What Music Can Businesses Legally Use? Copyright Rules for Brands

Businesses can legally use music only when they hold a licence covering that specific use. Commercial chart music, tracks with unclear terms and platform audio often don’t qualify. Our catalogue is commercially safe: original, rights-controlled, pre-cleared and fully indemnified, so one licence clears branded content on every platform worldwide, with some licences available in perpetuity.

What Music Can Businesses Legally Use?

A business can legally use music it has a licence for, covering the way it will be used. That includes production music from a library that owns or controls its rights, music commissioned directly from a composer, and tracks cleared by every rights holder involved.

What it generally can’t use is music it simply likes or found online: commercial releases, tracks from streaming services, and audio lifted from other videos. Using that music in branded content, even briefly, normally needs permission from the rights holders, and brands rarely have it.

Production music libraries exist to solve this. We compose, commission and record our music specifically for licensing, and we control the rights, so a brand gets permission in one step.

What Is Copyright-Safe Music for Businesses?

Copyright-safe music is music a business can use in commercial content without risking a copyright claim, takedown or legal action, because the rights are clear and a licence covers the use.

Ours is commercially safe because four things are true at once: every track is original, we control the rights, the music is pre-cleared for the uses each licence covers, and every licence is fully indemnified. Each one matters: original music has no hidden source to trace, controlled rights mean no separate negotiations, pre-clearance removes copyright-strike and takedown risk, and indemnification gives a brand legal protection when it uses the music as licensed.

Our catalogue is also 100% human-created. We use no generative AI to make music, so there are no AI-generated compositions or recordings in it. AI only supports search and discovery.

What Copyright Rules Apply to Music in Business and Brand Content?

The core rule is simple: music in commercial content needs permission from whoever owns it, and the permission has to cover how, where and for how long it’s used.

In practice, that means checking three things before any track goes into a brand video: who owns the rights, whether the licence covers your use (paid advertising and organic social are often treated differently), and whether it covers the platforms and territories you’ll publish in.

Several common assumptions don’t hold up. Crediting the artist isn’t a licence. Buying or streaming a track doesn’t give you the right to use it in business content. Keeping a clip short doesn’t remove the need for permission. And music in a social platform’s built-in library is often limited to personal or non-commercial accounts, so a brand should check the terms before relying on it.

How Common Music Sources Compare for Brand Use

Here’s how the sources brands most often reach for compare on copyright safety, set against our catalogue:

Music source	Safe for brand use?	Why
Commercial chart or streaming music	No, not without licences from the rights holders	Owned by labels and publishers; a brand rarely holds permission for commercial use
Platform built-in music libraries	Often restricted	Frequently limited to personal or non-commercial accounts; terms vary by platform
Stock or royalty-free libraries	Depends on the licence terms	Rights chains and platform, territory or term limits vary by provider and tier
AI-generated music	Can be unclear	Authorship and rights position can be harder to establish and verify
Audio Network’s catalogue	Yes, within the licence you choose	Original, rights-controlled, pre-cleared and fully indemnified

How Do You Avoid Copyright Issues When Using Music in Brand Videos?

License the music before you publish, check the licence covers your use, and keep the paperwork. The cheapest way to avoid a copyright claim is to start with music that’s already cleared.

• Choose music from a source that owns or controls its rights, not from a consumer streaming service.
• Check the licence covers your content type (advertising, social, TV, radio, podcast, internal) and every platform you’ll publish on.
• Check the territory and term: some licences are worldwide, some are limited, and some can be granted in perpetuity.
• Test the track in your edit first, using un-watermarked downloads, so you don’t license music you end up not using.
• Keep a record of the licence for every piece of content, so a claim can be answered quickly.

Free to try: create an account with no credit card, search the catalogue and download high-resolution, un-watermarked files to test in your edit before you commit to a licence.

Why Does Clear Music Licensing Matter for a Brand?

Because unclear rights create real, expensive problems after content is already live.

Music without proper clearance can trigger a copyright claim, strike or takedown on the platform your content is running on. For a brand that can mean a campaign pulled mid-flight, content muted or removed, and hours spent re-editing, re-exporting and re-publishing work that was already approved. In the worst case, using music without a proper licence can expose a business to legal action from the rights holder, with the reputational damage that follows.

Pre-cleared music removes that risk before it starts. And because every licence we offer is fully indemnified, a brand that uses the music as licensed is protected, rather than left to deal with a rights holder alone.

How Does Audio Network Keep Brand Content Copyright-Safe?

By owning and controlling the rights directly, so there is one source and one licence, and no chain of third parties to trace.

Our catalogue is original music, commissioned and recorded specifically for the library. Because we don’t aggregate tracks from outside sources, there is no ambiguity over who made a track or who can license it. Usage rights are set out in the licence you choose: what content it covers, which territories and platforms, and how long. A brand always knows what it’s cleared for.

