Users massively warned about music in reels and stories

There is a lot of excitement at the moment about waves of warnings against commercial Instagram accounts.

The reason for the warnings are commercially used accounts of influencers, for example, who use music for their reels and stories to make their videos more attractive - but this is precisely where the problem lies.

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There is a huge difference between licensed and unlicensed music, especially if you use the videos for commercial purposes.

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Licensed music is music for which the author or rights holder has granted a license or permission to use it. The license can be granted for various types of use such as public performances, radio broadcasts, streaming or use in films or commercials.

Unlicensed music refers to sound recordings that are published and distributed without the necessary permissions from the copyright holders. This is often music that has been copied from other sources or illegally downloaded. This includes, for example, pirated copies, but also the use of copyrighted music in public performances or in online videos.

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The difference between licensed and unlicensed music therefore lies in the legal permission to use the music. Licensed music is legal and the author or rights holder receives remuneration for it, whereas the use of unlicensed musical works can constitute copyright infringement, which can have legal consequences.

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So watch out:

Instagram accounts that are used for commercial purposes are prohibited from using music without a license. Private accounts or so-called "creator accounts", however, are allowed to use music from the extensive Instagram library. "Business accounts", on the other hand, can only use the "Facebook Sound Collection". This consists purely of royalty-free songs.

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However, private accounts are not secure either. Some accounts can also be considered business accounts due to certain factors such as the number of followers or the type of posts. In these cases, use from the Instagram music library is also illegal and therefore infringes Instagram's copyrights.

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The same applies to creator accounts that use their account commercially and use music from the Instagram music library. If they create reels and stories with the music without the required licenses, they are in breach of copyright.

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This is followed by warning letters from lawyers. These demand the cessation of the use of the music, a high fine and the reimbursement of legal fees.

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Since the latest wave of warnings, many content creators in Germany are unsure how best to deal with the following situation.

Some delete their videos, use only music that does not require a license for security reasons or others continue to post such clips.

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Our tip: To avoid a warning, however, videos with background music should be deleted or at least archived. New reels should only be accompanied by royalty-free music.

If a warning letter does arrive, it should be examined carefully.

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