A ton of popular music has been pulled from the fifth most popular social platform. And now more than ever, creators need tips on how to find trending music on TikTok.
If you’re a TikTok creator, you may be aware of the huge changes made to the platform in recent weeks due to the decision by Universal Music Group (UMG) to withdraw its entire music catalog from TikTok.
UMG is the world’s largest record label and counts Taylor Swift, BTS, SZA, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles among its stable of artists. After a licensing deal with TikTok fell through in January 2024, UMG removed all tracks from existing TikTok videos and made them unavailable for new uploads.
This decision has sent shockwaves across the industry and impacted millions of TikTok creators who create content around trending music in a bid to hit the FYP and gain thousands of potential views.
While officially licensed trending music from UMG has all but disappeared from TikTok, there are still enormous opportunities for creators to add trending audio to their videos and take advantage of users searching for those tracks. In this post, we show you how.
How to find trending music on TikTok
Currently, we have five tried-and-tested ways to discover trending sounds on TikTok. If you’re a busy creator, these options should help you find the best tracks for your content:
#1 Dive Into TikTok’s Creative Center
TikTok’s Creative Center is a gem of a feature for any creator looking to take advantage of the latest global or regional trends. It’s the central hub for all things trending, including hashtags, audio tracks, videos, and creators. You can filter by country, time frame and language to uncover both current trends and also rising ones.
At the time of writing, the sped-up version of ‘Open Water’ by TXZZ is the #1 trending song in the US. Clicking on the track’s link opens up a whole dashboard of data goodies to let you know more about where it’s trending and with who.
If you want to double up on trends, search on the ‘Hashtags’ tab too. It will default to the country you’re searching from, but it will confirm what’s trending by caption. Combine a trending hashtag with a trending track, and you might just be onto a winner. Don’t forget that the searches don’t stop there. TikTok will offer related tracks, hashtags, and videos to give you insight into how to optimize your short form content for the most impact.
#2 Mine the For You Page for Trending TikTok Sounds
Your TikTok For You Page (FYP) is a fantastic source to find the hottest audio for your content. Chances are you scroll through your FYP regularly, so keep an eye and ear out for any sounds you want to use. When you find one you love, just tap on the sound to open up its audio dashboard. Then simply click “Use This Sound” if you are filming there and then. Or choose “Add to Favorites” to save it for later.
#3 Search on TikTok for Trending For Sounds
You can always be proactive and search TikTok for any audio that you may want to use. Type “trending sounds” in the app’s search bar, then follow with the topic or trend that interests you. For example, the hilarious but very, very NSFW hashtag ”Elmo Driving” is lighting up parts of TikTok at the moment. We wanted to check what else we could use an Elmo audio for, so we typed in “trending sounds Elmo” in the search bar, which brought up a bunch of great options.
Unlike some other apps we could mention, TikTok’s search function is actually pretty effective. Using the feature is a simple way to discover trending sounds.
#4: Use TikTok’s Own Sounds Library
Did you know that TikTok has launched its very own Commercial Music Library (CML)? If you’re looking for trending music on TikTok, this archive holds a record of any available sounds that are trending or have trended on the platform in the past. What’s great for creators is this includes music tracks and other audio clips, remixes, and mash-ups.
All audio tracks in the CML are pre-cleared for commercial use, which is especially useful for branded content needs.
#5: Check Out TikTok’s Regular Recommendations
As one of the world’s biggest content discovery platforms, you’d expect TikTok to be on top of what’s trending. And they don’t disappoint. The platform publishes its own recommendations in a bi-weekly blog, packed with insights and ideas.
The latest edition brings creators news of what’s hot. This is definitely worth a look if you want to keep on top of the latest TikTok music trends.
Other Ideas for Finding TikTok’s Trending Music
Discovering trending audio tracks on TikTok is big business, and creators who are serious about staying on top regarding their content have a few other resources to choose from:
- Check out Spotify playlists that list the latest viral TikTok songs.
- Search for “trending tiktok sounds/sounds/music” on YouTube.
- TokChart tracks trending music on TikTok by timeframe and location.
Discovering trending music on TikTok while it’s still popular is a fantastic way to add relevance to your content.
Stuck for ideas or just want to have some fun with the latest sounds? Check out the resources above and see if you can take advantage of the next big audio clip to hit the platform.
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