Facebook and Instagram aren’t just places to promote your music.

They can also generate royalties.

Every day, millions of videos, Stories and Reels are created across Meta’s platforms, many of them featuring music. For artists and record labels, this creates another opportunity to earn money when people use their tracks.

If your music is properly distributed to Meta, it can become available for people to add to Instagram Reels, Instagram Stories, Facebook Reels and Facebook Stories.

Meta can also identify your recordings when they appear in videos uploaded by other users.

Here’s how music monetisation on Facebook and Instagram works, where the money comes from and how you can start earning from your tracks.

Can you make money from music on Facebook and Instagram?

Yes.

Artists and rights holders can generate revenue when their music is used across Facebook and Instagram.

There are broadly two parts to Meta’s music ecosystem:

  1. Getting your music into Meta’s music library so users can select it when creating Reels, Stories and other content.
  2. Using Meta’s content recognition technology to identify your music when it appears inside user-generated videos.

Meta Rights Manager is its copyright-management system for identifying and managing protected audio, video and images across Facebook and Instagram.

For an independent artist, this will normally be handled through a music distributor rather than by manually registering every track with Meta yourself.

How does Facebook and Instagram music monetisation work?

The basic process is relatively simple.

You release a song.

Your music distributor delivers the recording and associated metadata to Meta.

The track can then become available within Meta’s music catalogue.

Facebook and Instagram users can choose your music when creating content such as:

  • Instagram Reels
  • Instagram Stories
  • Facebook Reels
  • Facebook Stories
  • other supported Meta music experiences

At the same time, eligible recordings can be supplied to Meta’s content recognition system.

Meta can then compare music appearing within uploaded content against the reference recordings supplied by rights holders.

When your music is identified, that usage can potentially generate royalties.

RouteNote’s Content Recognition integration, for example, supplies eligible releases to Facebook and Instagram’s audio library and content-recognition systems.

What is Meta Rights Manager?

Meta Rights Manager is somewhat similar to YouTube Content ID.

Copyright owners provide reference files representing content they own.

Meta’s technology then looks for matching audio or video across Facebook and Instagram.

Rights Manager allows copyright owners and their representatives to identify and manage those matches across Meta’s platforms.

For music, this means Meta can potentially identify your recording even when somebody hasn’t selected your song directly from Instagram’s music library.

For example, somebody might:

  • edit your song into a video
  • upload a video with your track playing in the background
  • use part of your recording in a Reel
  • upload a fan video containing your music

Meta’s systems may be able to identify that recording against the reference supplied by your distributor or rights-management partner.

How is this different from Instagram’s music library?

These are related, but they’re not exactly the same thing.

The Meta music library allows users to actively search for a song and add it to their content.

You might open Instagram Reels, tap Audio and search for an artist or track.

If the distributor has delivered that recording to Meta’s catalogue and it is available in your territory, it may appear in the search results.

Content recognition works differently.

Instead of a user deliberately selecting your song from the library, Meta attempts to recognise music contained within uploaded content.

Some distributors therefore describe Meta monetisation as having two components:

Music library distribution → makes your music available for creators to use.

Rights Manager/content recognition → identifies copies and uses of your recording elsewhere on the platform.

Can you earn royalties from Instagram Reels?

Yes.

One of the most important reasons for distributing your music to Instagram is Reels.

Millions of creators use music to soundtrack short-form videos, and a single popular Reel can inspire thousands of other people to create videos using the same sound.

When your song is properly delivered to Meta, it can appear in Instagram’s catalogue and be selected by users creating Reels.

RouteNote distributes eligible tracks to Instagram’s music catalogue through its Facebook/Meta delivery, making them available for use in Reels and Stories.

This has two potential benefits.

Firstly, music usage can produce royalties.

Secondly, Reels can become a powerful discovery mechanism.

A user might hear ten seconds of your track in a Reel, search for the song, discover your artist profile and then listen to the full track elsewhere.

That means Instagram can be both a revenue source and a marketing channel.

Can you earn royalties from Instagram Stories?

Yes.

Music delivered to Meta’s catalogue can also become available for Instagram Stories.

Users can select music when creating their Story, choose a section of the track and add it to their photo or video.

For independent artists, this can put your music in front of audiences who may never have encountered it through traditional streaming services.

When distributing through RouteNote, selecting Facebook as a store also allows eligible music to be delivered for use on Instagram.

What about Facebook music monetisation?

Facebook has its own music ecosystem covering video, Stories and Reels.

Meta has also previously introduced Music Revenue Sharing for eligible Facebook videos containing licensed music.

