Every major social media platform — YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok — runs uploaded audio through recognition software the moment you post. Think of it like Shazam: it compares your video’s soundtrack against a vast database of registered commercial music. If it finds a match, it doesn’t care whether you’re sharing holiday memories or producing a big-budget television commercial for a global brand. A match is a match.

The platforms do this to protect the rights of artists, songwriters, and record labels. But they catch plenty of well-intentioned travellers by surprise because listening to music and publishing music inside videos are legally very different things. A subscription to a streaming service lets you enjoy a song, but it doesn’t give you permission to use that song in a video you share online.

The people who create travel content for a living — filmmakers, tour operators, hotels, and airlines — worked this out years ago. Rather than using commercial hits, they license music created specifically for film, video, and online content.

Today, a growing number of music-licensing platforms make this surprisingly accessible for everyone. Instead of searching by artist alone, you can browse original music by mood, genre, instrumentation, tempo, or even by using a popular song as a reference — finding something that matches the feeling of your footage. Melodie, for example, offers more than 45,000 original tracks from award-winning composers and artists, all pre-cleared for immediate use across digital platforms.

The result is simple: instead of wondering whether your soundtrack will be muted after you post, you can choose music that’s intended exactly for that purpose.

There’s another benefit, too. Copyright is often seen as an obstacle, but at its best, it’s what enables creativity in the first place. Every time a track is licensed through a platform like Melodie, the composers and musicians behind the music are rewarded for their work. It’s a simple model that removes the friction for creators while helping sustain a global community of artists making amazing original music.

The soundtrack you remember from your trip will always belong to that moment. But the soundtrack that tells the story can be just as memorable — and with the right licence, it’ll still be there long after you’ve unpacked your suitcase.

You may already have heard Melodie without realising it. Beyond thousands of films, television productions, and online videos, Melodie’s music is also available to stream on demand across Singapore Airlines’ inflight entertainment system, including the Cloud Gazing and Deep Calm playlists.

If a track catches your ear at 35,000 feet, you can keep discovering more after you land at www.melod.ie.