Check your music

For artists

A brand used your song without permission. Here’s what to do.

If a brand used your song in a post or ad without permission, you’re usually owed the license fee it should have paid. Save the post today, check who holds your rights, and run a free check before you contact the brand.

Updated

One indie artist. One viral song. One million real shares. More than $800,000 recovered.

Start your free check

Was it really unauthorised?

If the brand never asked you, your publisher or your label for a sync license, the use was unauthorised. A brand’s own post, a paid ad or an influencer post made for a brand is commercial use, and commercial use needs a sync license.

What to do now

  1. Save everything today. Posts get deleted fast. Capture the post or ad, the account, the date, the view count and the comments. The full checklist shows what a lawyer needs.
  2. Check who holds the rights. A song has two sides: the composition (you, your co-writers, your publisher) and the recording (you or your label). Know who controls each.
  3. Get the use assessed. The license fee is what a sync license for that use would have cost. That sets the value.
  4. Let someone who knows the way contact the brand. A clear case with solid evidence gets answered. An angry DM gets ignored.

Can I get paid?

Usually, yes. The brand owes the fee it skipped. How big the fee is depends on the brand, how far the post reached and how long it ran.

We check the use, tell you straight what it is worth, and you decide what happens next. Your music, your call.

Why TrackShield

We’re musicians who’ve stood on both sides of the license. We find the use, build evidence that holds up, work out what it’s worth and recover it. The first check is free, and you only pay when you get paid.

Questions

Is it really unlicensed use if the song was in the Instagram or TikTok library?

The platform libraries cover personal use. Brand posts and ads need their own license, so a brand using your song from the library is usually still unlicensed use.

Can I get paid if a brand used my song without permission?

Usually, yes. The brand owes the license fee it skipped, and a free check shows what the use was worth.

The post has already been deleted. Am I too late?

Evidence helps most, but deleted posts can often still be traced. Send us what you have.

Do I need a lawyer?

We work with specialist lawyers in our network when a case needs one. You start with a free check.

What does it cost me?

Nothing upfront. It’s no win, no fee: you pay only when you get paid.

Start your free check