Under that programme, eligible creators can monetise certain Facebook videos containing licensed tracks, while a portion of the revenue is allocated to music rights holders. Meta described the programme as being powered by Rights Manager.

For artists, however, the important distinction is that you don’t necessarily need to be the person uploading the video.

Your music itself is the asset.

If other people create content featuring your track and that usage is eligible for monetisation, you can potentially earn from those uses through your distributor or rights-management partner.

How much does Instagram pay musicians?

There isn’t a simple answer such as:

“Instagram pays $0.005 every time somebody listens to your song.”

Music monetisation on social platforms doesn’t generally operate like a traditional per-stream Spotify royalty.

The value of music usage can depend on factors including:

  • how the music was used
  • where the use occurred
  • territory
  • Meta’s licensing agreements
  • advertising revenue
  • type of content
  • agreements between Meta and rights holders
  • your agreement with your distributor

Some Meta music reporting is also based on content creations or production events rather than simply counting views of a particular Reel. Distributor documentation describes royalties from Meta’s audio library as being associated with videos created using the music rather than treating every video view as an individual music stream.

So a video receiving one million views doesn’t necessarily translate into one million payable music streams.

Do you get paid every time someone uses your song on Instagram?

Not necessarily in a simple fixed amount per use.

However, legitimate uses of properly delivered music can contribute towards royalties reported by Meta to music distributors and rights holders.

How those royalties are calculated can vary depending on the type of usage and the licensing arrangement involved.

This is why artists shouldn’t try to calculate Instagram royalties by multiplying the number of Reel views by a theoretical “Instagram pay-per-stream” rate.

There isn’t a universal rate.

How do you get your music on Instagram and Facebook?

The easiest route for most independent artists is through a music distributor.

With RouteNote, the process is:

1. Upload your music to RouteNote

Create your release and provide your:

  • audio
  • artwork
  • artist name
  • track title
  • songwriter information
  • release information
  • required metadata

2. Select Facebook when choosing stores

Selecting Facebook allows eligible music to be delivered into Meta’s ecosystem, including Instagram.

RouteNote confirms that selecting Facebook when creating a release is the route for delivering eligible tracks to Facebook and Instagram.

3. Submit your release

Your music will be reviewed before delivery.

This step is particularly important for content-recognition platforms because Meta needs to know that the reference recording being supplied can legitimately be claimed on behalf of the rights holder.

4. Your eligible music is delivered to Meta

Once approved and processed, your track can be supplied to Meta’s systems.

It may then become available to people creating Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories and Facebook Reels.

5. Start generating usage

When people use your music, eligible royalties generated through Meta can be reported back through your distributor.

Can any song be monetised through Meta Rights Manager?

No.

Content recognition has stricter requirements than ordinary music distribution.

The reason is straightforward.

If Meta is going to automatically identify a recording and potentially monetise other people’s videos because they contain that recording, it needs to be reasonably confident that the party submitting the reference has the appropriate exclusive rights.

That makes certain types of content unsuitable for content recognition.

Examples can include recordings containing:

  • non-exclusive samples
  • royalty-free loops
  • production loops
  • karaoke recordings
  • sound-alikes
  • cover recordings
  • public-domain material where the recording or underlying rights aren’t sufficiently exclusive
  • other audio that the submitter doesn’t exclusively control

RouteNote treats Meta as one of its Content Recognition DSPs and applies eligibility requirements to releases submitted to these platforms.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t distribute certain recordings anywhere.

It means they may not be appropriate for automated copyright-recognition programmes.

Why are covers sometimes ineligible for content recognition?

Imagine you record a cover of an incredibly popular song.

You own your particular master recording, but you don’t own the underlying composition.

There may also be hundreds of other legitimate cover recordings of exactly the same song.

Automatically registering recordings like this for aggressive content recognition could create false or conflicting claims.

Similar problems can occur with commonly available loops, non-exclusive beats and stock music.

If hundreds of musicians have legally licensed the same loop, one artist shouldn’t be able to register that loop as exclusively theirs and automatically claim everybody else’s videos.

That’s why content-recognition services normally apply stricter eligibility rules.

What happens if somebody uploads my music without selecting it from Instagram?

This is where content recognition becomes particularly useful.

Suppose a creator downloads your track, edits it into a video and uploads the finished video to Facebook.

They haven’t selected your song through Facebook’s official music library.

But Meta can potentially compare the audio inside that video with recordings registered within its rights-management system.

If the match is strong enough and the appropriate rights-management rules apply, the system can identify the music.

Meta Rights Manager supports audio matching across Facebook and Instagram, allowing rights holders to manage matches according to the permissions and policies associated with their content.

Does Instagram automatically detect copyrighted music?