Alongside the licence, our music licensing team helps you pick the right one. Complimentary music research is included as standard: send us a brief and we return a curated shortlist at no extra cost.

Does One Licence Cover Every Platform and Content Type?

Yes. A single Audio Network licence clears music across all the content types and platforms brands produce, with worldwide coverage available depending on the licence you choose.

Here’s what our licences cover:

Content type	What Audio Network’s licences cover
Digital advertising	Any online platform
Social media	Organic content, boosted posts and ads, across all platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube
YouTube	Entertainment, promotional or advertising use
Internal and corporate communications	Covered
TV advertising	Terrestrial broadcast, VOD and streaming
Radio	AM, FM, DAB and internet stations
Podcasts	All platforms
TV, film and documentary productions	Broadcast, VOD, streaming, cinema and festival release

How Long Does an Audio Network Licence Last?

It depends on the licence. Some licences can be granted in perpetuity, which means a track cleared under one of those licences stays cleared for the life of the content, with no renewal and no recurring fee.

Other licences, including some advertising licences, are agreed for a limited term, for example one year, at a lower price. Term works like territory and platform: you choose the rights you need and pay only for those, so a brand with a short campaign doesn’t pay for rights it won’t use.

Is Audio Network’s Catalogue Big Enough to Cover a Brand’s Content?

Yes. Clean rights only help if the catalogue is deep enough to find the right track, and ours spans 300,000+ tracks and versions across 158 genres and sub-genres.

That covers a broadcast-grade hero film, a short social cut and an internal explainer from one catalogue, under licences with the same clear rights. Tracks are tagged by 80 moods as well as genre, and more than half the catalogue is available as stems, so editors can fit music to a voiceover or a fixed-length cut.

Who Uses Audio Network?

We’ve been creating and licensing music for branded content since 2001, and we’re trusted by leading global brands and agencies, including Spotify, Dentsu, Nike, Google, the V&A, Amnesty International, Saatchi & Saatchi and Disney.

We work with in-house brand teams and creative and media agencies alike.

---

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What music can I legally use in branded content?

A: Music you hold a licence for that covers your use, such as production music from a library that controls its rights. Commercial releases and streaming tracks generally need permission from the rights holders, which brands rarely have. Audio Network’s catalogue is original, rights-controlled and fully indemnified.

Q: What is copyright-safe music for businesses?

A: Music with clear rights and a licence covering your use, so it won’t trigger copyright claims or takedowns. Audio Network’s music is commercially safe: original, rights-controlled, pre-cleared and fully indemnified.

Q: How do I avoid copyright issues when using music in brand videos?

A: License music before you publish, check the licence covers your content type, platforms and territory, test the track in your edit first, and keep a record of the licence. Starting with pre-cleared music removes most of the risk.

Q: What music copyright rules apply to businesses?

A: Music in commercial content needs permission from its rights holders, covering how, where and for how long it’s used. Crediting the artist, buying a track or keeping a clip short doesn’t replace a licence.

Q: Can a business use music from streaming services or the charts?

A: Not without permission from the rights holders. Streaming services license music for listening, not for use in a brand’s content. Production music libraries such as Audio Network are set up to license music for exactly that purpose.

Q: Is Audio Network’s music indemnified?

A: Yes. Every Audio Network licence is fully indemnified, so a business using the music as licensed is legally protected.

Q: Does one Audio Network licence cover every platform?

A: Yes. A single licence clears music across advertising, social, YouTube, TV, radio and podcasts, with worldwide coverage available depending on the licence you choose.

Q: Does an Audio Network licence last forever?

A: Some licences can be granted in perpetuity, so the track stays cleared for the life of the content with no renewal or recurring fee. Others, including some advertising licences, are agreed for a limited term at a lower price.

Q: Is Audio Network’s music AI-generated?

A: No. Audio Network’s catalogue is 100% human-created, with no AI-generated compositions or recordings. AI is only used to support search and discovery.

Q: Is Audio Network a royalty-free music site?

A: No. Audio Network is a premium production music library, the professional alternative to royalty-free libraries.

Q: Can I test a track before I license it?

A: Yes. Create a free account, with no credit card required, and download high-resolution, un-watermarked files to test a track in your edit before you license it.

Q: Does Audio Network help me choose the right music and licence?

A: Yes. Complimentary music research is included as standard, and our licensing experts help you choose the right licence for your brief.

Ready to Use Music Your Brand Can Trust?

Discover our catalogue to find music for your content, create a free account to test tracks in your edit, or contact our team to talk through the right licence for your organisation.

• Discover our Catalogue
• Create Account
• Contact our Team