Adding your favorite tune to the video you created can be a hefty task. But, adding commercial music in the background for YouTube video without taking permission could violate U.S. copyright law. If you add music without permission, it gives rights to the music right holder to issue a copyright claim on your video. As a result, you might have to take down your video or remove the audio from it.
Well, YouTube has made it easy to get background music for your video without the risk of violating YouTube copyrights policy. You get an extensive list of well-known commercial songs from famous artists that you can use under specific conditions. The site also has an Audio Library which contains free music and also has sound effects. Both the collections can be found in creator section of Creator Studio.
Let’s know how to upload a video with copyright music without violating policies and find copyrighted Commercial Music that can be added to your videos.
YouTube commercial Music Policies section consists of a list of popular songs which have attracted users’ attention and grabbed their interest in using them. Although, there are some limitations in using them. Some of the restrictions could be a song blocked in certain countries or if the owner includes ads to the video to get a monetary benefit. Some of the songs in the list are those which are not allowed to use. If you want to check the copyrighted commercial music list:
- On your computer web browser, log in to your YouTube account.
- Click on your profile photo located in the top right corner of the window and click Creator Studio from the menu.
- Now on the left-hand side, a panel will open, click Create.
- Select Music Policies.
- To check the restrictions on a song, click on the song and a field will open which will show the restrictions.
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Types of Restrictions:
Every song that comes under the Music Policies list, has its restrictions set by music owner to control the use of the song on YouTube. Mostly, there are applied to the original song and cover for the song by anyone. There could various types of restrictions on a song. So, let’s check the list of restrictions:
- A statement that will provide information where original music or its cover could be used. There are possibilities that this could be viewable all around the world, viewable everywhere except 2 countries, Not viewable in 74 countries and other options. Don’t choose a song that can’t be used in the US as your video would not work there. You can check the list of blocked countries to know people in which country would not be able to watch your video.
- You will get notified that video can bear Ads. The music owner can put ads on your video to get monetary benefits. If you don’t want that to happen, choose free songs from Audio Library.
- You might also see “This Song Is Not Available For Use In Your YouTube video” and it might come with a warning that video may be blocked if you use the song.
Moreover, keep this in mind as YouTube allows you to add commercial songs, this doesn’t give you the right to use the song anywhere other than YouTube. The copyright holders have the right to change the permission given for the use of music, whenever they want
Legal Free Music for YouTube Videos
If you want free music and don’t want restrictions, you should head to Audio Library. You will get a huge list of songs to select with minimum or no restrictions upon using. To get access to the Audio Library, follow these steps:
- Open your web browser on your computer and log on to your YouTube account.
- Locate your profile photo from the top right corner of the screen and click on it. From the drop-down menu, click Creator Studio.
- Now from the Creator Studio page, click Create, located on the left-hand side of the window.
- Under Creator, click Audio Library to access the collection of free music and sound effects. Click Free Music tab.
- Click on the song that you want to listen and check the restrictions along with it.
- Once you have decided which song you want to use, click the down arrow beside the free music entry to download.
- You can set filter and look for tracks according to Genre, Duration, Mood, Attribution, and Instrument.
How Does It Work?
In Music Policy Directory, songs and their policies set by the copyright holders are listed. Policies mention what happens when you publish a video on YouTube that uses the music.
They have the power to direct how the music can be used on YouTube. So, they can decide if and how the video will be made available. Upon using music from Music Policy Directory, you will be notified that you have used copyright song.
Let’s see what each policy means:
- Monetize: Under this policy, the copyright holder wants to use the music for monetary benefits, so ads may appear on your video. Even with this policy applied, the video might not be available everywhere or on all devices. If you are lucky enough, the copyright holder might share the monetary benefits with you.
- Block worldwide: Many copyright holders don’t prefer or allow their music to be used on YouTube. If you use the music for your video, then the video may not be available on YouTube.
- Block in some countries: Some of the copyright holders choose to restrict the countries in which the music is available on YouTube. So, if you use the music for your video, the video can’t be viewed in the region where the music is blocked on YouTube.
As the copyright holders change their policies and your video status will change in future. Moreover, the policies only work on YouTube platform and it may differ if you upload a full album or most of the songs from the album. You can take advice from an attorney general to get to know the use of music.
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Getting Permission to Use Someone Else’s Content
If you want to use copyrighted music, you need to take permission to do it. YouTube can’t give you permission and can’t help you in finding and contacting the parties who may grant you permission.
So, these are rules and restrictions that you need to know before you upload a video with copyright music without violating policies. Stick with them to stay out of unnecessary trouble.