How to Use a Sound on TikTok from Another Video

Ever been scrolling through your TikTok For You Page and heard a sound that you just knew you had to use for your next video? That immediate spark of inspiration is what makes the platform so powerful. This guide will show you exactly how to grab that trending audio from any video and make it the star of your own content. We'll cover everything from the quick and simple method to saving sounds for later and understanding the strategy behind why it works so well.

Why Trending Sounds Are Your Secret Weapon on TikTok

On TikTok, sound isn't just background noise - it's the language of the platform. Using a trending audio track does more than just add music to your video, it plugs you into a massive, ongoing conversation that the algorithm loves. Think of each sound as its own hashtag or a community forum. When you use it, you're not just posting a video, you're submitting your take on a popular theme, instantly making your content more discoverable.

Here’s why it works:

• Discoverability: Users can find every public video made with a particular sound just by tapping on it. If your video is a great take on the trend, you’ll get views from people who have never seen your profile before.
• Relatability: A familiar sound creates an instant connection. When a viewer hears audio they recognize and love, they’re more likely to stick around to see what you do with it. It’s like an inside joke you share with millions of people.
• Algorithmic Boost: The TikTok algorithm is always looking for patterns. When it sees that a specific sound is blowing up, it tends to push more content using that sound to a wider audience, increasing your chances of landing on the For You Page.

Jumping on a trending sound gets your content in front of more eyes, aligns your brand with current culture, and gives you a ready-made format to work with. It's one of the most effective organic growth strategies on the platform.

The Classic Method: Grabbing a Sound Directly from a Video You're Watching

This is the most direct and common way to use a sound, and luckily, it's incredibly simple. You can go from seeing a video you love to creating your own version in just a few seconds. Follow these steps, and you’ll be a pro in no time.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Find a video with the audio you want to use. As you scroll your For You Page, keep an ear out for clips with repeated sounds, catchy song snippets, or funny monologues. When you find one, you're ready to go.
2. Identify the sound. Look at the bottom-left of the screen. You'll see a small spinning record icon next to the name of the sound, which scrolls across the screen. Sometimes it's a song title and artist, other times, it'll say "original sound" followed by the creator's username.
3. Tap the sound. Tap on that scrolling text or the spinning record icon. This action takes you to the audio's main page.
4. Go to the sound's main page. Here, you'll see details about the audio, including its title and who created it. More importantly, you'll see a grid of all the other popular videos that have used this sound. Scrolling through these can give you great inspiration for your own take.
5. Use the sound. At the very bottom of this screen is a big red button that says "Use this sound." Tap it.
6. Film your video. Tapping that button will open your TikTok camera. The sound will be pre-loaded and ready to go. You can start filming your clip immediately, set a timer, or switch to the "Upload" function to use video clips you've already recorded on your phone. The audio will automatically sync with your content.

That's it! It's one of the most intuitive and fundamental features on TikTok, built to encourage this kind of creative borrowing and remixing.

Found a Great Sound But Aren't Ready to Film? Save It for Later!

Creative inspiration doesn't always strike when you have the time or space to film. You might find the perfect audio while you're in line for coffee or late at night in bed. Instead of letting it get lost in the endless scroll, you can save your favorite sounds to use whenever you're ready.

How to Save and Find Your Favorite Sounds:

1. Find the audio page. Follow the first three steps from the previous section. Scroll your feed until you find a video with a sound you like, then tap the spinning record icon to navigate to the audio's main page.
2. Add to Favorites. Instead of tapping the red "Use this sound" button, look at the top of the screen next to the sound's title. You'll see a button that says "Add to Favorites." It's often accompanied by a bookmark icon. Tap it. The icon will fill in, confirming the sound has been saved.
3. Access your saved sounds. When you're ready to create, open TikTok and go to your Profile page.
4. Tap the Favorites icon. Right below your bio and next to the "Edit Profile" button, you'll see a row of icons. One of them will be the same bookmark icon you used to save the sound. Tap it.
5. View your sounds. The Favorites section organizes everything you've saved: videos, sounds, effects, and even products. At the top, tap the "Sounds" tab. All the audio you've bookmarked will be waiting for you. Just tap on one, and then hit the red camera button to start creating.

