The Risks of Using Unlicensed Music and Why Music Clearance for Social Media is Paramount
Remember when the Negroni had its moment thanks to TikTok creators who made it a trending sound, of all things?
Or when Kendrick Lamar's famous Super Bowl show had every brand quoting his lyrics, quickly turning the cultural moment into timely national campaigns?
These catch-fire cultural moments are a gold mine for social and brand marketing teams, fueling some of the most exciting campaigns through organic engagement. But if you jump on them without getting the proper music rights, your brand could end up in hot water, like:
Costly and lengthy legal battles
Fines from thousands to millions of dollars
Reputational damage that lasts longer than the trend itself
Content takedowns that eliminate your campaign's ROI
That Instagram Reel you created—the one playing Idris Elba's "Biggest" in the background—might sound incredible, but if you didn't get licensing rights, you could get into serious legal trouble.
We're exploring what every brand marketer should know about using music in social campaigns—from securing proper licenses to the real-world consequences of using unlicensed music. We're also breaking downmusic licensing compliance for global marketing campaigns.
The True Cost of Using Unlicensed Music in Brand Campaigns
Creativity is the foundation of any memorable marketing campaign. Like Google Home's nostalgic commercial that featured reworked Home Alone scenes. Or Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" campaign.
They rely on creativity and cultural references to attract new audiences, build brand loyalty, and drive sales. But there can be hidden costs to creativity—especially if you're using unlicensed music in your social campaigns.
That cost? A reputational hit to your brand that outlives that trendy song. Legal trouble that makes headlines. Hefty fines for copyright infringement.
Popular playlists, like the 2025 Viral Trending TikTok Songs one below, might have started on social, and they might even attract the large Gen Z demographic, but they weren't designed for social media campaigns—they're what Gen Z listens to on their own.
If you want to use them and avoid potential lawsuits, fines, and reputational damage, avoid unlicensed music.
What Does “Unlicensed Music” Really Mean?
The simplest definition of unlicensed music is the unauthorized use of any copyrighted music, recording, or composition.. What that really means is that you need permission (and typically to pay) for the right to use someone else’s music, whether it's the artist, composer, or record label.
And that “permission” comes in the legal form of a license.
The copyright owner has rights over how you use their music, including whether you can reproduce, remix, or distribute it (and more). When you use copyrighted music without permission, it's copyright infringement—which can lead to content takedowns, legal trouble, channel-specific account termination, and more.
Personal vs. Commercial Use
You just got back from the Maldives and want to share a few Instagram Stories of your incredible vacation, but it just doesn't hit the same without music. You upload the videos and search Instagram for some beachy music. Then you share it without a second thought.
And you can... because it's for personal use—you're not trying to monetize that content. And because Instagram has agreements with various copyright holders (like record labels and music publishers), you're choosing from a licensed music library made available for personal use.
Commercial use is a different story entirely—it requires clearance, meaning permission, in the form of a license. Commercial use is when a brand uses copyrighted music to generate revenue, typically in marketing campaigns, ads, and other promotional content.
You don't just need music clearance for social media for commercial use. If you intend to use copyrighted music in your retail shop, coffee shop, or in a public place, you'll need licensed music, too.
Music licensing compliance for global marketing campaigns, on social or elsewhere, is crucial to staying on the right side of the law and keeping the ROI of your campaign (instead of paying for a copyright infringement settlement).
Oh, and let's get clear about one more thing: copyrighted music for commercial use, no matter how short, requires a music license. Whether you're playing 25 seconds of a song in your commercial, 5 seconds in a TikTok ad, or the full track in your cafe, you need to license the music.
What are the Risks of Using Unlicensed Music?
Whether you've spent months curating the perfect playlist for your international ad campaign or plan to capitalize on a trending song, choosing the right song can make or break your campaign.
Just like using unlicensed music can completely derail your campaign—and in more ways than one. Using unlicensed music puts you at legal, financial, and reputational risk.
