If you're serious about TikTok, you already know this truth: audio makes or breaks your content.
Think about it. You scroll your For You Page. Three videos in, you hear the same song snippet with that specific beat drop. Ten videos later, you're hearing it again. That's not coincidence. That's a trending sound catching fire.
But most guides won't tell you this part. Finding trending sounds isn't about discovering what's already viral (too late). It's about spotting the curve while it's rising, jumping in before saturation, and doing it in a way that's actually usable for your content type (especially if you're a brand).
We've spent hundreds of hours analyzing TikTok's trend mechanics, and this guide gives you the exact workflow we use to find trending sounds before they peak. No fluff. No "just use popular music" nonsense. Just practical systems that work.
Why Do Trending Sounds Matter for TikTok Algorithm?
You've heard "use trending sounds" a thousand times. But why do they work?
The algorithm boost is real. TikTok's recommendation system actively favors content that participates in emerging trends. When a sound is gaining momentum, videos using that audio get preferential distribution to For You Pages. It's not magic. It's TikTok recognizing pattern velocity and amplifying it, similar to how Facebook ad algorithms prioritize fresh, engaging creative variations.
But nobody talks about this part: The sound itself is just one variable. What really drives performance is the format that comes with it.
Every trending sound develops a creative pattern. A specific edit style. A timing structure. A punchline format. When you use trending audio, you're not just borrowing a song. You're inheriting a proven template that audiences already understand and engage with.
That's why some sounds explode while others with similar music quality don't. The audio that wins is the audio that unlocks a repeatable creative format anyone can execute. This is the same principle behind successful ad creative testing frameworks: finding patterns that work and iterating fast.
Can Brands Use Trending Sounds on TikTok Legally?
Before we get into discovery tactics, you need to understand which audio universe you're operating in. This is where most brands get burned.
Commercial Content Music Restrictions on TikTok
TikTok explicitly states that businesses cannot use the general music library for commercial usage. (TikTok For Business)
Their licenses for music outside the Commercial Music Library (CML) don't cover commercial use. (TikTok Support)
What counts as commercial?
• Brand/business account posts
• Video ads (obviously)
• Branded content and partnerships
• Anything promoting a product or service
If you use non-CML music in commercial posts, TikTok may require a music usage confirmation when content disclosure is turned on. Translation: they'll ask you to confirm you have rights, and if you don't, your content gets muted or pulled.
What Sounds Can Brands Use Safely?
Use sounds marked "Approved for Business Use" or pull from the Commercial Music Library. (TikTok For Business)
CML contains over 1 million songs that are pre-cleared globally. It's free for business accounts. And yes, trending sounds DO appear in CML (TikTok wants brands participating in trends too).
Can Personal Creators Use Any TikTok Sound?
If you're posting non-commercial content from a personal account, you have access to TikTok's wider music ecosystem. Most trending sounds are fair game.
If you're also running content on other platforms, understanding TikTok view counting mechanics helps you benchmark what's actually working versus what just looks viral.
Bottom line: Know which lane you're in before you start hunting sounds. Finding a trending audio you can't legally use is pointless.
Where to Find Trending Sounds on TikTok?
1. TikTok Creative Center for Trending Songs
Best for: Marketers and brands who need data validation
This is the single most powerful tool for finding trending sounds with real analytics behind them.
TikTok's Creative Center shows trending songs by region, with filters that let you catch momentum early. (TikTok For Business)
How to Use TikTok Creative Center for Sounds
① Open Creative Center and navigate to Trends → Songs
② Apply these filters strategically:
• Time frame: Set to "Last 7 days" (not 30 days, which shows already-saturated trends)
• New to Top 100: This is your early-warning system
• Breakout: Shows sounds with steep upward trajectories (this is where you find the curve early)
• Approved for Business Use: If you're a brand, this becomes mandatory
③ Click "See Analytics" on any candidate sound
What Do TikTok Creative Center Analytics Mean?
This is where Creative Center gets powerful. For each song, you see:
| Metric | What It Means | How to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Interest Over Time | The trend curve you care about | Look for steep upward lines, not plateau |
| Related Videos | Top-performing content using this sound | Study the creative pattern (timing, format, hook) |
| Audience Insights | Demographics and related interests | Validate if this audience matches yours |
| Regional Popularity | Where it's actually trending | Catch regional waves before they go global |
| Similar Ready-to-Use Music | Legal alternatives with similar vibe | Gold for brands who need CML alternatives |
Important limitation: Creative Center only shows professionally generated sounds, not user-generated audio. (TikTok For Business)
Meme quote audios, viral dialogue clips, and user-created sounds won't appear here. For those, you need method #3.