Building a collection of saved sounds is a game-changer for content planning. You can spend 15 minutes just finding and saving audio, giving you a bank of ideas to pull from when it's time to batch-create your videos.

Beyond the Scroll: Strategic Ways to Use TikTok Sounds

Now that you know the mechanics, let's get into the strategy. A great creator or marketer doesn't just use a sound, they understand the context and bend it to fit their niche or brand.

Match the Vibe, Don't Just Use the Music

Almost every trending sound is part of an underlying meme or format. The sound itself comes with a set of storytelling rules or expectations. Before you jump on a trend, watch at least 10-15 other videos that use the same audio. Pay attention to the patterns:

• Is it a lip-sync sound? Is the joke in what you're doing while a particular line is spoken?
• Is it used for a "reveal" or a "before and after" transition?
• Is it a punchline for a specific setup, where you add text on screen to give it context?

Understanding the context is everything. You can use this format to tell a story about your product, your service, or a common pain point your customers face. For example, if a trending sound is used for frustrating situations, a programmer could create a video about a bug they can't fix, a real estate agent could show a deal falling through, and an artist could film a smudged painting.

Adapting Trends for Your Brand

The best brand accounts on TikTok don't feel like ads. They feel like another creator who's in on the joke. The key is to take the trending format and apply it to a problem, inside joke, or celebration specific to your industry.

Example: A trending sound from a comedy movie features the line, "I am SO not qualified to be doing this."

• A coffee shop owner could use it while trying to fix their own espresso machine.
• A freelancer could have that audio playing over text reading, "My first client asking if I can handle their entire global marketing strategy."
• An athlete could pair it with a video of them trying a completely new sport on a day off.

The sound provides the humor, the context you provide makes it relatable to your specific audience.

Troubleshooting: "Why Can't I Use This Sound?"

Every now and then, you'll run into an issue where you can't use a particular sound. It's almost always due to one of the following reasons.

Problem 1: You Have a Business Account

This is the most common blocker. TikTok has two main types of professional accounts: Creator and Business. To protect businesses from copyright lawsuits, TikTok restricts Business Accounts to the Commercial Music Library. This library contains thousands of royalty-free tracks, but it doesn't include most viral pop songs.

If you tap on a trending pop song and the "Use this sound" button is missing or grayed out, it’s because your Business Account doesn't have the license for it. The creator of the original video likely has a Creator Account, which has access to the full music library.

Solution: You can either stick to the Commercial Music Library and Original Sounds, or you can switch your account type from Business to Creator in your settings. A Creator Account offers the best of both worlds for most brands and small businesses: access to the full music library plus analytics.

Problem 2: The Sound Was Removed or Became Unavailable

Sometimes songs are removed from the platform due to expired licensing agreements between TikTok and music labels. If you see a video where the sound is muted and the details read "Sound removed due to copyright restrictions," that audio is no longer available for anyone to use.

Problem 3: The Video is Private

If a user's account is private, you can't use their Original Sound. This is fairly rare, as most creators aiming for viral sounds have public profiles, but it’s a possibility to keep in mind.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the use of sounds is a fundamental skill for growing a presence on TikTok. At its core, the process is simple: you find a video you love, tap the spinning record to get to the audio page, and either use it right away or save it to your Favorites for later. The real skill comes from learning to listen for trends and creatively applying them to your own niche.

Of course, finding a great sound is one thing, planning when and how to use it as part of a larger content plan is another. When we're building our own content calendar, we often find it helpful to line up our video ideas visually to make sure every post feels consistent and on-brand. That’s why we designed Postbase to focus on visual planning, letting you drag and drop post ideas so you can see your entire strategy across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts at a glance and make sure your brilliant, trend-driven idea goes live at just the right moment.