How to Put Music on Facebook Videos Without Copyright Issues

Nothing kills the vibe of a great video faster than a copyright strike muting your audio or getting your content taken down. You’ve spent hours editing a fantastic Facebook video, found the perfect song, and now you’re facing a dreaded notification. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add music to your Facebook videos the right way, so you can avoid copyright issues and focus on creating content that connects with your audience.

Understanding Why Facebook Cares About Your Music Choices

Before we get into the solutions, it's helpful to understand the problem. Facebook, as a platform, doesn’t own the rights to the latest hit song from Taylor Swift or Drake. The record labels and music publishers do. To protect themselves from massive lawsuits and respect the work of artists, Meta (Facebook's parent company) has sophisticated systems, like Rights Manager, that automatically scan every video upload to detect copyrighted material.

If its system finds a match, one of a few things can happen:

• Your video's audio could be muted.
• Certain parts of your video might be blocked.
• The video may be removed entirely.
• The rights holder might run ads on your video and collect the revenue.
• In a worst-case scenario after repeated offenses, your page could be restricted or taken down.

This isn't to scare you, it's to show why just grabbing a popular song off Spotify won't work. You need to use music for which you have explicit permission, or a license, to use. Here are four paths to doing just that.

Method 1: Use Facebook’s Own Sound Collection (The Safest Route)

The easiest, fastest, and 100% safest way to add music is by using Meta's Sound Collection. It’s a massive library of high-quality music tracks and sound effects that Meta has already licensed for you to use in videos on Facebook and Instagram for free. No copyright claims, no strikes, no worries.

What’s the Catch?

The main limitation is that you won't find chart-topping commercial hits here. The collection is more like stock music - instrumental tracks, background music, tunes by independent artists, and a wide variety of sound effects. It’s perfect for background music in tutorials, vlogs, product showcases, or B-roll footage. It may not work if you’re building your video around a specific trending song, but it's an excellent resource for most content creators and businesses.

How to Access the Meta Sound Collection

You can find this library directly inside the Meta Business Suite. It's simple to get started:

1. Navigate to the Meta Business Suite and sign in to your account.
2. On the left-hand menu, click on "All tools."
3. Under the "Engage audience" section, select "Sound Collection."
4. From here, you can browse thousands of tracks. Filter by genre, mood, tempo, or duration to find the perfect fit.
5. You can preview each track and, once you find one you like, simply click the download arrow to save it to your computer.

After downloading the audio file, you can add it to your video using your preferred video editing software before you upload it to Facebook. It's totally free and clear for use across the platform.

Method 2: Subscribe to a Royalty-Free Music Service (The Professional's Choice)

If the Facebook Sound Collection feels too limited, your next best option is a subscription-based royalty-free music service. "Royalty-free" doesn't mean the music is free of cost, it means you don’t have to pay ongoing royalties to the artist each time the video is played. Instead, you pay a monthly or annual subscription fee for a license that allows you to use any track from their library in your content.

This is the model most professional YouTubers, influencers, and brands use because it offers an incredible selection of high-quality music from actual artists without the legal headaches of commercial licensing.

Some of the top platforms include:

• Epidemic Sound: Known for its massive, diverse library and excellent search functionality. You can filter by vocals, BPM, and mood, making it easy to find precisely what you’re looking for. They also cover sound effects.
• Artlist: It offers a simple licensing model where a single subscription covers everything. Their music is often described as more cinematic and stylized, which is great for branding.
• Soundstripe: Another fantastic option with a highly curated collection, including music from Grammy-winning artists. They have flexible subscription plans.

How It Works

It’s a straightforward process:

1. Sign up for a subscription plan that covers your intended use (e.g., social media).
2. Browse their library, find the perfect track, and download it.
3. Add the music to your video in your editing software.
4. Upload your final video to Facebook with peace of mind. Your subscription legally covers your usage.

Most of these services will also help "clear" your videos if Facebook’s automated system accidentally flags a track. You simply provide your channel or video link to their platform, and they tell Facebook that you have a valid license.

Method 3: License Commercial Music Directly (The High-Budget Option)

What if you absolutely must use a famous song by a mainstream artist? It is possible, but it is neither simple nor cheap. To legally use commercial music, you typically need to secure two separate licenses:

1. The Master License: This license comes from the owner of the recording itself, which is usually the record label (e.g., Sony Music, Warner Music Group). It gives you the right to use that specific version of the song.
2. The Sync License: "Sync" is short for synchronization - the act of pairing music with video. This license comes from the music publisher, who represents the songwriters and composers who wrote the song's lyrics and melody.

Obtaining both of these licenses can be a long and expensive process, involving negotiations, extensive paperwork, and legal fees that can easily run into the thousands of dollars, or much more, depending on the song's popularity. This route is typically reserved for major brands creating Super Bowl-style commercial ads, not for small businesses or individual content creators.

Method 4: Use Public Domain Music (The Old-School Approach)

Public domain music is content where the copyright has expired, making it free for anyone to use without permission or payment. In the United States, a musical composition generally enters the public domain 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.

This means you can freely use classical music from composers like Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach. However, there is a very important distinction to make:

• The composition (the notes and melody) may be in the public domain.
• But a specific recording of that composition is almost certainly protected by its own copyright. The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2022 recording of a Beethoven symphony is their copyrighted work.

To use public domain music safely, you must find a recording that is also in the public domain. Websites like Musopen and the Free Music Archive have sections dedicated to public domain recordings that you can use, but always double-check the specific license for each file before downloading.

A Quick Note on Reels and Stories Music

You’ve probably noticed that Instagram and Facebook let you add popular, trending songs to your Reels and Stories directly within the app. So why the difference? Meta has negotiated limited licensing agreements with record labels that allow users to use snippets of songs in this ephemeral, short-form content. However, these licenses typically do not extend to regular feed videos, video ads, or videos published as evergreen content on your Page. Business accounts also face stricter limitations on which songs they can access due to the commercial nature of their content. For guaranteed safety and monetization, relying on the four methods above is always your best bet.

Final Thoughts

Adding music to your Facebook videos doesn't have to be a legal minefield. By using Meta's Sound Collection for quick and easy background tracks, investing in a royalty-free service for greater quality and variety, or exploring public domain options, you can create engaging, emotionally resonant content without a single copyright strike. The key is to be proactive and select your audio from a source that provides a clear license for your use.

Of course, creating a video with the perfect, legally-cleared soundtrack is just one half of the equation. Getting an amazing, video-first content calendar scheduled and published reliably is the other. We built Postbase because we were tired of legacy social media tools that were clunky and struggled with modern formats like Reels and Shorts. Our platform helps you to seamlessly plan, schedule, and analyze your video content across all platforms without the headaches, so you can focus on building your brand, not fighting with your software.