2. How to Find Trending Sounds in TikTok App
When you're creating a video, TikTok's Add Sound flow surfaces what's currently hot.
The workflow:
→ Tap + to create a post
→ Hit Add Sound
→ Start in Recommended (algorithmic feed of currently popular sounds)
→ Scroll until you see curated playlists like "TikTok Viral" or "Trending Now"
→ Tap Favorites on any sound to build a reusable bank (TikTok Support)
Why this works: TikTok's recommendation algorithm inside the sound picker is excellent at surfacing what's getting used right now. It's not as good for early discovery, but if you need a sound today, this is the fastest path.
Pro tip: Business accounts will see a Commercial Sounds section here. This is TikTok's way of showing you trending sounds you can actually use legally.
3. How to Find User-Generated Trending Sounds
Creative Center misses user-generated sounds. In-app search doesn't.
How to use it:
① Open TikTok search
② Type niche-specific queries:
• "viral sound"
• "transition sound"
• "storytime sound"
• Or combine with your niche: "gym meme sound", "finance viral audio", "beauty transition sound"
③ Switch to the Sounds tab in results
④ Look for high activity signals:
• Large video counts (50k+ videos using it)
• Recent upload dates in top videos (means it's still accelerating)
• Comments on the sound page asking "what's this sound?" (early discovery signal)
This method catches the meme audios and dialogue clips that often outperform professional music in specific niches.
4. Where Is Commercial Music Library on TikTok?
If you're running ads or posting commercial content, CML is your home base.
TikTok's CML contains 1 million songs that are free and pre-cleared for businesses globally. (TikTok For Business)
Access:
• Mobile: Add Sound → Commercial Sounds
• Desktop: Commercial Music Library in Creative Center
How to search it properly:
• Select Region first (availability varies by country)
• Filter by Usable Placements (e.g., "In-Feed Ads" if you're running paid)
• Use Theme, Genre, Mood, Duration filters
• Note: Up to 10,000 sounds display at once, so filters matter (TikTok For Business)
The killer combination: Go to Trends → Songs → Filter by "Approved for Business Use" to find what's trending AND brand-safe. (TikTok For Business)
When you understand what makes content perform on TikTok, you can also apply those learnings to your Instagram Reels posting strategy for cross-platform momentum.
How to Tell If a TikTok Sound Is Trending Early?
A sound with 2 million videos can be dead. A sound with 8,000 videos can be a rocket ship.
What matters is trajectory, not total volume.
This is exactly why average TikTok view counts can be misleading (what looks viral might already be declining).
How to Score Trending Sounds on TikTok
Before producing content with any sound, run it through this filter:
Trend Score (0-10):
✓ +4 points if the interest curve is rising sharply (check Creative Center's "Interest Over Time" graph)
✓ +2 points if it's marked "New to Top 100" or appears in Breakout category (TikTok For Business)
✓ +2 points if related videos show a repeatable format you can execute (not dependent on one creator's personality) (TikTok For Business)
✓ +1 point if audience insights match your target category (check "Related Interests") (TikTok For Business)
✓ +1 point if it's usable for your account type (Approved for Business Use / CML path) (TikTok For Business)
Decision framework:
• 8-10: Build immediately and test multiple variations
• 5-7: Test if it fits your creative concept
• 0-4: Save for later, but don't rush
This scoring prevents you from wasting time on sounds that are either too saturated or too risky.
How to Copy Trending Sound Video Formats
Most trending sound content isn't popular because the music is good.
It's popular because creators discovered a repeatable edit pattern that works with that audio.
When you open a sound's analytics in Creative Center, TikTok shows you Related Videos. (TikTok For Business)
Use those to reverse-engineer the format:
Timing pattern: Where's the beat drop? Where's the punchline? What happens at 0:03 vs 0:07?
Camera grammar: Is it selfie confessional? Product demo? B-roll montage? POV?
Text overlay style: One big hook line? Multi-line story? Subtitle the whole thing?
Transition type: Hard cut on beat? Match cut? Snap zoom? Swipe transition?
Payoff type: Reveal, before/after, twist ending, proof point, punchline?
Then build your version using the same timing skeleton.
