How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok and Get People Moving

Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2024

TikTok 101

Want More Real TikTok Followers?

Do you have a song stuck in your head? Most likely, it’s because you heard it on TikTok! You can’t watch a TikTok video without the sound on! Well, you can. But music is a must if you want the complete TikTok experience. With more than one million songs and sounds on the platform, how do you hone in on the popular ones? How do you choose the right tune for your video? Here’s everything you need to know about how to find trending sounds on TikTok.

A woman listening to music with white headphones.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok 2023

You can go viral more quickly if you use a trending TikTok sound. TikTok revealed in a recent blog that “88% of TikTok users say sound is essential to the TikTok experience.” Additionally, “68% remember a brand better when they feature songs that they like in their videos.” There are a few options you can explore for how to find trending sounds on TikTok for 2023. The platform has made it even easier for users to add tunes to their videos via the new Audio Library. The ever-reliable search bar also continues to deliver rockin’ results.

TikTok has certainly redefined what it means to “hit the right note” when creating videos. Its Audio Library alone has more than 600,000 royalty-free songs and sounds. You can find original audio from emerging and established artists — pre-cleared for use in organic content or ads.

According to the same blog, the songs and sounds in the Audio Library span “global styles, genres, and regions.” TikTok’s impressive library makes it “quick and easy for businesses to find songs that fit their brand voice, products, and audiences.”

Just recently, TikTok and Warner Music Group announced a wide-ranging, first-of-its-kind partnership. The multi-year, multi-product agreement “will expand the level of partnership, collaboration, and innovation between the two companies.” The deal licenses the repertoire of Warner Recorded Music and Warner Chappell Music to TikTok, TikTok Music, CapCut, and TikTok’s Commercial Music Library.

Get ready to bop your head and tap your feet when you learn how to find trending sounds on TikTok.

Where To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok

Whether creating organic content, a sponsored post, or an ad, you should know where to find trending sound songs on TikTok. Here are the many ways to find the fitting soundtrack for your TikToks.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok via the New TikTok Music

Heads up, musicheads! There’s a new way to explore how to find trending sounds on TikTok! Check out the new TikTok Music (Beta)! It’s a music streaming platform where you can listen, discover new artists, express yourself, and connect with fellow music lovers. It’s a subscription service that offers three plan options. But you can take advantage of its current three-month free-trial offer.

TikTok first tested the platform in Indonesia and Brazil. It has since expanded its availability to Australia, Mexico, and Singapore.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok via the Audio Library

If you’re curious about how to find trending sounds on TikTok, the Audio Library should be your first stop!

The Audio Library within TikTok’s Creative Center contains “a growing collection of songs and sound effects from around the world.” These hit songs and sounds are “sourced from emerging artists and top-tier music houses across a variety of styles and genres.” They’re pre-cleared for commercial use — which means businesses can use them for marketing purposes for free!

Creative Center’s Audio Library is the desktop version of the in-app Commerical Audio Library (CAL). How do you use the Audio Library to find trending songs and sounds?

Go to Creative Center and select the Audio Library tab from the navigation bar at the top.
Select the All Music tab to see Top Music or music ranked by popularity. Select the Playlist tab to view trending songs by different categories.

These are your options when using the All Music tab:

Select your region.
Select your purpose. Choose TikTok commercial use if you’ll use the music for marketing, advertising, sponsorship, organic content, etc. Choose TikTok Series if you’ll use the music for a paid video series.
Select your preferred Usable placement, Theme, Genre, Mood, and Duration.
View Recommended Playlists by category.
Filter Top Music results by Music Name or Artist Name.
Use the search icon to search for a specific song.

These are your options when using the Playlist tab:

Select your region.
Select your purpose: TikTok commercial use or TikTok Series.
Immediately view current TikTok viral songs.
Search through different playlist categories, such as New Releases, Emerging Artists, Pop, Summer, Electronic, Fashion, Latin, etc.

A woman lying on the floor and listening to music with an old-fashioned radio.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok via Creative Center’s Trends

Creative Center is also home to other TikTok trends. To discover trending songs, choose the Trends tab from the navigation bar, then select Songs. Here are your options when exploring how to find trending sounds on TikTok.

Select your region.
Select Popular Songs to see a ranking of the most popular songs in your selected region. Select Breakout to see a ranking of songs growing in popularity at a significant rate within your selected region. Both lists don’t include user-generated sounds.
Select a timeframe. This option is available for Popular songs. You can view the latest ranking for the last 7, 30, or 120 days.
Filter the ranking of Popular songs from New to top 100 or Approved for business use.
You can click on each song on the Popular or Breakout list to see related videos. You can also see the latest analytics for any song you’re interested in.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok via the In-App Commercial Audio Library

You can explore how to find trending sounds on TikTok in the app via the Commercial Audio Library (CAL). You can access the same songs available in the Audio Library for desktop in the CAL.

The CAL is available worldwide. Personal accounts, official brand accounts, promotional partners and creators, NGOs, and government organizations can use it for the following:

Marketing
Advertising
Sponsorships
Endorsements
Publicity
Organic content

Here’s how to use the in-app Commercial Audio Library:

From your mobile app, tap the Create button, then tap “Add sound.”
Click “Commercial Sounds.”
From the “Commercial Sounds” section, you’ll see “Discover” and “Favorites.”
In Discover, you can view Recommended songs, Playlists, TikTop, New Releases, 60s+, and more categories.
In Favorites, you can view all your favorite sounds. You can add sounds to your Favorites by using the search bar on top to find specific songs. Or tap the music icon on any video using a song you like, then tap Add to Favorites.