Meta uses audio-matching technology to help identify copyrighted recordings.

This doesn’t mean every copyrighted song will always be detected.

Recognition depends on factors such as:

  • whether a reference recording has been supplied
  • whether the recording is eligible
  • the quality and length of the audio used
  • how substantially the recording has been altered
  • which territories are covered
  • the policies applied by the rights holder

But like YouTube’s Content ID system, Meta’s technology allows music copyright management to happen at enormous scale.

Can businesses use any song from Instagram’s music library?

No.

Meta distinguishes between music intended for personal use and music cleared for commercial purposes.

Meta says its licensed Instagram music library is generally intended for personal, non-commercial use, and certain business accounts may have restricted access.

For commercial content, Meta provides its Sound Collection, containing music and sounds that can be used in commercial contexts such as advertising.

That’s an important distinction for brands.

Just because a song appears inside Instagram doesn’t automatically mean a company can use it in an advertisement.

Is Meta Rights Manager the same as YouTube Content ID?

They’re different systems, but the principle is similar.

YouTube:

Reference recording → Content ID → YouTube scans videos → matching content is identified.

Meta:

Reference recording → Rights Manager/content recognition → Facebook and Instagram content is analysed → matching content can be identified.

Both systems allow copyright owners and their representatives to manage music usage at a scale that wouldn’t be possible manually.

For independent artists, these systems make it possible for a song to generate income far beyond plays on Spotify and Apple Music.

How to monetise your music on Facebook and Instagram for free with RouteNote

RouteNote allows artists to distribute eligible music to Facebook and Instagram without paying an additional fee to add those stores.

Upload your music to RouteNote, select Facebook as one of your stores and submit the release.

Eligible music can then be delivered into Meta’s ecosystem, allowing your tracks to appear across services including Instagram Reels and Stories.

RouteNote offers Free and Premium distribution.

With Free distribution you keep 85% of royalties, while Premium distribution allows you to keep 100%, subject to the applicable Premium pricing. Store selection isn’t restricted between the two models.

You continue to own your music. RouteNote distributes and monetises it on your behalf rather than taking ownership of your recordings.

Why Facebook and Instagram matter for independent artists

Streaming platforms aren’t the only places where people discover music anymore.

A listener might first encounter an artist through:

Instagram Reel → artist profile → Spotify → playlist → fan.

Or:

Facebook video → song search → YouTube → artist catalogue.

Short-form video has made music an integral part of social media culture.

For an independent artist, distributing to Facebook and Instagram therefore has two purposes.

It can generate royalties.

But just as importantly, it puts your music directly into the tools people use to create and share content.

One person using your song might earn a small amount.

Thousands of people creating videos with your song can turn it into something much bigger.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make money when someone uses my music on Instagram?

Yes. If your music has been properly delivered into Meta’s music and rights-management systems, eligible uses across Instagram can generate royalties that are reported to your distributor or rights holder.

How do I get my song on Instagram Reels?

Distribute your music through a distributor that delivers to Meta. With RouteNote, upload your release and select Facebook as a store. Eligible music can then be made available across Instagram and Facebook.

Does Instagram pay per stream?

Not in the same way as conventional music streaming services. Meta music royalties can be calculated from different types of usage and licensing arrangements rather than using a single publicly stated per-stream rate.

Can I monetise Instagram Stories?

Eligible music distributed to Meta can generate royalties from music usage across its supported services, while distributing your tracks to Meta also makes them available for people to add to Instagram Stories.

What is Meta Rights Manager?

Meta Rights Manager is Meta’s system for helping copyright owners identify and manage their content across Facebook and Instagram using audio, video and image matching.

Is Facebook Rights Manager the same as Meta Rights Manager?

Facebook Rights Manager is commonly used as an older name for the system. As Meta’s ecosystem covers Facebook and Instagram, it is increasingly referred to more broadly as Meta Rights Manager.

Do I need Meta Rights Manager myself?

Usually not. Independent artists can work through distributors and rights-management partners that deliver eligible recordings into Meta’s systems on their behalf.

Can cover songs be monetised through content recognition?

They may not qualify for content recognition because you generally don’t exclusively control all of the rights involved. RouteNote lists covers among content that may be ineligible for Content Recognition DSPs.

Does RouteNote charge extra for Facebook and Instagram?

RouteNote doesn’t charge an additional store-submission fee simply to add Facebook and Instagram. Free distribution allows artists to distribute without upfront distribution fees while retaining 85% of generated royalties.

Do I still own my music?

Yes. Using RouteNote for distribution doesn’t transfer ownership of your music to RouteNote. Artists and labels retain their rights while RouteNote distributes the content on their behalf.