How to Use Copyrighted Music on Facebook… Legally!

Facebook. We all know it and probably all use it, too! It’s one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, with millions of pieces of content being shared every single day. This makes Facebook one of the best platforms to use when working to grow a personal brand and reach new target audiences.

And, as is the case with other content-sharing platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, music plays a key role in transforming static, uninspiring videos into captivating, almost cinematic experiences that are sure to make an impact on users scrolling through their feeds.

Yes, adding music to Facebook posts and stories is one of the best ways to boost engagement with your content, increase interaction and make a lasting impact on your audiences…but it’s not quite as simple as just choosing a song and pressing play.

There are certain rules and guidelines that you’ll need to follow when adding music to Facebook posts if you want to ensure the end result is as effective as possible and not at risk of landing you with a copyright claim!

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics of adding music to Facebook posts and teach you how to avoid getting in hot water with copyright infringement.

How to add music to a video on Facebook: A step-by-step guide

Firstly, it’s important to clarify that Facebook isn’t fully geared up for letting creators add music to their content. At present, it’s a relatively new feature and one that’s only possible via the Facebook app, not on the desktop or mobile browser versions of the platform.

Also, the process for adding music to videos differs slightly depending on whether you’re working on a Facebook Story, Reel or a standard post, so we’ll go through each of them, in turn, to make sure you know exactly what you’re doing.

How to add music to Facebook Stories and Reels

1. Open the Facebook app and click the ‘Create Story’ tile in the carousel of Stories that sits near the top of the screen.
   
   
2. Tap the ‘Music’ sticker icon from the carousel of options at the top of the screen. This brings up a library of music through which you can search for a particular song or artist.
   
   TIP! You can preview a track by pressing the little ‘Play’ icon at the right-hand side of each song and bookmark the ones you like the sound of using the icon immediately beside it.
   
   

3. After choosing the song you want to add to your Story, you’ll be able to use a slider to select a specific portion of the song. Do this by dragging the slider from left to right until you’re happy with the snippet selected. Facebook makes this a bit easier by automatically indicating the most popular segments with stars.

   NOTE! You can only use up to 15 seconds of a song in a Story.

4. Tap the display options listed on the screen to choose how you want your song to appear on your Story. You can choose to display music lyrics labels, album cover and artist name on top of any photo or video content you’re sharing.

   TIP! You can change the color of the text to one that stands out in front of your video by clicking the color wheel at the top of the screen.

5. Tap ‘Done‘ in the top right-hand corner of your device’s screen.

6. Edit your Story using the icons displayed on the right of your screen. These let you enhance your content by adding stickers, extra text, filters and more.

7. You’re nearly done! Now all you need to do is tap the ‘Share’ button in the bottom-right corner of your screen to publish your Story with your friends and followers.

How to add music to a Facebook post

1. Open the Facebook app and tap on the “What’s on your mind?” text field at the top of your newsfeed or from your personal Facebook profile. This will open up a “Create Post” window.
   
   
2. Choose the video or animation that you want to share from your device’s camera roll (you’ll need to give the Facebook app access to this before getting started).
   
   
3. Click on the ‘Edit‘ sticker icon in the top-left corner of the image or video file. This will open a range of editing options, one of which is music.
   
   
4. Click on the music sticker from the row of editing features at the top of your screen.
   
   
5. Browse through the library of songs until you find the one you want to use in your video.
   
   TIP! You can preview and bookmark songs using the icons displayed next to each song title.
   
   
6. Add any other edits or enhancements you want to include in your video (select elements like filters, text overlays, stickers or links) and then press ‘Post‘ to share your content with your friends and followers.

How to add your own original music to Facebook videos

So, you’ve written or composed your own piece of music, and you want to share it with your Facebook followers? Of course you do! Facebook is a great place to showcase your musical talents and reach huge audiences with your original songs.

The best way to enhance your videos by adding your own music is to mix them together outside of Facebook itself using audio editing software.

