Social media platforms have become a significant way for audiences to encounter and share music. When users add your song to a TikTok video, an Instagram Reel or a YouTube Short, that use generates royalties – but the licensing structures behind it differ from traditional streaming.
How UGC licensing works
User-generated content platforms typically license music through blanket deals negotiated directly with publishers and rights holders, rather than through CMO blanket licences. These deals cover both the performance right and the mechanical right in a single agreement. The platform pays a lump sum or revenue share to the publisher, who then distributes your share according to your publishing agreement. PRS may also collect a performance royalty element depending on the specific deal structure in each territory.
What songwriters earn
The per-use amounts from social media are generally lower than from on-demand streaming, reflecting the different nature of the use – a 15-second clip in a user video is licensed differently from a full-length on-demand stream. However, the volume of uses can be very large. A song that goes viral on TikTok may generate millions of uses in a short period, and that exposure often drives streaming numbers on other platforms.
Revenue from UGC is growing as a proportion of total songwriter income, and the deal structures are still evolving. What you earn depends on whether your publisher has direct deals with the platform, what terms those deals contain, and how your publishing agreement handles UGC income.
How platforms differ
Each platform handles music licensing through its own arrangements. TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts all operate under separate deals with different terms, reporting standards and payment structures. YouTube’s Content ID system works differently again – it identifies music in user uploads and allows rights holders to either claim ad revenue or block the use. The specifics of these arrangements are negotiated between platforms and publishers or their representatives, and the terms are not publicly standardised.
What you should ask your publisher
If you have a publisher, ask how UGC income appears on your statements, whether they have direct deals with the major social platforms, and whether UGC income is broken out separately or bundled into broader digital revenue lines. Much of this consumption happens with sound off – meaning lyrics can be the primary way audiences engage with your song on social media – so there is an overlap with lyrics licensing income too.
