Before you can promote on TikTok or Reels, your song has to be in their music libraries so people can add it to videos. Here’s exactly how to get it there.
How music gets onto TikTok
You don’t upload to TikTok directly. Your distributor delivers your track to TikTok’s sound library — and to Instagram and Facebook’s music library for Reels — as part of normal distribution.
Step by step (through your distributor)
- Upload your release through your distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, Ditto and others).
- In the services or platform list, make sure TikTok (and Instagram/Facebook) are selected — some have them as opt-in rather than default.
- Finalise your metadata and artwork before submitting, since mistakes can slow delivery or create duplicate artist pages.
- Set a release date with enough lead time for review.
- Wait roughly one to three weeks for delivery and approval.
SoundOn: TikTok’s own option
SoundOn is TikTok’s own distribution and promotion platform, paying 100% royalties in the first year and 90% after, with TikTok-specific promo tools. The catch: it’s TikTok-first and doesn’t deliver to Spotify, Apple Music or most other services — so for full distribution you still need a regular distributor.
Confirm it’s live and fix metadata
Once delivered, search your song in TikTok’s Add sound screen. If the artwork or name is wrong, or it’s missing, contact your distributor — corrections usually take a few business days.
What about Instagram Reels?
Same idea: your distributor delivers your music to the Instagram and Facebook music library so it’s available in Reels and Stories. After release, confirm your track shows up in the Reels audio search.
Quick FAQ
- Can I upload directly to TikTok? Not as a catalogue song — you need a distributor or SoundOn. You can post a video with embedded audio as “original sound,” but that isn’t a searchable release.
- How long does delivery take? Usually one to three weeks.
