Questions Insurers
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It is copyright exposure created when businesses use commercial music in their social media without a licence. It does not appear on applications, loss runs or risk models, so it sits unpriced inside insurance policies until a rightsholder makes a claim. Silent Coverage measures it before that happens.

Generally not. The main music libraries on TikTok and Instagram are licensed for personal, non-commercial use. Business content is limited to commercially cleared libraries such as TikTok's Commercial Music Library and Meta's Sound Collection. Using popular tracks in brand posts, ads or influencer content usually needs a separate licence, and in 2022 a US court found Bang Energy liable for music in its own TikTok videos.

Under US law, statutory damages run from $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 per work where infringement is found to be wilful, before legal costs. The rightsholder does not need to prove actual loss. A brand that has used hundreds of tracks can face claims in the tens of millions: Sony's claim against Marriott was reported at around $140M.

Depending on policy wording, defence costs and settlements can fall on general liability (personal and advertising injury), media liability and errors and omissions cover. Most of these policies were never priced for music use on social media, which is why the exposure is described as silent.

Any company with a social media presence, including small businesses. We audit every industry and have found liability even in niche sectors. Exposure is often highest in sports, fashion, beauty, retail, hospitality, fitness, events and marketing agencies, where video with trending music is part of everyday marketing.

Most large claims come from the Big 3 music companies, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, along with music publishers and independent rightsholders. Enforcement is increasingly systematic, and most claims settle privately, so they never appear in public loss data.

The largest claims so far have been filed in the US, where statutory damages apply. Rightsholders also pursue brands elsewhere, but the UK and other jurisdictions calculate damages differently, typically by reference to the licence fee that should have been paid. Our exposure figures are modelled on US statutory damages, and we audit brands in the US, UK, Australia, MENA and Asia.

You share the insured's website, company name or social handles. Our AI fingerprints the audio in their public posts against a catalogue of more than 160 million tracks, excludes licensed library music, and our analysts verify every flag. You receive a risk analysis of the insured: an overall risk score, total statutory exposure and exposure to the Big 3 music companies (Universal, Sony and Warner). It gives you what you need to make an informed decision on the risk, whether that is to quote, refer, exclude or decline.

Only a website, company name or public social handles. We never need access to the insured's accounts, logins or any action from the insured.

A Quote Check is a fast pre-bind read on an applicant's main TikTok and Instagram accounts, so music risk is priced into the quote. A Full Audit reviews every account the insured posts to, back to their first post, and sets the baseline for bound and in-force insureds. A Renewal Audit refreshes an audited insured each year, reviewing only what has been posted since.

Reports are returned within 24 hours of submission, and often within a few hours. If you need a faster turnaround for initial pricing, we can arrange it.

TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Pinterest, including regional, franchise and influencer accounts posting on a brand's behalf.

Our fingerprinting works on the raw audio, not platform tags alone, and separates added soundtracks from background audio. Tracks from licensed libraries such as TikTok's Commercial Music Library and Meta's Sound Collection are excluded, and every flag is checked by an analyst before a report is delivered. Posts are flagged as potentially unlicensed, never asserted as infringement.

Carriers, MGAs, brokers and capacity providers. Silent Coverage is part of the Copyright Check AI Group, which has audited more than 50 million social posts for global and publicly listed brands over five years.

No. We sit on one side of the table only: we never work for music rights holders, and no finding is ever shared with a label. Findings go only to the contacts you nominate.

No. You can submit a single insured to start, then scale across a programme or your whole book.

Yes. White-labelled reports are available for broker-facing use.

You decide how to act: decline, exclude, surcharge or require remediation. With your agreement, our team can also work with the insured directly to help them remove or licence the content behind the score, which brings the risk on your book down.

Each audit has a fixed fee per insured, set by the stage of the policy and the number of accounts reviewed, so you know the cost before a submission is sent. Larger insureds with many accounts are scoped individually. Book a call and we'll take you through pricing for your book.

No. Reports are risk intelligence for underwriting, portfolio management and advisory use. Exposure figures are estimates of potential statutory damages based on publicly available information. For specific legal matters, consult qualified counsel.