For DTC brands on Instagram
Your Reels sell. Make sure the songs in them are allowed to.
We check your brand Reels, creator partnership posts and Meta ads for music that isn't cleared for marketing and creator content running past its license. You get a green, yellow and red list with a fix for every flag.
✓ Just your handle, no logins✓ Reels, creator posts and ads✓ Every flag confirmed by a person
Why Instagram music trips up DTC brands
Instagram makes it easy to add a popular song to a Reel. That's the problem. The music people use in personal Reels is licensed for personal use. When your brand uses a song to promote a product, that's marketing, and the license that lets a teenager soundtrack their holiday video doesn't cover it.
Meta itself draws this line. Business accounts don't get the full music library that personal accounts have. Meta offers the Sound Collection, a set of tracks cleared for use in business content and ads. And when you try to boost a Reel that uses licensed popular music, Instagram won't run it as is. It asks you to pick new audio for the ad, while the organic Reel keeps the original song.
That swap prompt is useful, but notice what it tells you. Meta doesn't treat that song as cleared for your advertising. Whether the organic post is fine for your brand is a separate question, and the platform won't answer it for you.
Where brands actually get caught
Most of the risk isn't on the posts your social lead carefully made. It's in the edges:
- Creator partnership posts. You pay a creator, they post on their account with a song they like, and the post carries your product and your tag.
- Partnership ads. Formerly branded content ads. A creator's video, sometimes with the creator's song still in it, running as your paid ad.
- Personal accounts. A founder or team member posting product content from a personal account to get around the business music limits.
- Reposts and collabs. Sharing a creator's Reel to your feed, or collab posts that appear on both accounts.
- Expired creator rights. A creator's content still in your ads after the usage period you paid for ended.
Labels have sued brands over exactly this. Quince's lawsuit, filed by Universal Music and Concord, covers TikTok and Instagram videos including paid influencer content. Warner's case against DSW covers TikTok and Instagram posts including paid influencer partnerships. These are claims, not findings, but they show what labels are looking at. Damages are counted per song, up to $150,000 per work if the use is found willful.
A typical DTC brand, six months in
You launched a candle brand on Instagram. The founder made the first Reels herself, using whatever audio was trending. They did well, so you hired a social manager and started gifting to creators. Now you run partnership ads with the best creator videos and boost your top Reels every launch.
Nobody ever made a decision to use unlicensed music. It just accumulated. The founder's early Reels still sit on the grid with chart songs. Three creators' videos in your ad account use popular tracks. One creator's 90-day usage window ended in March, and her video is still your best-performing ad.
That's a normal brand. It's also a brand with a handful of red items it doesn't know about. Our check would turn that into a list: these 14 posts are fine, these 4 need a decision, these 3 should change this week, and here's how.
What we check on Instagram
- Your brand Reels and posts from the last 90 days, or longer if you ask.
- Creator and partnership posts that tag or promote your brand.
- Your active Meta ads, using what's publicly visible in the Meta Ad Library.
- Creator usage rights, matched against the license dates you share with us or keep in our free tracker.
We identify every song, including sped-up edits, covers and tracks hidden under "original audio," and check it against what's cleared for brand use. We also check it against the songs we track from real music claims. A trained reviewer confirms each flag before it goes in your report.
What you get
Green
OK to run. Sound Collection tracks, original audio, voiceover, or music you've licensed for marketing.
Yellow
Check soon. A creator license ending shortly, an unclear track, or an organic post you shouldn't boost.
Red
Fix now. A popular song promoting your products, or creator content running past its rights.
Every flag comes with the fix in plain English: swap the audio, ask the creator to re-cut, license the song, renew the creator's rights, or archive the post.
How it works
- Send your Instagram handle and any creator posts or ad links you want included. No logins.
- We collect your Reels, creator posts and visible ads.
- We identify every song and check creator rights.
- A reviewer confirms every flag and writes the fix.
- Your list arrives in 5 business days. We re-check after you've made changes.
Pricing
From $500 for up to 100 posts, free if there's nothing to fix. Bigger accounts, or TikTok as well, get a quote upfront. We check music and creator rights today. Stock footage, images and AI likeness are coming soon.
Know every post is safe before your boss or a record label asks. Most brands fix their whole list in an afternoon once they know what's on it.
Check your Instagram and Meta ads
Common questions
Can my brand use popular songs in Instagram Reels?
Usually not for marketing. Business accounts are steered to Meta's Sound Collection for a reason: the popular music in Instagram's library is licensed for personal use. To use a specific hit in brand content, you generally need a license from the label and publisher.
What happens when I boost a Reel with a popular song?
Instagram asks you to choose new audio for the ad, usually from the Sound Collection. The organic Reel keeps the original song, so the organic post can still be a problem.
Are creator partnership posts my responsibility?
They can be. Several label lawsuits against brands include posts by influencers the brand paid. If the post promotes your product, assume a label will treat it as your marketing.
Do you need my Meta Business login?
No. We work from your handle, public posts and the public Meta Ad Library. Share specific creator posts or ads if you want them included.
Do you check TikTok too?
Yes. Most DTC brands check both. Add your TikTok handle to the same request.
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.