How to get your music on TikTok

Getting your music on TikTok means two jobs. First, a distributor delivers your song to TikTok’s sound library, where anyone can add it to a video. Second, when you post, you add your song from that library instead of uploading the audio as an original sound, which can get the video muted. Once the song is live, claim your TikTok Artist Account so your music shows on your profile. DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby all deliver to TikTok, and most songs show up within one to three weeks. This covers TikTok Newsroom posts and distributor help centers as of Sep 24, 2026.

How songs get into TikTok’s sound library

Songs get into TikTok’s sound library through a distributor, a company that delivers your release to TikTok the same way it delivers to Spotify and Apple Music. TikTok’s own guide to adding sounds says independent artists get their music on TikTok through third-party distribution companies. DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby all deliver to TikTok. TikTok also runs its own distributor, SoundOn, which it launched in March 2022 in the US, UK, Brazil and Indonesia. Either way, the distributor sends your audio, cover art and song details, and your TikTok earnings come back through it. The source is TikTok’s Newsroom, which covers both the sound library and SoundOn.

Those posts are TikTok’s guide to adding sounds and its SoundOn launch announcement. At launch in 2022, TikTok said SoundOn paid 100% of royalties in the first year and 90% after that. Those terms are gone. SoundOn’s pricing page now lists a free Lite plan that keeps 10% of your earnings from streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, and paid Core and Max plans that let you keep 100% of them. TikTok, YouTube and Meta money has separate terms.

On a regular distributor, TikTok is just a box on the upload form. On DistroKid it’s in the Services section, listed with TikTok’s sister apps, and DistroKid’s TikTok page says you can send songs to TikTok without buying the Social Media Pack. DistroKid costs $24.99/yr for unlimited uploads. Our roundup of the best music distribution services compares the rest.

One setting worth a minute: the clip start time. TikTok users get a chunk of your song, not the whole thing, so pick where it starts:

• DistroKid lets you request a start time for TikTok previews, but only on tracks longer than 1:16, per its preview start time page.
• TuneCore lets you choose the start, and its TikTok clip page says the clip runs for the next 60 seconds, which users can trim.

Pick the hook or the drop. Nobody films to your 20-second intro.

A word on the scam worry, because it’s a fair one. Nobody can sell you a spot in the sound library, since any distributor that lists TikTok gets you there. Anyone charging for “TikTok placement” or guaranteed viral plays is selling something you either already have or can’t buy.

Sending the song is the quick part. Then comes the wait.

How long it takes for a song to show up on TikTok

Most songs show up in TikTok’s sound library within one to three weeks of upload, and the exact wait depends on the distributor. DistroKid says a release should go live and be searchable in the TikTok app within 1 to 3 weeks. TuneCore says most releases go live on TikTok in about 5 days. CD Baby says TikTok should add a release to your Music Tab within 30 days of it appearing in TikTok’s music library. For a set release date, upload at least four weeks early, which is what DistroKid recommends for a release to go live everywhere on the same day. These figures come from each distributor’s help center, checked Sep 24, 2026.

The pages are DistroKid’s TikTok page, TuneCore’s TikTok page, CD Baby’s TikTok artist page guide and DistroKid’s custom release date page. Our breakdown of how long DistroKid takes to upload covers the other stores.

Why the four weeks matter on TikTok in particular: a lot of artists post teasers before release day. If you tease a song that isn’t in the library yet, nobody can use it, and the people who liked the teaser have nothing to tap. Get the song in first, then start posting.

When you search for it, type the song title and your artist name together. A common title can bury your song under a dozen others with the same name.

Two more timing details:

• Changed your mind about the clip start? TuneCore says to allow 2 weeks for TikTok to process a new start time on a song that’s already out.
• Still nothing after three weeks? Ask your distributor first. It delivered the song and can see whether TikTok accepted it.

Once you can find it, the next job is putting it in your own videos without getting muted.

How to put your music on TikTok videos

To put your own song in a TikTok video, add it from TikTok’s sound library, not as an original sound. Tap the + button, tap Sounds at the top, search your song title and artist name, and pick the official version. DistroKid’s help center warns that uploading your release as an original sound instead can get the video muted. Your TikTok account type matters too: a Business account can’t use music clips in videos, so switch to a personal account under Manage Account if you want the full library. The steps come from TikTok’s guide to adding sounds and DistroKid’s help pages on muted videos.

The muting rules are on DistroKid’s page about using your sound and its muted video page. A muted video you spent an evening filming is a rotten feeling, and it’s almost always one of those two things.

