Submission Failure Due to Copyright Infringement
Apr 26, 2023
What is Copyrighted Music?
Copyright laws exist to protect the ownership of original works and how they are allowed to be used.
In most cases, copyrighted content, like songs, sounds, written works, and more can’t be used without permission from the copyright holder.
What Does This Have to Do With the Content I Create?
Platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, often have pre-arranged copyright agreements with some music rights holders. This explains why you might see popular recording artists pop up on TikTok or Instagram when you go to add a song to your recording.
But how these audios are allowed to be used is limited. Especially for brands and creators.
Just because you might have access to these popular songs and sounds doesn’t mean that it’s okay to use them in the content you create for brands.
While apps like TikTok and Instagram protect most cases of personal, non-commercial use (like posts that don’t feature collabs), things get tricky when value of any kind changes hands or someone profits.
Translation: if you are creating content for a brand in exchange for something (a gift card, free product, a free trial, etc), you do NOT have permission to use popular copyrighted music or sounds without explicit permission from the copyright holder. On top of that, if your content contains copyrighted music, brands won’t be able to feature your content in ads.
Dos and Don’ts for Using Sounds and Music on Instagram
When it comes to using music or sounds in your content, there are some important things to remember so your posts don’t violate terms of use or put you in violation of any copyright agreements.
Dos
- If you add any music or sounds to your Instagram content, only use official, approved audio from the Facebook Sound Collection.
- Create your own sounds, use an in-app voice effect, or do a voice-over (unless this goes against what the brand wants to see).
- Review your Statusphere content checklist to make sure we can approve your post.
Don’ts
- Use unapproved or copyrighted audios you’ve found in the app or elsewhere.
- Download copyrighted audios from other apps or websites to upload for your posts.
- Search ‘royalty-free music’ in the app and pick any song that comes up. These songs are often misleadingly labeled and may still contain copyrighted audio. When searching for songs and sounds to use, only do so from the Facebook Sound Collection.
- Record popular copyrighted songs and upload them as “Original Audio”
Why is My Content Being Rejected?
If you’ve received an error message from the Statusphere Content Submission page that your content could not be submitted to the Statusphere platform due to copyright reasons, it could be that your video contains unlicensed music or sounds.
On Instagram, copyright infringement violates community guidelines, which makes it likely for your post to be flagged. To avoid this error and prep your content for re-submission, follow the steps below.
How to Remove Copyrighted Audio from Your Content and Re-Submit
1. Remove your post. Since Instagram doesn’t allow you to make changes to music after a post has been published, you’ll need to start by deleting your post.
2. To find music you are permitted to use, go to the Facebook Sound Collection and select a new audio for your post.
3. Head back to your Instagram account and create a new Reel. Select the video you would like to use (or record a new one).
4. Once your video is uploaded or recorded, tap the music note icon. A list of music should appear.
5. Use the search bar to type in the name of the song you selected from the Facebook Sound Collection. Once you find it, add it to your video.
6. Edit the post to your liking before sharing to Reels.
7. Once complete, submit your new Reels link to the Statusphere Content Submission page for approval!
If your content still fails to submit or you have other questions related to which sounds you can and can’t use, reach out to statussquad@joinstatus.com!
