Is Unlicensed Music Still A Problem In Advertising?

In today’s attention economy, music has evolved far beyond being a supporting layer in advertising. It is now central to brand storytelling, shaping everything from short-form social media campaigns and IPL collaborations to influencer content and large-scale digital activations.

Yet, despite the growing commercial value of music in branded content, the conversation around proper licensing continues to lag behind.

The contradiction is becoming increasingly visible. While brands are investing heavily in culture-driven marketing and music-led campaigns, many still underestimate the legal, ethical, and business implications of using copyrighted music without proper permissions.

Industry experts say the problem is no longer just piracy in the traditional sense, but a deeply embedded mindset where music is still perceived as easily accessible content rather than protected intellectual property.

According to Mandar Thakur CEO Times Music, the issue lies not merely in awareness, but in the willingness to value creative ownership.

“Awareness is different from knowing, acknowledging and valuing an artist’s intellectual property and respecting that to pay for it,” says Thakur. “Mostly infringing brands just assume they can use a few seconds or even a whole song and then later claim innocence that they didn’t know they had to pay for it.”

Thakur believes this behaviour is rooted in years of casual disregard towards intellectual property, combined with cost-cutting tendencies that eventually become counterproductive for businesses themselves.

“This is our cultural baggage mixed with a cost-saving mentality that is actually pretty penny wise / pound foolish,” he explains. “Even agencies sometimes mislead a brand.”

As digital advertising increasingly becomes music-first, experts argue that licensing is still frequently treated as an afterthought rather than an integrated part of campaign planning. From Instagram Reels and YouTube campaigns to influencer-led branded videos, music often enters the process late, leaving teams scrambling to secure permissions or, in many cases, bypassing them altogether.

“If by companies you mean brands, then yes, many brands or agencies still treat music licensing as an afterthought, rather than a well laid out system to pay for music licensing,” Thakur adds.

What makes the issue more complex is the rapid expansion of content production itself. Social media teams today are expected to create trend-driven campaigns at high speed, often using viral audio that is readily available on platforms. This accessibility creates a misleading assumption that commercially released songs are automatically cleared for brand usage.

Meghna Mittal Co-founder & CRO Hoops ,says this gap between accessibility and legality remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

“Most social media teams and agencies creating branded content today still face a significant awareness gap around how music licensing works in the digital ecosystem,” Mittal explains. “Since these songs are readily available on social media platforms, there’s a common perception that they are automatically safe for commercial use, but that’s not the case.”

The problem, according to Mittal, also stems from the absence of a simple, transparent licensing infrastructure for brands, particularly when it comes to label-owned music.

“There was never really a streamlined system that enabled brands to easily discover, license, and use popular music legally,” she says. “The process has traditionally been fragmented, with no standardization in pricing, no transparent access, and no instant or one-click licensing infrastructure. As a result, music often ended up being treated like a free commodity.”

This gap has opened opportunities for music-tech companies and sync licensing platforms that are attempting to simplify the ecosystem. Hoopr, for instance, has been building licensing infrastructure specifically designed for digital-first brands and agencies.

Mittal reveals that the company has recently facilitated licensing deals for several IPL franchises and D2C brands, enabling them to legally use music from labels including Universal Music India, Zee Music Company, and Yash Raj Films.

“At Hoopr, we have built the tech infrastructure that enables brands to legally license and use popular music at scale,” she says. “The market is definitely willing to pay, but awareness at scale is still missing.”

The growing importance of music in brand communication has also intensified conversations around creator rights and long-term ecosystem sustainability. Industry bodies argue that music licensing is not merely a legal compliance issue, but an economic one that directly impacts artists, composers, publishers, and rights owners.

Rakesh Nigam,CEO IPRS believes the shift towards music-led marketing makes licensing accountability even more important.

“Music is no longer just background entertainment for brands, it has become central to storytelling and consumer engagement,” says Nigam. “Yet, many companies still treat licensing as a post-production formality rather than a core business responsibility.”

He further adds that unlicensed usage harms not only rights holders, but the larger creative economy itself.

“Unlicensed music usage not only exposes brands to legal and financial risks, but also undermines the very creators and ecosystem that power cultural conversations today,” Nigam says. “As the industry evolves, respecting music rights must become part of every brand’s long-term marketing strategy.”

While copyright enforcement in India has strengthened considerably over the past decade, industry leaders acknowledge that behavioural change takes time. Thakur notes that India’s copyright laws have evolved significantly and are now more supportive of intellectual property owners than before.

“These things will change over time,” he says. “Our copyright laws used to be pretty bad and with past few years of effort have been updated and are supportive of IP.”

At the same time, the industry consensus appears to be shifting. More brands are beginning to allocate budgets for licensed music, dedicated sync teams are becoming more active, and conversations around creator compensation are growing louder across advertising and entertainment circles.

Still, experts say the challenge ahead is scale. Until music licensing becomes a standard line item in marketing budgets,  rather than an optional expense, the gap between music-driven branding and rights compliance is likely to continue.

And as brands continue to build campaigns around culture, virality, and emotional resonance, the question facing the industry is becoming harder to ignore: if music is powerful enough to sell products, should it still be treated as