How to Add Your Own Music on TikTok

If you’re an artist, distributing your music on the TikTok app is one of the best ways to boost your music brand and grow your fan base.

The question is: Can you add your own music to TikTok and get paid each time your song is played in TikTok videos? The answer awaits you in the following text.

The platform has over 1 billion active users, and nearly half of the TikTok community is between 16 and 24. Even if this is not your target audience, you can still reach a lot of potential listeners on this platform and make your own song viral.

In this article, you will learn how to put your music on TikTok, and, to dive deeper into the process and maximize your success there, be sure to check out SoundCampaign’s newest resource on TikTok music promotion. Let’s get started on your journey to TikTok music success!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

How to Add Your Own Music to TikTok: Upload Your Song Manually

It is actually easy to upload your song manually on TikTok.

• First, open a TikTok account and upload video content that features your song by clicking a + icon. This way, you upload music to TikTok.
• Then, click the photo on the right-hand corner of your new video.
• Lastly, change the name of your track with the tools.

Go with the “Song Title – Artist Name” format to make it easy for users to find your song.

However, you will not earn royalties if you’re not using a distribution platform.

Embrace Digital Distribution

The first step to taking the TikTok world by storm is adding your music officially to its vast library via digital distribution.

This process not only allows you to control the rights to your tunes but also makes sure you’re duly credited for all streams.

Bear in mind, however, that all distribution services are not created equal. TikTok, being a relatively new platform, isn’t supported by all of them. So, pick your distributor wisely!

Opt for the Right Music Distribution Service

To feature your tracks on streaming giants like Spotify, TikTok, or Apple Music, you’ll need to harness the power of a music distribution service, a digital ally in disseminating your music online.

Numerous such services exist, each with its own pricing and choice of platforms to distribute your music. The market is flooded with options like CD Baby, TuneCore, DistroKid, and Ditto Music, among others. So, make an informed choice and let your music play!

Provide Details About Your Music

Streaming platforms have strict standards to ensure that the quality of their directory is consistent. The same is with TikTok’s music library or Apple Music.

In order to submit your TikTok video,  you need to provide detailed information about your own music, accurate publishing details, and quality album artwork (a creative side of the production) before the final upload video part.

This extra information about your music is known as metadata, and it links you to the song once it is released. That is also how you’re going to get paid for the streams. This extra info shows that you are the owner and author of your own videos, and will allow it to become one of the TikTok sounds.

Avoid or Remove Copyrighted Material

TikTok won’t accept your music if it contains copyrighted material. And if that happens, you won’t be able to add music to TikTok, release your track, and reach your target audience.

Copyrighted material includes any component of your music that is not an original creation.

For example, if you used audio from a song that is not yours, then you need to clear the sample with the original creator.

However, getting clearance from the original creator may not be possible, especially if it comes from a popular song. The best way to avoid this problem is to use pre-cleared audio samples. That way, you will own all elements of your music even if it contains existing sounds.

Photo by Artem Podrez from Pexels

Monitor Your Stats

Anyone can use your music as long as it’s available on your TikTok profile, but how can you get paid for the plays?

If someone uses your music in their video, such as their dancing videos, you will earn money each time the video is viewed. However, you don’t need to wait for somebody to use your song in their video creation. Remember, TikTok is a great place to release, promote your music and hopefully become a viral success.

• So, download the app on your phone, create an account on the platform, and start creating your own videos.
• Create a bio, link your social platform accounts, and customize your avatar.
• You should also keep your audio short because speed is a big deal on TikTok. No one will want to listen to long ordinary tracks. The ideal length is 10 to 17 seconds, but you can also make 20-second long TikTok content.
• Film videos vertically to create the best full-screen experience for your viewers.
• You can also try a popular type of content called the Duet feature to connect with other users.

Don’t forget to monitor your stats with TikTok Pro Analytics. This feature is available to all TikTok creators for free and lets you know how well your original content is doing when you add music to TikTok.

