Why every brand on social needs its own audio identity

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Social media is the marketing growth engine for many brands. If you have a significant following, understand how the algorithm works (this week) and can create engaging, frequent content, you can get your message far and wide for very low cost. The cherry on top for many content teams is pairing their social clip with a great track that’s either trending right now or is a classic song that provides the perfect accompaniment for whatever it is you’re trying to convey. However, the use of commercial music comes with significant limitations and potential pitfalls, with the benefits of having a social-first proprietary soundscape either being unknown or ignored by marketers. In this blog post we’ll touch on the risks of using commercial or library music and the rewards of creating your own audio brand assets

The Risks

The risks in using commercial music in your social media fall into the buckets of usage (and the potential legal, financial, and reputational exposure) and distinctiveness. When it comes to usage, the rules are very clear; every commercial music track is protected by copyright law. When brands have ‘topped-out’ their organic reach and turn to paid media (either on-platform or off-, such as BVOD/SVOD or audio) and use these tracks without appropriate licences, they are infringing on the rights of artists, composers and record labels. Platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok have implemented automated systems that detect unauthorised music usage, leading to swift action against offending content.

Penalties for copyright infringement can include:

• Content removal – Platforms may take down content using unlicensed music, resulting in wasted spend and lost engagement.

• Account bans – Repeated infringements can lead to account suspensions or permanent bans, jeopardising a brand’s social presence.

• Legal action– Copyright holders may pursue legal action, seeking damages that can reach thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the scale and intent of the breach.

There have been several high-profile cases where brands, influencers, and agencies have faced consequences for unauthorised music use:

• In 2023, a UK-based fitness influencer was fined £20,000 after repeatedly using chart-topping tracks in paid Instagram ads without permission. The music publisher pursued damages, citing repeated infringement and commercial gain.

• An Australian fashion retailer saw its entire paid TikTok campaign pulled down after using a popular pop song. The campaign, which had already consumed a significant budget, was rendered useless, and the brand had to absorb the loss and apologise publicly.

• Even small businesses aren’t immune. A Sydney café’s Facebook ad featuring a well-known rock song was flagged and removed, and the owners received a cease-and-desist letter from the copyright holder along with a demand for compensation.

  
  

Ultimately, no brand is too big or too small to escape the consequences of breaching music copyright on paid social media.

The other side of the coin is distinctiveness. Audio cues are often cited as the most powerful driver of brand recall on social, but if your brand is using the same trending track as every other brand in (or indeed out) of your category, or you’re using the go-to hit song that reflects certain attributes (strength, love, heroism, nature) then this can have the opposite effect. Rather than using sound as a powerful driver of distinctiveness, the commercial music you’re using contributes to the ‘sea of same’ that dominates our feeds.

The Reward

The solution is to create a unique, ownable set of proprietary audio assets for your brand. Based on the above, the immediate benefits are clearly in eliminating infringement risks and costly legal battles, as well as not being ‘another brand using that song’.

But what else?

First of all, you will build equity. Sonics are bona-fide DBAs (distinctive brand assets) that, for many businesses, are intangible assets on their balance sheet. Shareholders love this kind of value creation. Sure, the classic examples were borne from the television age where every 30s commercial ended with that 3-note chime or a sung slogan, but there is no reason that, with the reach, frequency and engagement that social video provides, a great sonic used responsibly and – critically – consistently cannot become a valuable part of your brand’s DNA.

Second, you have creative control. Borrowing (or stealing) someone else’s IP will always be compromised when it’s there to play a role on defining your own brand. Whether it’s length, tone, tempo or lyrics, a song was created as a song, not a device to elevate somebody else’s message. A custom piece of music, a sonic logo or even just small sound effects can be built from the ground-up for their intended purpose; getting your brand noticed and, most importantly, remembered. Finally, it can be incredibly cost-effective. Like so much in brand-building, it is a case if invest now and reap the rewards in the future. Build your own soundscape and you can use it in perpetuity for not only advertising but for product integration (e.g. Netflix), customer experience (e.g. in-store audio) or you could even monetise it through other brand partnerships (Intel Inside)

Conclusion

Using commercial music in paid social media might seem appealing, but the risks far outweigh the rewards. From content removal and account bans to hefty fines, the consequences can be severe and damaging to a brand's reputation. Building a proprietary music and sound library is not just a legal safeguard—it’s a strategic investment in your brand that can drive distinctiveness and powerful memory structures.