's detection algorithm analyzes the final audio that your viewers hear. Therefore, the same content rules apply: playing a random Spotify song is risky. For a truly worry-free, professional stream, combine the power of OBS with a royalty-free music subscription. The audio quality and control are unmatched, and your stream will be completely safe from copyright flags.

Final Thoughts

Adding music to your TikTok LIVE takes a bit more thought than just hitting "play," but it's well worth the effort to make your streams more dynamic and retain viewers. Whether you stick with the in-app features, use a second device with royalty-free tunes, or go pro with a desktop setup, understanding the risks and options puts you in complete control of your broadcast.

Going LIVE is just one part of a solid content strategy. To keep things manageable, we organize every piece of our social media in the visual calendar on Postbase. This allows us to plan our pre-LIVE hype videos, schedule the post-LIVE VOD clips, and make sure we have a steady drumbeat of content supporting our broadcasts, all from a single dashboard. It helps us see the complete picture of our content, not just one isolated stream.