TikTok Pro Analytics allows you to monitor your audience demographics, video, and profile views, as well as follower dynamics on the TikTok channel when you upload music to TikTok. It provides 3 main views – Profile Overview, Follower Insights, and Content Insights.

• Profile Overview shows your follower evolution, as well as video and app profile views.
• Follower Insights allows you to see your audience by follower’s activity, gender, and territory.
• Content Insights provides insights on your shared tracks and videos on the app, such as the number of likes, shares, and comments it gets.

Understanding TikTok’s Payment Cycle

TuneCore, as they state, aims to expedite your earnings, the payout timeline is ultimately dictated by TikTok. Typically, there’s a two-month delay between your music’s upload and your first paycheck. So, if you’ve got your tracks bouncing on TikTok in January, you can anticipate your initial earnings by March. Stay patient and let the rhythm of revenue flow! You can also read our blog post on how often does TikTok pay out to learn more.

Get Music on TikTok to Go Viral

Now that your original sound is available on TikTok, you need to put it in front of TikTok users and influencers from all over the world. One of the best ways to do this is to create a challenge to engage your viewers. You can encourage your fans from Instagram, Facebook, or other social media channels to start a specific challenge. Another option is to create a challenge yourself.

If you’re camera-shy, then you can look for an influencer to make a challenge for you or act as your voice through an influencer marketing campaign.

To find TikTok influencers, you can either search by hashtags related to the influencers you need or scroll through popular TikTok types of videos. However, you can’t message other TikTok users unless you are friends on the TikTok app. So, your best bet is to look for them on Instagram and send a message stating your purpose for connecting with them. You can also send them an email if you can access it from their account bio.

Once you’ve found the perfect influencer for your songs, allow them to have total control over the project because they better understand the platform and how to get millions of views. You can give suggestions, but give the final decision to them as they know exactly how to create TikTok videos. After all, they are one of the most popular video creators on the platform.

Another way to get your challenge trending on the platform is to get your followers to join it. If you are promoting your music properly and providing content regularly, then you will definitely have an increased following on Spotify, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media networks.

Your goal is to move your audience on these platforms to TikTok so that they can listen to your tracks there and watch your video clips. Some of them may already be on the TikTok app, so you can just upload a Facebook or Instagram Story about the challenge and encourage them to join.

You can also turn the challenge into a contest. Upload a YouTube video or Instagram Story explaining the TikTok challenge you have created, and offer unique prizes like tickets to your gig or concerts.

Consider the Customer Journey

You want to get music on TikTok and make it go viral, but you also want this experience to have a meaningful impact on your career in the music industry as an artist. After all, you don’t want to be remembered as “someone who wrote only one song”.

So, consider how you’re going to convert your TikTok followers to other platforms like Instagram, Apple Music and Spotify. If you already have music on Spotify, then you should aim to get a placement on Spotify playlists to boost your exposure as a marketing strategy.

For more ways to increase your playlist submission chances, check out my article about 7 Methods To Build Your Spotify Playlist Submission Chances.

The Timeline to Hearing Your Music on TikTok

We understand the anticipation to share your music with your fans promptly. Post your song’s upload, it typically takes us a day to approve it. Subsequently, you can count on about five business days before your tunes start to entertain the TikTok world. Your musical journey on TikTok is just a few clicks and days away!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Final Thoughts

TikTok is a platform where personality, hashtag challenges, popular videos, and songs collide in strange and fun ways.

The app algorithm by using artificial intelligence displays random TikTok videos on the user’s social channel home feed even if they don’t follow the video’s creator. As an artist, you have to make sure that your music is available for everyone to use and have reasons to do so. This includes knowing how to claim your music on TikTok, making your track available for other users.

Even if you don’t make the videos yourself, you want other creators to discover your own music and use your track or TikTok video anytime.

If you follow the tips stated above, you will definitely see an increase in your following and streams, and if you want to further increase your chances, check out SoundCampaign’s TikTok Music and Song Promotion!