Music and advertising are a perfect match because music can evoke strong emotions. While it’s not an exact science, researchers have studied how it affects our brains. They’ve found that we use the same brain areas for processing music as we do for memory and emotion. This explains why hearing a particular song or note can trigger specific feelings.
So, what do you do when you want to use that psychological trait without infringing on someone’s copyright? Fortunately, Meta has a music collection that takes care of both.
What Is Meta Sound Collection?
The Meta Sound Collection, or Facebook Sound Collection, is a resource where you can find a variety of sound effects and audio tracks. Since Meta owns these clips, they’re available at no cost to users.
Normally, there’s a catch when it comes to using these sounds on social media platforms like Meta and Instagram: you need permission from the creators to use them. This involves obtaining specialized licenses, such as synchronization licenses, especially for music and sound effects. While royalty-free music doesn’t require ongoing royalty payments, some platforms may still charge fees or require subscriptions for access to their audio libraries.
Yet with the Meta Sound Collection, you get no-cost music and audio effects that you can grab and use in your videos through your editing software.You don’t have to worry about copyright issues, as long as you comply with the terms of use and permissions required for each sound clip.
Is Meta Sound Collection Free?
Yes, absolutely. You can access, download, and use these sounds without paying anything.
When ads are engaging and high-quality, users are more likely to stay on the platform longer, which ultimately benefits Meta. So, by offering these resources at no cost, Meta encourages advertisers to create good content that improves the overall user experience.
This development comes after Meta’s revenue-sharing agreement with major music labels, such as Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. Under this deal, these labels and their artists will get a share of the revenue when licensed music is used in posts by Meta creators.
How to Use Meta Sound Collection
The Meta Sound Collection allows you to use Meta-owned audio tracks and sound effects in your advertising or marketing videos on Meta and Instagram.
To get started, use your computer to access the Meta Sound Collection. After that, you can grab, tweak, blend, and insert these tracks into your videos before posting them. Here’s how:
- Log in to Facebook (Meta) and go to www.facebook.com/sound/collection.
- Look through the collection and search using keywords.
- Filter your search by genre, mood, length, vocals, etc.
4. Listen to tracks and sound effects by clicking the play button.
5. Hover over an artist’s name to find out more about them or follow them.
6. Click Download to get a track.
7. Use your video editing software to add the downloaded music or sounds to your videos.
Example: Searching for the Perfect Song
Let’s say your business caters to people who love rock music. This could be a motorcycle event organizer, a tattoo parlor or a tattoo artist, an alternative fashion store, or a rock-themed bar or pub. To find the right music for your audience, simply go to the genres section and select Rock.
Depending on who you’re targeting and the vibe you want to create, pick a mood for your music. For instance, if you want your motorcycle enthusiasts to feel confident from watching your ad, choose Rock music with a Confident vibe.
Then, you can choose the duration and whether you want vocals in the music.
Finally, you can select the tempo. For this example, we’ve chosen a medium tempo.
In the end, we have 10 tracks that fit our criteria. While it doesn’t seem like a lot, considering the filters we’ve applied, it’s quite impressive.
What's the Point of Using Meta Sound Collection?
When you include music or any audio tracks in your videos without proper rights on Meta or Instagram, you run the risk of your content being silenced, removed, or even deleted because of copyright problems. Social media platforms are quite strict about this.
However, with the Meta Sound Collection, you sidestep these worries. You can freely use top-tier audio tracks without fretting over copyright problems. This means your content won’t be flagged, blocked, or removed for using copyrighted material.
Plus, the Meta Sound Collection offers a wide range of free, nice-sounding audio tracks. You can search, edit, and mix these tracks to suit your needs, then download them just as easily.
How to Use Meta Sound Collection on Instagram
Meta is required to honor agreements with the rights holders in its licensed music library and provide protection for artists and songwriters. The music in this library is meant for personal, non-commercial use. To prevent commercial misuse, certain business accounts and types of posts do not have access to this library. Also, licensed music may not be available in some countries or regions.
If your account doesn’t have access to the licensed music library, you can use Meta’s Sound Collection instead. Meta stated that audio is an important hook to drive Reels engagement. They mentioned that to help businesses create Reels ads more easily, they are offering free, high-quality songs from their Meta Sound Collection that can be added to Carousel Ads on Reels.
Sound Collection offers over 14,000 royalty-free songs and sounds, safe for use in Reels and Stories. You can access this library by swiping up and selecting the music sticker in Stories or tapping the audio icon in the Reels camera.
Alternatives to Meta Sound Collection
Looking for alternatives to the Meta Sound Collection? You’ve got options. There are platforms where you can find royalty-free music and sound effects:
- Epidemic Sound
- Shutterstock
- Storyblocks
- Upbeat
- Envato Elements
- Artlist
These work on a subscription basis, but many offer free trials.
If you’re on a budget or prefer not to subscribe, there are also sites like:
- Freesound
- Bensound
- Free Music Archive
- Soundstripe
- Purple Planet
They offer free-to-use music, as long as you credit the musician or composer.
Remember, regardless of where you get your music, make sure you have the proper permissions to use it on social media platforms like Meta or Instagram. That way, you can avoid any copyright headaches down the line.
It’s always wise to explore built-in features first. Since Meta has curated and shared tracks in the Music Collection, you can trust there will be no issues with copyright or licensing. If you don’t find the exact match you're looking for, only then consider exploring other platforms.