Here are some things to remember when searching for trending TikTok songs:

The in-app Commercial Music Library is only available to business accounts.
The General Music Library is only available to personal accounts. Business accounts are not eligible to use any song from this library for promotional purposes. Doing so will put a business at risk of copyright infringement.
Songs in the General Music Library are not pre-cleared for commercial use.
Business Accounts cannot duet, react, or stitch with user videos that use sounds from the General Music Library.
Business Accounts may duet, react, or stitch with user videos using Commercial Sounds from the CAL or Original Sounds.

A red neon sign on a brick wall saying, “You are what you listen to.”

Commercial Audio Library/Commercial Sounds Terms of Use

Knowing the CAL/Commercial Sounds Terms of Use is as vital as learning how to find Trending Sounds on TikTok. TikTok’s Terms of Use for pre-cleared songs and sounds in the library are as follows:

Commercial sounds are available to individuals, brands, businesses, commercial entities, advertisers, or other entities that want to include a Commercial sound in a video for commercial uses. Commercial uses may include any of the following:

A video that associates a Commercial Sound with your brand, logo, trademark, or other brand-identifying characteristics.
A video advertising, marketing, sponsoring, or publicizing a product or service (Commercial Videos) on TikTok and “any version or adaptation thereof which offers lesser features and/or functionality.”

Using the Commercial Sounds in Commercial Videos on TikTok means you acknowledge and agree to the following terms:

You may only show or share Commercial Videos that use Commercial Sounds created on TikTok within the platform and using the platform’s share feature. Any other use of these Commercial Videos is“strictly prohibited and requires you to obtain separate permission directly from the Commercial Sound rights owners.”
Commercial Sounds from the Commercial Sound Page cannot be made available, distributed, or performed separately from the Commercial Videos in which they’re used.
Commercial Sounds from this library should not be used in an illegal manner, in any illegal content, and/or in any way that violates the Terms.

A red neon sign saying, “No music, no life.”

TikTok’s New Artist Impact Program

If you’re wondering how to find trending sounds on TikTok, you might also be keen on the Artist Impact Program.

Launched in May this year, the Artist Impact Program brings more music and offers more collaboration opportunities. “The program allows artists to monetize their music on TikTok by allowing businesses to use it in their content, giving them unprecedented opportunities to be discovered and re-discovered in markets around the world.”

Through global distribution partnerships, artists can “tap into advertising budgets from brands featuring them in their TikTok campaigns.”

According to Bryan Cosgrove, Director of Commercial Music & Creative Licensing at TikTok:

“We are looking to help evolve the sync industry to take advantage of the speed and scale of digital advertising and short-form video. Our goal is to provide brands with a safe, yet expansive library of music to use in their content, while opening up new revenue streams for the artists that power it. Our ambition is to make TikTok a place where everyone can find growth and opportunity, and we hope our robust music resources will help in this endeavor.”

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok via #TikTokElevate

TikTok Elevate is TikTok’s first-ever program dedicated to emerging artists. You can now explore how to find trending sounds on TikTok via the hashtag #TikTokElevate!

Through Elevate, emerging music artists ready to make their mark in the industry can get meaningful support on the platform. TikTok will also help them “build careers beyond a single trending hit” in the real world.

During the program’s kick-off last July, TikTok also announced Elevate’s first class of all-star rising artists from across the globe. Make sure to follow these up-and-coming stars on TikTok!

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok Reddit

TikTok trends come and go in the blink of an eye. Unsurprisingly, exploring how to find trending sounds on TikTok can be frustrating. Thankfully, Reddit’s r/TikTok community can help. So what are your options for how to find trending sounds on TikTok Reddit?

The r/TikTok subreddit is the main TikTok community on the popular social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. If you need help keeping track of trending TikTok sounds, you can try these niche communities within the r/TikTok subreddit:

r/TikTokhelp
r/TikTokSongs

Take note that you need a Reddit account to join these communities, create a post, and communicate with members. If you badly need help staying up-to-date on trending TikTok songs, the r/TikTok subreddit is worth a shot.

How To Find Trending Sounds on TikTok and Create Harmony in Your Community

Songs and sounds are essential to the TikTok viewing experience. Users prefer the “Sound on” mode when watching videos on the platform. Therefore, creators and brands must know how to find trending songs on TikTok.

The platform recognizes that using the right sound significantly affects how well a video performs. Free access to over one million sounds via the General Music Library and Commercial Audio Library proves this. TikTok’s efforts to promote music creators and give them monetization opportunities further highlight the importance of sounds to the TikTok experience.

Choosing the right music for your videos also plays a significant role in building your TikTok community. A popular song can help interested users discover your brand more easily. A trending sound can bring like-minded people together through video collaborations, like Duets or challenges. And a song can help you create the perfect mood or communicate the appropriate tone for your video.

Using a song your intended audience is currently listening to is one of the most effective #ForYou optimization strategies. And you can further reinforce your audience-targeting capability when you sign up for a High Social plan. You can leverage their advanced, proprietary AI technology when you team up with a TikTok expert like High Social. Expect to grow your community with a steady influx of genuinely interested and actively engaged followers month after month!

In addition to knowing how to find trending sounds on TikTok, take advantage of High Social’s intelligent targeting tool. Start growing your TikTok today!