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Official 91ÁÔÆæ social media accounts — including schools, departments, programs, and recognized student organizations — must follow copyright law and each platform's rules for music and audio usage.

Social platforms make popular songs and trending sounds easy to use, but availability does not always mean Cedarville has permission to use them. Music available to personal users may not be licensed for use by a university.

What You Can Use

Official Cedarville accounts may use:

• Royalty-free or "for commercial use" audio from each platform's approved libraries for commercial accounts, not personal accounts (e.g., Meta Sound Collection on Instagram/Facebook, TikTok Commercial Music Library, YouTube Audio Library).
• Music for which the account has purchased rights through a licensed service such as Musicbed or similar providers, provided the license covers commercial use, the correct platforms, and the appropriate organizational size and the user maintains records of the purchased rights.

Audio permissions are platform-specific. A track approved for Instagram or Facebook is not automatically approved for TikTok, YouTube, or another platform.

What You Cannot Use

Official Cedarville accounts cannot:

• Use copyrighted songs or trending sounds without permission or an appropriate license.
• Assume a sound is approved simply because it appears in a platform's music library.
• Upload copyrighted music as an "original sound" to avoid restrictions.
• Use an inaccurate account type to access music restricted for organizational accounts.
• Reuse audio on another platform unless the license allows it.

What Account Managers Need To Do

• Check your account setup. Make sure your account type accurately represents an official Cedarville entity. Meta accounts should be set up as Business accounts (not Personal or Creator).
• Review existing content. Remove or replace copyrighted audio that your account does not have permission to use.
• Use approved audio going forward. Start with the platform's commercial-use library or properly licensed music.
• . All official Cedarville social media accounts and account managers should be registered with Marketing and Communications.
• Ask when you are unsure. MarCom can help determine whether an audio source is appropriate before use.

Why This Matters

Unauthorized music use can result in muted or removed posts, account restrictions, copyright claims, settlements, or financial penalties.

If a copyright violation results in a financial penalty, settlement, sanction, or related cost, the University division responsible for creating and publishing the content will be responsible for that cost.

Using others' intellectual property appropriately also reflects the integrity expected of those representing Cedarville.

Remember

Just because a song or sound is available on social media does not mean an official Cedarville account has permission to use it.

When in doubt, use audio clearly approved for commercial use on that platform or contact MarCom.