For CMOs and marketing leaders
Know every post is safe before your boss or a record label asks.
Your team posts hundreds of videos a year, works with dozens of creators and boosts the winners. Record labels now sue brands over the music in those posts, for millions. We give you an independent answer to one question: are we exposed?
✓ Independent and dated✓ Human-confirmed flags✓ A fix for every red post
A marketing risk that landed on the CMO's desk
For years, music in social content was a production detail. That changed when record labels started suing well-known brands over their TikTok and Instagram posts. Marriott, Kroger, Crumbl, Quince, PacSun, DSW and Luxottica have all faced claims. Damages are counted per song, up to $150,000 each where infringement is found willful, which is how complaints reach reported figures of $20 million, $58 million or $140 million.
The posts in those complaints weren't rogue. They were seasonal campaigns, product drops, hotel promos and creator collaborations. Some used songs the team picked from the app. Some were creator videos the brand paid for, reposted or boosted. In most cases the brand's marketing simply moved faster than anyone's process for checking music.
The three questions you'll be asked
When a label letter arrives, or when the board reads about a competitor's lawsuit, the questions come in a predictable order:
- Are we exposed? How many of our posts and ads use songs we aren't cleared to use?
- What are we doing about it? What's been fixed, and what's still live?
- How do we stop it happening again? Who checks content before it posts and before it's boosted?
Most marketing teams can't answer the first question quickly. Content is spread across brand accounts, regional accounts, creators and paid placements, and the platforms label half of it "original sound". We answer it for you.
What you get
An independent check of your brand posts, creator and affiliate videos and running ads for unlicensed music and expired creator rights. Every post is marked green (OK to run), yellow (check or fix soon) or red (fix now), with the reason and a specific fix. A trained reviewer confirms every flag. The report opens with a one-page summary written for leadership, and it's dated, which matters when you need to show you checked.
We're independent: we don't make, sell or license content, so our report carries weight with your CEO, your lawyers, rights holders and creators. We check music and creator rights today, with stock footage, images and AI likeness coming soon.
A scenario
A CMO at a national restaurant group sees a competitor in the news over TikTok music. She asks her social lead whether they're exposed. The honest answer is "probably, but we don't know how much". Forty locations post on their own accounts; the agency handles creators; the paid team boosts whatever performs.
The first check covers the main account and the ten busiest location accounts. It finds 23 red posts, including four running as paid ads. The ads are paused the same day, the posts fixed within two weeks, and a one-page music rule goes to every location manager and the agency. At the next leadership meeting the CMO has a dated report, a fixed number and a process, instead of a guess.
Why this pays for itself
- It's cheaper than one song. A first check costs from $500. A single willful claim can run to $150,000.
- It protects ad spend. Paused or taken-down ads waste budget. Checking before boosting keeps money behind content that can keep running.
- It protects your team. Social and influencer managers make hundreds of small music decisions. A check means nobody is left holding a bad one.
- It changes the conversation with legal. From "are we exposed?" to "here's what we found and fixed".
Price. First check from $500 for up to 100 posts, and free if we find nothing that needs fixing. Larger accounts are quoted upfront.
The process you'll want after the first check
The first check tells you where you stand. What stops the list from growing back is a small amount of process, owned by marketing, not legal. In our experience three changes cover most of the risk.
First, a one-page music policy that says which audio the brand and its creators may use: licensed library tracks, the platforms' commercial libraries, original audio, or songs the brand has licensed directly. Second, a rule that nothing is boosted until someone has checked the audio, because the moment a post becomes an ad is when exposure jumps. Third, usage-rights end dates for every creator video, with reminders before they expire, so nobody discovers in month nine that a 60-day license ran out in month two.
None of this slows a good social team down. Most teams find the opposite: once the rules are clear, they stop second-guessing trending audio and spend the time on the content itself.
Questions to ask your team this week
- Do we have a written rule on which music our accounts and creators can use?
- Who checks the audio before a post is boosted or run as a partnership ad?
- Do we know when each creator's usage rights end, and who gets reminded?
- If a label sent us a list tomorrow, how long would it take to say which of those posts are still live?
If the answers are "no", "nobody", "not really" and "weeks", you're in the same position as most of the brands in the lawsuit tracker were before they were sued. That's fixable in a few weeks.
Check your brand's content
Common questions
How big is the risk really?
It varies by brand. Recent complaints have alleged hundreds of works each, with damages counted per work. Most brands we check have at least a few red posts, and boosted posts are the most exposed.
Isn't this the agency's job?
Agencies help, but an outside check is independent of whoever made or approved the content. That independence is what makes the report credible.
What does my team have to do?
Send us your handles. After the report, most fixes take minutes per post: swap the track or archive the post.
Can you cover all our regional accounts?
Yes. Start with the main brand accounts and the busiest regional ones, then extend.
Is this legal advice?
No. We find problems and recommend practical fixes. For legal questions, involve your lawyers; our report gives them the facts.
Related
General information, not legal advice. Platform rules and licenses change; check the current terms or ask your lawyer about your situation. Lawsuit figures are as reported and represent claims, not findings, unless noted.