If you run a Business account for a reason (a shop, a studio) and want to keep it, DistroKid’s muted video page says its support team can ask TikTok to allowlist your account, as long as you added the music from the sound library.

The other version of this problem is someone else’s video. People rip your song from Spotify or a YouTube upload and post it as an original sound, and then that sound spreads without pointing to your release. DistroKid’s original sound page says it can ask TikTok to merge that sound with your release if you have the Social Media Pack and the sound is in over 1,000 videos. You’ll need the link to the sound page and the time range where your song plays (for example 0:30 to 0:38). You find the link by tapping the sound icon on a video and then the share icon.

Under 1,000 videos, the practical move is to post your own video with the library version and pin it, so people have the real song to tap. For turning those videos into actual listeners, see our guide to TikTok music promotion.

That brings up the add-on question, and whether you need to pay for anything beyond the upload.

Do you need to pay extra to get paid from TikTok?

TheDebutRoom’s view: skip paid TikTok add-ons until your song is showing up in videos where people didn’t pick it from the sound library. A normal distributor plan already covers the library. DistroKid says you don’t need its Social Media Pack to earn from TikTok, because music delivered to TikTok and sitting in its audio library still earns, and DistroKid passes that audio library revenue on to you in full. The Social Media Pack adds TikTok’s music identification, which is for use outside the library, such as your song reposted as an original sound. TuneCore collects TikTok revenue without a separate add-on and takes a commission on it.

DistroKid’s side is on its Social Media Pack and TikTok page and its TikTok monetization page, which says you get 80% of the money from videos matched through the Social Media Pack. TuneCore’s TikTok page says it collects TikTok revenue quarterly with a 20% commission on all of it.

How to decide, based on where your song is right now:

• Brand new release, a handful of videos. Library delivery is enough. Put the money toward the next song.
• Your song keeps showing up as other people’s original sounds. That’s the case the Social Media Pack is built for, and it’s also the only way DistroKid will ask TikTok to merge those sounds with your release.
• You’re choosing a distributor now. Compare what each one keeps from TikTok money, not only the yearly price, if short videos are where your audience is.

You’ll see per-video pay rates quoted around the web. None of them come from an official TikTok page, so this page doesn’t repeat them. What you earn shows up in your distributor’s earnings report, and that’s the number worth watching.

The last piece isn’t about money. It’s your profile.

How to claim your TikTok Artist Account

You claim a TikTok Artist Account in the TikTok app once at least one of your songs has been delivered to TikTok. Go to your profile, tap the three dots, choose TikTok for Artists (or Artist Hub) under More tools, tap Apply now, search your artist name and tap Claim. You then upload screenshots from your distributor or streaming dashboard that show you control the artist profile, and submit. DistroKid’s help center says you’ll get feedback within 30 days. Once approved, TikTok adds the Artist Tag and a Music Tab to your profile. The steps come from DistroKid’s and CD Baby’s TikTok help pages.

The in-app steps are on DistroKid’s TikTok for Artists page, and the one-track minimum and proof screenshots are on CD Baby’s TikTok artist page guide. The screenshots need to show your artist name and your release or track titles, taken while you’re logged in, with the edit buttons visible. A screenshot of the public Spotify page doesn’t prove anything, since anyone can take that.

Your distributor may speed this up:

• DistroKid members can create their TikTok Artist Account from the DistroKid dashboard. TikTok announced the shortcut on Jul 18, 2024 and said it can take as little as a few hours instead of weeks.
• CD Baby says it can’t convert your TikTok page for you, so you apply in the app yourself.

Once you’re in, DistroKid’s profile linking page says your previously delivered tracks appear in your Music Tab and future releases get added automatically. Only officially delivered tracks count. TikTok’s Artist Account announcement also lists a New Release feature that highlights a track for up to 14 days before and 30 days after it comes out.

It’s the same idea as claiming Apple Music for Artists: the store gets your songs from the distributor, then you prove the page is yours. Our guide to putting music on Apple Music covers that side, and the Platforms hub has the other stores.

Get your music on TikTok, step by step

Getting your music on TikTok takes five steps: pick a distributor that delivers to TikTok, tick TikTok and choose the clip start time on the upload form, find the song in TikTok’s sound library once it’s live, claim your TikTok Artist Account, and post videos with the library version of your song. You need finished audio, cover art, your artist name spelled the way you want it everywhere, and a personal TikTok account. Plan on one to three weeks for the song to reach the library, and up to 30 days for the Artist Account review unless your distributor has a shortcut.