How to Use Copyrighted Music on YouTube Video Legally?

Written By Robert Fabry Last updated: January 3, 2025

Why does my video on YouTube say copyright claim? Why is my YouTube video blocked for copyright? These are all common YouTube creator gripes on the web. Many people don’t realize the role of copyright frequently when adding music to videos, especially for beginners, so the video is probably going to be taken down due to copyright restrictions. If you add copyrighted music to video and monetize from it, the copyright owner of that music can make a claim.

How do we know if music is copyrighted? What happens if you add copyrighted music to YouTube videos? How to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos and save you from violating copyright restrictions? In this guide, we’ll delve into the intricate world of copyrighted music, exploring music usage available for YouTubers, and highlighting useful ways to avoid copyright music pitfalls.

Contents Guide Part 1. Everything You Need to Know about Copyrighted MusicPart 2. How to Use Copyrighted Music in Your YouTube Videos Legally?Part 3. Bonus Tips: Download YouTube Music without PremiumFAQs about Using Copyrighted Music on YouTubeConclusion

Part 1. Everything You Need to Know about Copyrighted Music

Before we share how to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos, we will explain some important things about copyrighted music and YouTube’s policy in this part.

What Is Copyright Music?

First things first, let’s know what exactly copyrighted music means. There are basic rules and copyright laws in the music industry to protect the work of musicians, composers, and artists alike. So the copyright owners have the right to control how their works are used or monetized. The copyrighted owners of music are most typically the creators of the song, the music artist, the songwriters, or a record label. The copyright law can protect the content copyright owners create from being used without any permission, but it will also make it more difficult for you to find the music you want for editing YouTube videos.

How Does Copyright Policy Work on YouTube?

There are many music policies on YouTube in place to help with tackling copyright infringement on the platform. YouTube also created automated content detection systems called Content ID, that scan videos for copyrighted content. When your video is flagged by Content ID, the copyright owner of the identified song may decide to:

  • Remove your video
  • Block your video or your channel
  • Block your video in some countries
  • You can still post the video, but your video will be muted
  • Monetize your video by adding their ads, but you won’t be able to monetize

What Are the Risks of Using Copyrighted Music on YouTube?

What happens if you upload a video that includes copyrighted music? There are a few different consequences your videos, YouTube channel, and account could face. In serious cases, you can get penalized in multiple ways. This is why it’s so important to learn how to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos. Here are the key risks:

  • Your YouTube video might be muted or deleted
  • You may receive a copyright strike, your channel or account can be terminated if over three strikes
  • Your account standing might be affected and cause a loss of followers' trust.
  • Your video gets demonetized, meaning you won’t earn any advertising revenue from the video.
  • The ads of the copyright holder might appear on your video and all ad revenue goes to the owner of the copyrighted music
  • Hard to promote your video on some social media platforms because they will reject or limit the promotion of content that includes copyrighted music.
  • You might be led to financial penalties, damages, and legal fees.
  • In some cases, copyright owners may choose to pursue legal action against copyright infringers.

Part 2. How to Use Copyrighted Music in Your YouTube Videos Legally?

No one wants to mess around with copyright infringement violations. If you’re using any music in your videos that you don’t have rights to you’re taking a huge risk. You can file a dispute with YouTube when you get in trouble with copyright infringement, but it can be tricky and time-consuming. Therefore, exercise caution when using music in your YouTube videos. How to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos safely and legally? It’s time to explore the best ways to use copyrighted music legally on YouTube. Follow the methods below:

Method 1. Use Music from YouTube Audio Library

The first way to use copyrighted music in your YouTube videos legally is by using music from the YouTube Audio Library. This audio library has a wide range of royalty-free music and sound effects options ready for creators to use for free. Plus, all music from the Audio Library can be used for non-commercial YouTube videos as well as monetized ones, so the YouTube Audio Library is the best place to start.

Method 2. Explore Other Royalty-Free Music Platforms

If you are unsatisfied with content from YouTube Audio Library, you can search for a particular music track or perfect remixed tunes from other royalty-free music platforms, such as Thematic, Icons8 Fugue, Pixabay, Bensound, etc. The music on them is usually royalty-free or copyright-free. Some platforms requires a paid subscription, while others do not. You can find the right music from them.

Method 3. Obtain Proper Licenses from the Copyright Owners

How to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos? The third way is to get permission to use copyrighted music on YouTube. Try to contact the music owners and negotiate a permission agreement. Usually, a song or tune is created by copyright owners who are putting in their blood, sweat, time, and a bit of money. We need to respect their work. To use a copyrighted song, make sure to obtain a written authorization agreement from copyright owners before adding the music to your video.

Method 4. Create Original Music

Another option is to create your own original music. You can hire a musician to create and record a custom song made just for you. This approach allows you to have full control over the music in your videos and avoids any potential copyright issues. But this way can become time-consuming and need in terms of cost or budget.

Method 5. Understand YouTube’s Content ID System

If you’re a significant content creator or part of a media company, you can apply to use YouTube’s Content ID system. This system automatically scans uploaded videos for copyrighted material. If someone uploads your copyrighted content, you can choose to monetize it, block it, or track its statistics.

Part 3. Bonus Tips: Download YouTube Music without Premium

Now we have learned how to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos for commercial purposes, what if you want to add music to your private video? YouTube Music covers all your video needs, whether you're looking for an upbeat hip-hop track, light music, or cinematic music. Here we will share how to add music from YouTube Music to your unlisted video without Premium.

Downloading music for offline listening is one of the perks of YouTube Music Premium, is it possible to download for free? AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter is an easy-to-use music converter that helps you to download and convert YouTube music, albums, and playlists to computer. The audio files can be saved forever, even when your YouTube Music subscription ends. AMusicSoft provides different output formats, including MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, and ALAC.

With the leading and superb decoding technology, AMusicSoft YouTube Music Converter supports adding and converting YouTube songs in batches. You can download multiple YouTube Music playlists with one click. Moreover, AMusicSoft provides 35X faster conversion speed, which saves lots of time.

FAQs about Using Copyrighted Music on YouTube

Q1: Can I use music from other streaming services in my YouTube videos?

In this guide, we share how to use copyrighted music on YouTube videos. Some people will ask if they can use music from streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music for editting videos. Generally, you should not use music from streaming services in your videos without proper licensing or permission. These services typically do not grant the rights required for video usage.

Q2: If I remix or cover a copyrighted song, can I monetize it on YouTube?

No. Remixes and covers still use elements of the original copyrighted work, so you’ll need permission or a license to monetize them legally. For covers, YouTube has a system in place that allows for the monetization of certain cover songs, but the revenue might be shared with the original copyright holder. Remixes, however, often require direct licensing agreements with the copyright holders.

Q3: Can I use copyrighted music if I give credit?

No. Providing credit in your video description does not automatically permit you to use the song. While crediting artists is very nice of you (and something we always recommend), this does not provide you with an actual license to use the song.

Conclusion

If you want to monetize your videos on YouTube, you need to respect intellectual property rights first. Of course, you don't want some people to steal your work, too for commercial purposes. How to use copyrighted music on YouTube? We have told you the best way. We hope you can ethically and lucratively edit your video with copyrighted content.

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