The Legal Risks of Using Unlicensed Music
The legal ramifications of using unlicensed music for commercial use include copyright infringement claims that lead to lawsuits, cease and desist letters, and injunctions.
Here are just a few of the legal risks:
Copyright infringement claims that can turn into costly lawsuits, especially if you intentionally infringed on someone’s copyright.
Injunctions or legal orders that require you to stop using the unlicensed music immediately. The courts might also require you to remove the content with the unlicensed music through cease and desist letters.
If a performing rights organization (PRO) suspects you've used unlicensed music in your campaigns, they'll actively pursue legal action—and in the age of AI, it's getting harder to hide illegal use of music.
The Financial Risks of Using Unlicensed Music
Using unlicensed music isn't cheap. If a PRO finds out and sues you, not only will the statutory damages hit hard, but you'll also have to pay for expensive lawyers, court-related expenses, and potential settlements.
When you use unlicensed music, expect these financial consequences:
Costly lawsuits with fines ranging from $750 to $30,000 per song. And if you did it willingly and knowingly? That fee can jump to $150,000 per song.
Significant fines, including legal and settlement fees, penalties for using unlicensed music in commercial settings, and fees related to actual damages—those copyright holders file for damages suffered.
Lost revenue from paused or withdrawn campaigns and reputational hits that erode customer trust and sales in the long run. Social media platforms might also remove your content, greatly reducing reach (and therefore, revenue potential).
Content takedowns from social platforms. Social media platforms like TikTok or YouTube can shut down your account completely if you repeatedly violate copyrights—removing an entire marketing channel.
The Reputational Risks of Using Unlicensed Music
Often overlooked, the reputational damage brands suffer from using unlicensed music can have a long-term impact on customer trust and sales.
Current or future customers might question whether you're an ethical brand, and negative headlines from lawsuits put your brand reputation at risk. And with social media, bad PR can spread like wildfire—yet another reason to prioritize music licensing compliance for global marketing campaigns.
Another risk? Losing investors who lost confidence in your brand because there's negative buzz on social, sales are dropping, or there's simply too much fallout from using unlicensed music.
Brands that Got Music Licensing Wrong (and are Still Paying for it)
The risks of using unlicensed music sound intense, but are brands really getting in trouble? We've rounded up a few of the most well-known copyright infringement cases to emphasize that the risks aren't theoretical—countless brands are paying millions in damages for using music without permission.
Chili’s
Beastie Boys and Universal Music Group (UMG) both filed lawsuits against Brinker International, the parent group of the restaurant chain Chili's.
The Beastie Boys filed a suit specifically over the use of their 1994 hit song, "Sabotage," while UMG filed a lawsuit claiming that Chili's used 60+ songs without the required synchronization licenses. Those songs came from popular artists, like Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande.
While the financials aren't public, both the Beastie Boys and UMG settled with Brinker International after accusing Chili's of using copyrighted music in social media ad campaigns on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube without the proper licenses.
The Beastie Boys were asking for at least $150,000 in damages. And under US copyright law, Brinker International was liable for up to $12 million in damages.
Crumbl
The rise of social media, especially new platforms like TikTok, has every brand trying to monetize content through social media ads. Crumbl Cookies did just that—and the brand might have to pay the price.
Warner Music Group (WMG) sued Crumbl for nearly $24 million in late April of 2025, claiming that the brand used copyrighted music without permission for several years. The lawsuit says that Crumbl used copyrighted music from Taylor Swift, BTS, Lizzo, and more in its social media ads without the necessary licenses.
On top of that, WMG has accused the viral cookie brand of not taking down the ads after being notified of the copyright infringements.
$24 million—that's a hefty price to pay for not getting music clearance for social media.
“Months after receiving the cease-and-desist letter, Crumbl not only continued to exploit many of the infringing Crumbl videos, but also posted new infringing Crumbl videos,” the lawsuit said.