Post-production tools like Adobe Audition, Logic Pro X, Audacity and Adobe Premiere Pro are all excellent options for content creators looking to merge their videography or animation skills with their music.

Read more about the best audio editing software.

You’ll need to purchase and download your preferred software and upload the video and sound files in order to combine them into one slick piece of content. Then, export it into an output format that’s compatible with Facebook’s upload process, MP4 or MOV.

Can copyrighted music be used on Facebook?

Yes, it can! In order to use copyrighted music on Facebook, you just need to have the rights, permissions or licenses to that piece of music. Now, that may sound complicated… not with Lickd!

To always ensure that you have the correct license before using a song within a Facebook video, source your royalty free music with Lickd. It’s easy to use, affordable, and most importantly, there’s zero risk of copyright infringement! Find out more a little further down.

How do you avoid copyright claims on Facebook?

There are a bunch of ways to avoid getting handed a copyright infringement claim on Facebook for any music that you’ve used in your video posts, stories or live streams.

1. Read up on Facebook’s copyright policies

According to Facebook’s copyright FAQ, the only way to be 100% sure you aren’t violating someone else’s copyright is to post only content you made yourself.

Now, this can get a bit tricky. What if you found a free song on the internet and played it in the background? What if you bought the song on iTunes and then used it in your video? How about if you post a disclaimer in your video claiming you don’t own the copyright and try to identify the copyright owner accurately? You need to learn the basics of copyright in music before you get going with uploading videos to Facebook.

Unfortunately, all of these scenarios would result in you violating copyright law. Your intent isn’t a defense, either. Even if you didn’t mean to violate copyright law, you could still get in trouble for using copyrighted music without permission. (Psst! You won’t need to worry about this if you source your music for videos from Lickd!)

2. Avoid sharing music you don’t have a license for

We’ve touched on this already, but it’s key for anyone looking to avoid copyright infringement. If you don’t have a license, or specific permission from a copyright owner to use a track, then simply don’t use it.

You could avoid using music entirely in order to avoid copyright claims, but that would have a negative impact on your video – it’s not necessary to take such drastic measures!

If you do want to use copyrighted music, then getting a license through a site like Lickd is the simplest and cheapest solution.
We’ve made deals with some of the best record labels in the world to bring you the biggest hits from popular artists. Now you can finally use recognizable music in your videos; without breaking the bank or spending hours getting a license. We thought it was silly that creators have to avoid using the music they love just to be able to earn money from their content. It was time for a change! Learn more about Lickd by clicking the link.

How to add music to a video on Facebook without copyright

If you’re unsure about how to go about adding music to your next Facebook video, don’t worry! Lickd’s team of content experts is on hand to provide you with all the information you need to avoid a run-in with the law.

Fortunately for content creators, there are a number of ways in which to use killer songs and sick beats in your videos without the risk of receiving a copyright claim. Let’s look at your options.

1. Use royalty-free and stock music libraries

Royalty-free music is music you can use where you don’t have to pay ongoing royalty fees. Music royalties could include a percentage of your earnings or a recurring fee.

Stock music libraries have large stores of stock music created by aspiring musicians. The tracks in music libraries are often instrumental-only — no lyrics, and you won’t find any of the hit songs you hear on the radio. While songs from stock music libraries would work well in some instances, they don’t have the power or ‘wow-factor’ you need to take your videos to the next level.

Plus, finding a hit song in a stock music library is harder than finding a diamond in the rough. Perhaps you’d rather have the option of hunting for a gem in a jewelry store. That being said, stock music does come in handy sometimes, as it’s a great way to add music to your video that doesn’t distract at all.

You can find high-quality royalty-free and stock music right here on Lickd (it’s so high-quality, in fact, it’s normally used in TV & movies!), and you get your first 14 days free, so there really is nothing to lose.