Example: If every top video with a sound shows a 3-second problem setup → beat drop → 2-second solution reveal, you use that exact structure for your niche's problem/solution.
This format-stealing approach also works when you're testing creative frameworks across Meta and TikTok at scale.
How to Use Trending Sounds Without Copyright Issues
Brand-Safe Sound Requirements
• Default to CML for all business posts (TikTok For Business)
• Filter by "Approved for Business Use" in Trends (TikTok For Business)
• If you use audio outside CML, expect TikTok to require music usage confirmation when disclosure is on (TikTok Support)
What Is Similar Ready-to-Use Music on TikTok?
On any trending song's analytics page, TikTok shows Similar Ready-to-Use Music with a "Use Now" button. (TikTok For Business)
This is basically TikTok saying: "Here's a legally safe, similar vibe track you can use right now."
This solves the classic brand problem:
The similar tracks often capture the same mood and tempo, letting you participate in the trend's creative format without the licensing risk.
How to Find Trending Sounds Every Week
Most teams find trends but can't execute fast enough. Here's the system that actually works:
Monday: How to Build Your Trending Sound List
• Open Creative Center → Trends → Songs
• Set filters:
- Last 7 days
- Breakout
- New to Top 100
- Approved for Business Use (if brand)
• Pick 10 candidate sounds
• Click "See Analytics" on each (TikTok For Business)
• Score them using the 0-10 system above
Tuesday: How to Validate Trending Sounds
For each high-scoring sound:
• Watch 5-10 top-performing videos using it
• Document the format pattern you'll copy (TikTok For Business)
• Write 3 hook variations you'll test
• Define your payoff (demo, proof, reveal, twist)
For teams producing creative at volume, a systematic UGC shoot system can generate 150+ ad variations daily, giving you the raw material to test every trending sound opportunity.
Wednesday-Friday: How to Test Trending Sounds at Scale
This is where volume separates winners from losers.
If you're serious about performance, the sound is just one variable.
You want to test:
• Sound A vs Sound B vs Sound C
• Hook 1 vs Hook 2 vs Hook 3
• Caption variant 1 vs Caption variant 2
• CTA 1 vs CTA 2
That's 3 × 3 × 2 × 2 = 36 variations from one creative concept.
Most teams can't launch this volume manually without drowning in Ads Manager.
Understanding how many ad creatives to test helps you calibrate your testing velocity to find winners before trends die.
How to Launch TikTok Sound Tests as Ads
If you're testing dozens (or hundreds) of sound variations across TikTok and Meta, manual ad creation becomes the bottleneck.
This is where AdManage helps.
We built AdManage specifically to bulk-create and launch large volumes of ad variations without dying in native ads managers.
How AdManage Helps Test Trending Sounds
1. Spark Ads / Whitelisted Ads at Scale
Spark Ads let you promote existing TikTok posts, so engagement compounds on the original post instead of resetting with every new ad.
(Think: 10,000 likes on one post vs 500 likes spread across 20 ads.)
We document the exact workflow to launch Spark/whitelisted ads by toggling partnership mode and pasting codes in bulk.
2. Ad Preview Before You Launch
Use our free TikTok preview tool to ensure your text overlays don't get buried under UI chrome and your creative still feels native.
(Because finding a trending sound is pointless if your ad format looks like spam.)
Before launching hundreds of variations, verify your TikTok ad specs to ensure every creative renders perfectly across placements.
How to Name Ads for Sound Testing
Put the sound into your ad name as a first-class variable:
tt | sound: nutcracker_bassboost | hook: h2 | edit: e1 | angle: before_afterOr include the Creative Center song ID if you're pulling from there.
This makes your reporting dead simple. You can answer "Which sounds actually drove CPA down?" without detective work.
Our ad naming convention guide shows exactly how to structure names for cross-platform clarity, and our UTM management system ensures every variant tracks back to source with zero manual work.
Want to see how teams are launching thousands of variations weekly? Check out our live status dashboard, which shows approximately 494,000 ads launched and 71,950 batches in the last 30 days.
Start using AdManage to compress your launch time from hours to minutes. Fixed pricing at £499/month for in-house teams (3 ad accounts) or £999/month for agencies (unlimited accounts).
If you're serious about testing at this scale, our bulk upload system for TikTok ads can push hundreds of variations with one CSV, and you can even launch directly from Google Sheets without touching Ads Manager.
