Data from 2021 estimates that 75% of users discover new artists on TikTok, making it a fundamental platform for up-and-coming musicians. This music is also important to many successful brands as it helps to attract audiences who potentially have more buying power and influence over their target market. To explore this idea further, Netinfluencer will unpack everything you need to know about TikTok’s Sounds for Business feature. 

What Is the Sounds for Business Feature?

In February 2023, TikTok announced its latest Sounds for Business initiative. This feature aims to help small businesses boost their presence on the platform and aid them in breaking into highly competitive and dynamic markets. As such, the app has opened a separate music library solely for businesses to use in both organic and paid content.

This library is teeming with popular sounds and songs, meaning that it can be used by brands of any size to further promote a variety of products and services. It also contains a plethora of already licensed songs, allowing businesses to use a wealth of sounds that have been approved by the platform itself. In turn, brands no longer have to embark on a lengthy and arduous process to obtain the official usage rights to a certain song. 

Alongside its vast collection of sounds, this feature also aims to build a sense of community and cohesion on the platform. TikTok encourages brands to use the SoundsforBusiness hashtag in their videos so that they can inspire other corporations to use the feature. 

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How Successful Is Sound on TikTok?

In order to exemplify the prosperity of this feature, TikTok has also released an accompanying array of statistics. For example, the platform explains that 68% of users believe that a brand is much more memorable if it uses a popular song in its videos. This informs us that many users associate catchy songs with content creators, helping brands to create a strong group of loyal followers. 

A further 44% of users also noted that they immediately went out to buy a product after seeing it advertised on TikTok. We are now led to believe that TikTok is an immense platform for product promotion as users are more likely to complete a transaction once they have learned more about it on the platform. 

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How Does the Library Work?

The Sounds for Business feature can be found in the Commercial Music Library, a subsidiary of the TikTok Business Center. This library is home to over 500,000 sounds, all ranging from chart-topping hits to simple voice-over audios. It also contains music with and without lyrics, helping businesses to craft an engaging soundtrack for their next campaign. 

This portfolio of songs is mostly geared towards corporate accounts and government organizations, giving them the chance to implement clean and appropriate backing music into their videos. It is also suitable for content creators who are working on a branded campaign and do not want to risk using copyrighted music.

In fact, the platform asks users to only implement songs from the Commercial Music Library in any paid branded content, official TikTok challenges, and advertising campaigns. Thus, influencers can make use of a diverse range of royalty-free music to attract new viewers to their latest project. 

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Why Was This Feature Released?

Alongside helping emerging brands to strengthen their social media strategy on this tremendously popular platform, it also seems that Sounds for Business was released to aid TikTok in becoming more self-sufficient and competitive against others within this market. This feature ensures that brands and influencers alike can produce high-quality content without using any third-party services. Thus, TikTok is now able to retain more users and become comprehensive as a social media platform.

This feature also offers 10 custom sounds, all of which prompt both influencers and viewers to showcase their favorite products in a collection of unique ways. In turn, businesses now have the chance to experience a rise in brand awareness and even create their own trends for their loyal customers to try out for themselves. 

Despite only launching a few months ago, the Sounds for Business playlist has managed to rank #1 in views and likes throughout the entire Commercial Music Library. Therefore, we can assume that these sounds are incredibly engaging and have a positive reputation amongst devoted and frequent users of the app. 

Benefits of Using TikTok Sounds for Business

The new TikTok Sounds for Business feature is a fantastic asset for influencers and brands as it enables them to use free backing music in their paid content. This means that users no longer have to battle for royalty rights or risk having their videos removed due to copyright violations. Thus, influencers can expertly craft unique videos that help businesses earn more exposure, encouraging them to form a long-term partnership with their desired content creator. 

The partnership between small businesses and this feature promotes a sense of independence, allowing bustling corporations to showcase the talents of other small artists. As such, this helps to highlight the prevalence of social media and how it can help to launch the careers of a range of modern-day stars. In turn, it seems that the platform is eager to support other creatives and offer them the chance to work alongside a plethora of iconic brands. 

Another benefit of the Commercial Music Library is that it is available for unlimited use. Therefore, brands and influencers are encouraged to produce as much content as possible, helping them to build a vast portfolio of highly marketable content. As a result, these creators are now able to extend their reach and form profitable collaborations with brands who are eager to reap the extensive benefits seen throughout the influencer marketing industry. 

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TikTok Sounds for Business exemplifies the platform’s ability to strengthen businesses of any size, allowing them to use an assortment of royalty-free music to elevate their strategy. It is also useful for influencers, offering an eclectic mix of popular music to help attract new followers and brand partners.