The $43M TikTok mistake.
Brands are getting hit with massive lawsuits for using trending sounds. Here's the fix.
Note: A generated audio podcast of this episode is included below for paid subscribers.
⚡ The Signal
Social commerce isn't a trend; it's the default playbook. Brands live and die by their ability to ride the waves of culture on platforms like TikTok and Reels. But there's a multi-million dollar time bomb hidden in plain sight: audio licensing. Brands are desperate to participate in viral trends, but using a trending sound without the proper commercial license can turn a hit video into a staggering $43 million legal bill.
🚧 The Problem
The market is caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, ignoring social media is commercial suicide. On the other, the music licensing framework is a fossil from the 1990s, completely unequipped for the speed and scale of social video.
Existing stock music libraries (like Epidemic Sound or Artlist) offer legally safe tracks, but they are generic and disconnected from the cultural moment. A marketing manager can’t just search for "that trending synth sound from that dance challenge." They're forced to either risk a massive lawsuit or post content that feels tone-deaf and out of touch.
🚀 The Solution
Enter Tendril Tracks, a pre-licensed library of AI-generated, 'sound-alike' tracks that mimic trending social media audio.
The concept is simple: Paste a link to any TikTok or Reel. Our system analyzes the audio's core characteristics—BPM, key, energy, instrumentation—and instantly generates a unique, royalty-free track with the same vibe. Brands can now participate in any trend in seconds, completely shielded from copyright infringement lawsuits. It’s cultural relevance, de-risked.
