How to know if a song infringes copyright
Uploading a video to YouTube containing a famous song can violate copyright and cause unpleasant consequences, such as reporting and removing the video or, in the case of repeated violations, even closing the YouTube channel.
However, you must know that the famous video sharing and viewing platform has introduced a system to find out how to use a certain song, even if it is copyrighted. If so you are wondering if it is possible put music in YouTube videos, the answer is yes. How to do? I'll explain it to you right away.
Connect to the YouTube site and click on the entry Log in present at the top right, then select theGoogle account that you usually use to access YouTube, enter the Password and presses the button NEXT to complete the login. If you are reading this tutorial for information and don't have a Google account yet, you can read my guide on how to create a Google account.
Now, click on yours photo present at the top right (or on the circle with the silhouette of a little man if you have not customized your account) and presses on the item Creator Studio to access the section to manage your videos, create a live one and check the statistics and information of your channel.
In the left sidebar, select the option Crea and click on the entry Rules on music to view a list of millions of usable songs on YouTube. If you want to know how to use a certain song, enter the title in the field Search for music and click the one icon magnifying lens (or press the key Submit on your keyboard) to start the search.
In the search results, find the song you are interested in and click on freccia rivolta verse il basso (placed to the left of the song title) to view usage information. Under the heading If you use this song you can view the terms of use of the song in your videos, while under the option If you play a cover you can find useful information in case you intend to upload your interpretation of the song to YouTube. In particular, two options are visible.
- Playback: indicates the countries in which the video will be visible if it contains the selected song. The voice Viewable worldwide indicates that your video will have no restrictions while the entries Viewable everywhere except for [number] countries e Stuck in [country name] indicate that the video will be visible all over the world with the exception of the countries indicated.
- Monetization: indicates whether the video containing the song can be monetized or not. The state You cannot monetize this video it means that you will not be able to earn through that video (the author of the song will do so), while Eligible for revenue sharing indicates that you can monetize the video but the revenue will be shared with the copyright owner of the song used.
If you have searched for a song and the proposed result is This song cannot be used in your YouTube videos. If you use this song, your video may be blocked or the audio may be muted, you can well understand that its use is highly discouraged.
If, on the other hand, the research did not bear fruit and the writing appeared to you No matches found, it means that the copyright owner of the song has not requested monetization of the content, so you can use the song in your video and monetize it without infringing on copyright. Keep in mind that if in the future the song author agrees to monetize the song, the rules of its use may change and your video may experience some problems.
You can keep it in check Copyright status and Community Policy Status of your YouTube channel through the section Creator Studioby clicking on the items Channel e Status and functions present in the sidebar on the left.
How to choose a song
Choose a song for use in a YouTube video it is an extremely important procedure to attract the viewer's attention, however the choice is subjective and varies according to personal taste. Even more important than your musical tastes, is choosing a song that is suitable for your needs in terms of monetizing the video and respecting copyright.
If you are not a YouTube partner and you have not activated the monetization of your videos, you can consider the possibility of using a famous song as indicated in the previous paragraphs, without worrying that the video is not monetized. Make sure that the movie containing the chosen song is not blocked globally, then you can download the song via one of the digital download services as indicated in my guide on how to download music.
If, on the other hand, you do not want to give up the monetization of your videos, you should know that on YouTube you can find thousands of free songs to use in your videos without infringing copyright. Then connect to the YouTube site and access your channel, then click on yours photo at the top right and presses on the option Creator Studio. Adesso, select the voice Crea in the left sidebar and click on the option Audio collection to access the YouTube audio library.
You can find a song by title by typing it in the field Search for music, For Gender (Ambient, classical, Christmas, Pop, Reggae, Rock etc), per Atmosphere (Angry, Calm, Quota, Felice etc), per Tool (Bows, Low, Battery, Piano, Trumpet etc.) and for duration. Once you have identified the track you are interested in, press the ▶ ︎ button to start playing it, click on the icon of a star to add it to your favorites or an icon freccia rivolta verse il basso to carry out the download for free on your computer.
If the icon of a appears next to the selected song little man enclosed in a circle and in its description the writing appears You can freely use this song and monetize your video, but you must include the following in the video description, it means that you can freely use the song but you must mention the original artist in the credits in the description of your video. You can view the songs without or with attribution by pressing on the item Attribution and selecting one of the available options from Attribution not required e Attribution required.
Alternatively, there are also numerous sound effects available in the YouTube audio library for you to download and use for free in your videos. Then select the tab Sound effects and press the ▶ ︎ button to listen to the chosen sound effect: if you like it, you can click on the icon of one freccia rivolta verse il basso to start the download for free and press the icon of a star to add the sound effect to the favorites list which you can access by selecting the item Add to Wishlist placed in the main menu.
If you are looking for a sound effect, you can search by name by typing it in the field Look for sound effects and pressing the icon of one magnifying glass. Alternatively, click on the entry Category and select one of the many sound effect categories available such as Pets, Weapons, Horror, weather, Rumorist, Sport, Transportation, Office, Human voices and many others.
Other copyright-free music solutions
If through the YouTube music library you have not yet been able to find a song to include in your videos or would like to know other platforms to find songs to use freely, you can consider these workarounds for copyright-free music.
- Freestockmusic: by creating a free account on Freestockmusic, you can find numerous music tracks to download and use for all your purposes, including videos to monetize.
- Bensound: excellent platform that allows you to download free songs released under a Creative Commons license. On the main page, click on one of the categories present between Cinematic, Electronica, Jazz, Rock and many others, find the song of your interest and press the buttons Download/Buy e Download to download the song.
- Soundjay: Another great solution to find numerous songs and sound effects to download for free is Soundjay. On its main page, choose one of the available categories (Button sounds, Music tracks, Human sound effects etc), select the song of your interest and start downloading the file in MP3 format.
- Free Music Archive: platform that collects hundreds of songs no longer protected by copyright or freely granted to the public by their respective authors. To quickly find songs to use in your videos, click on the entry Curators e seleziona l'opzione Music for video.
- Jamendo: among the solutions you can consider there is also Jamendo, which offers a catalog completely dedicated to music for video. On the main page of the service, press the button Browse the catalog to view thousands of songs to download and use in your movies - but to do so, you need to purchase one individual license at the cost of 9,99 €.