2. Get a license directly from the copyright holder

If you want to do away with bland stock music, you could choose the perfect song and contact the copyright holder directly. However, finding the copyright owner is often an uphill battle. First, you’ll need to identify all the copyright owners. Because different people may own the song copyright and sound recording copyright — for example, a publisher and a record label — you may end up on a never-ending quest. Even if you do find the copyright holder, they may deny your request or ask for a monstrous sum in exchange for a license.

3. License the biggest trending tracks with Lickd

If you want to use copyrighted music on Facebook legally, affordably and without the hassle of contacting copyright owners yourself to ask for permission, check out Lickd.

Lickd has over 1 million tracks from big artists that have been pre-cleared for use on social video platforms. When you use Lickd, you’ll get access to a wide array of engaging music for videos, which you can filter based on mood, genre, artist, and more. No copyright claims, no hassle and guess what? Using Lickd music has even been shown to improve important YouTube metrics like subscribers, views, engagement rate, watch time and more.

To top it all off, it’s cheaper than you might think. Lickd uses a sliding scale based on your past videos’ views to provide you with a customized price. Basically, if you’re a smaller creator, you won’t have to pay as much as the big players! Sound fair?

4. Use Facebook’s own library of sounds

Another easy and safe solution is to source your music and sounds from the Facebook Sound Collection. Facebook partnered with a number of publishers and creators to introduce the Sound Collection to their creative dashboard a few years ago, and it’s designed to help users add music and sound effects to their content without breaching copyright.

Facebook actually owns all the rights to these tracks and effects, so it’s essentially stock music but you can use them free of charge. This obviously means the tracks in the library are widely used and often more than a little generic, so to stand out, or even just to make your video sound more professional, you may want to look elsewhere.

FAQs

Can you add music to Facebook Stories?

Yes! You can add music to either a video or a photo story directly from within the Facebook app. You’ll be able to browse through the platform’s library of songs to choose the particular music that’s best suited to the style and theme of your content.

How do you add music to Facebook videos?

You’ll need to download the Facebook mobile app in order to add music to any videos or photos you want to share. Once you’ve got the app installed on your phone or tablet, follow the simple steps detailed above to choose music that will enhance your content. It could be a trending track that resonates with the message of your video or your favorite song… whatever you choose, just make sure that you have the right to use it!

Can you use music apps to add music to Facebook videos?

No, the only ways to include music in your Facebook videos are to select songs from within the platform’s library or to combine the music with your video in separate editing software. If you choose the second option, you’ll need to make sure that you have the appropriate licenses to use the music or else you could risk a copyright infringement claim.

You can’t use third-party music apps to add audio to your videos, and you should be careful about playing any music from such apps in the background of your live streams or vlogs. You can research the songs you might want to include in your content by listening on apps such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, but you’ll have to get the actual audio file from a licensed source such as Lickd.

What are the benefits of adding music to Facebook videos?

Adding music to your video content has loads of benefits. Firstly, including popular music that’s relevant to your creative content is a proven way of supercharging its impact on your audience. The entire watching experience is transformed from a basic edited video into a multi-sensory journey that will be far more likely to catch the viewer’s attention and get them to press that play button as they’re scrolling through their feed.

What’s more, by adding trending songs to your videos, you can gain visibility amongst wider audiences by appealing to the platform’s algorithms. Basically, if Facebook sees that a lot of users are interacting with videos that all use a particular popular song, it will decide that any content that also uses that song will also be of interest to its users.

When it comes to music for Facebook videos, choose Lickd

To recap, you can’t just use any music you found online or in your music collection to soundtrack your Facebook videos.

Whether you want to use copyrighted music from big artists, or basic stock music to fill in the background, you can! You just need to get a license from Lickd for as little as $8.

Join us today to get access to the biggest library of stock music for creators and even license mainstream music to elevate your social content!

Try before you buy with a 14-day free trial and get a 25% welcome discount on your first mainstream track