More Ways to Find Trending TikTok Sounds
How to Find Trending Sounds on Your For You Page
Your FYP is a real-time trend detector if you use it actively:
• Scroll with intention (don't just consume, observe)
• Note songs you hear 3+ times in 10 minutes of scrolling
• Tap the spinning record icon to check video counts and upload recency
• If a sound has high video count AND recent top videos, it's live
Why this works: TikTok's algorithm surfaces what's getting engagement momentum. If something keeps appearing on your FYP from different creators, it's trending.
How to Find Trending Sounds from Competitors
• Make a list of 10-15 top creators in your space
• Visit their profiles monthly
• Sort by "Most Popular"
• Check what sounds their recent viral videos used
• Note patterns: Are they all using the same 2-3 sounds?
This catches niche-specific trends that might not appear in global trending lists but perform well in your category.
For systematic competitor research, our guide on tracking TikTok competitors without following them shows you how to monitor competitor creative and sound strategies at scale.
How to Find Trending Sounds on Spotify and Charts
Many sounds trend on TikTok first, then cross over to mainstream charts:
• Spotify Viral 50: Often driven by TikTok momentum
• YouTube Trending Music: Cross-platform validation
• Billboard Hot 100: Now heavily influenced by TikTok
• Apple Music TikTok Hits playlist: Curated trending sounds
Use these for: Confirming a sound has staying power beyond TikTok's 3-day trend cycle.
What Third-Party Tools Find Trending TikTok Sounds?
Some analytics platforms track trending sounds with growth metrics.
(But always validate findings inside TikTok itself, since third-party data can lag.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Can't I Find a Sound in Creative Center?
Because Trends → Songs only shows professionally generated sounds, not user-generated audio. (TikTok For Business)
Meme clips, dialogue snippets, and user-created sounds won't appear there.
Solution: Use in-app Search → Sounds tab for user-generated trends.
Why Can't I Use a Trending Sound for My Brand?
Licensing. TikTok states businesses cannot use the general music library for commercial usage. (TikTok Support)
Solution: Filter by "Approved for Business Use" in Trends, or use the Similar Ready-to-Use Music suggestions. (TikTok For Business)
How Do I Save Sounds on TikTok?
TikTok's Add Sound flow has a Favorites button. (TikTok Support)
Build the habit: Every time you notice repeat audio, favorite it immediately. You'll build a personal library of proven sounds.
How to Catch TikTok Trends Early?
Use these filters in Creative Center:
• Breakout
• New to Top 100
• Last 7 days
Then validate with "Interest Over Time" graphs. (TikTok For Business)
If the curve is steep and climbing, you're early.
Can I Use Trending Sounds in TikTok Ads?
Only if they're from the Commercial Music Library or marked "Approved for Business Use."
Otherwise, you risk:
• Your ad getting muted
• Content removal
• Music usage confirmation requirements
Always check before using a sound in paid campaigns.
How Many Trending Sounds Should I Test Per Week?
For organic content: 2-3 sounds, with 1-2 videos per sound
For paid performance marketing: 5-10 sounds minimum, with multiple variations per sound (different hooks, CTAs, captions)
Volume matters because most sounds won't work for your specific audience. Testing breadth increases your chances of finding winners.
When testing at this scale, using our creative planning and asset management system helps prevent chaos while maintaining velocity.
What If I'm Too Late to a Trend?
If a sound already has millions of videos and the interest curve has flattened, you're late.
Options:
• Find a sub-niche angle: Execute the format in a way that hasn't been done yet
• Move on: Spend your time on rising trends instead
• Use it anyway if it fits your brand: Some sounds become evergreen memes that work regardless of trend timing
The goal isn't to catch every trend. It's to catch enough early trends to compound your reach over time.
Final Thoughts: Stay Agile and Execute Fast
Finding trending sounds isn't hard.
What's hard is finding them early enough and executing volume fast enough to catch the wave before it breaks.
The difference between brands that win with TikTok and brands that waste budget is simple: speed of execution.
You can have the perfect sound, the perfect format, and the perfect timing. But if it takes you 5 days to launch variations, the trend is over before you start.
That's why we built AdManage. To remove the execution bottleneck.
Whether you need to launch 1,000 Facebook ads in one day or scale winning TikTok sounds across dozens of variations, the same bulk operation principles apply.
Ready to compress your launch workflow?
See our pricing or check the live dashboard to see how teams are launching thousands of ad variations weekly with structured naming, UTM enforcement, and bulk preview.
The trends are waiting. The question is whether you can move fast enough to catch them.