Bang Energy
One copyright infringement lawsuit isn't great, but three? Yikes. Both Sony and WMG sued Bang Energy's parent company, Vital Pharmaceuticals, for using music in their Instagram and TikTok videos without a license. The music comes from artists like Cardi B and Bruno Mars.
This came after Bang Energy was found liable for 200+ copyright infringements from Sony Music. Like Crumbl, the brand received a cease-and-desist letter, but Bang Energy didn't remove the content—instead, it added more content with copyright violations.
WMG claimed that Bang Energy violated copyrights in 187 songs, which could cost the brand anywhere between $140,250 and $28.05 million, depending on how much WMG asked for damages per song (which isn't publicly available).
3 Reasons Your Social Team is Especially at Risk
While copyright infringement isn’t limited to social media campaigns, social teams might be at more risk thanks to the fast-paced nature of social media:
Short-lived trends. Trending sounds, social media challenges, cultural events—they're often short-lived, requiring brands to jump on them quick or get left out. They require fast action, and brands that don't want to miss out often skip over compliance and music clearance for social media just to get a campaign out while the trend's hot.
Commercial vs. public use. Most social media platforms include a library of licensed music to choose from when you want to add music to your content. But that's for personal use only. If you're a business, your content is for commercial use—you need a license. If your social team doesn't know the difference, you might get in trouble fast.
Complex licensing. Social teams aren't generally up-to-date on the latest in the legal world. And music licensing adds another layer of complexity when you want to add music to visuals. If your social team doesn't have a full understanding of the ins and outs of music licensing, they'll likely get it wrong, and your brand will pay in more ways than one.
How to Get Music Clearance for Social Media and Stay Protected
Whether you want to stay on the right side of the law, avoid costly fines, or simply protect your brand reputation, you need to get music licensing right. We've put together a quick checklist for getting music clearance for social media campaigns:
Educate your team on music copyrights and the different types of music licenses. Make sure they know when they need a license, which type, and when they may need more than one.
Create a process for using music legally—like working with publishers or PROs to get licenses or using music libraries with pre-cleared music, like Continuum™.
Get legal involved from the start to ensure you have the proper music licenses. You don't want to wait last minute to get licenses that might not get approved or could delay launch.
Give your influencers the resources they need to be compliant, like an approved list of licensed music they can use and guidelines that outline how they can—and can't—use the music.
Be proactive. If your licenses have expiration dates, make sure you renew them or delete the content (if takedowns are required) with the licensed music before it expires.
Want to simplify the entire music licensing process instead? We've got you. Continuum, our all-in-one on-brand music platform for enterprise, features over 60,000 audio assets and includes a blanket catalog license that covers use in:
Digital content
Radio and audio
Podcasts
Social media
Brand-sponsored and influencer content
Premium licenses for other use cases, like broadcast, retail, or theatrical
Music licensing compliance for global marketing campaigns couldn't be any easier.
Continuum also makes the entire music selection process effortless with our AI-powered search feature, SoundMatch. Search for music based on the songs your audience loves, artists, or even trending sounds on social media—and get results in seconds.
Pro tip: Work with a sonic branding agency to create a library of original, on-brand music for your social and brand campaigns.
Avoid the Risks: Use Licensed Music
While social trends come and go, the fallout from copyright infringement can haunt your brand for years. Getting campaigns up quickly, especially on social, is crucial, but skipping the music licensing process can lead to millions of dollars in fines, content takedowns, and reputational damage that breaks customer trust.
But with the right partner and tools, you can protect your brand and still create on-brand, timely social campaigns. Continuum has thousands of audio assets that come with pre-cleared blanket licenses, so you can search, find, and instantly use the music you need to bring your campaigns to life... without sacrificing compliance.
Check out Continuum or get in touch about partnering with us to create your sonic identity and find the right licensed music for your next brand campaign.
