YouTube Content ID: Using Music in Your Videos

Including music in your YouTube videos that isn’t yours can be risky business. If you don’t do it correctly, you risk losing your monetization privileges for that video, or worse, a copyright strike against your channel. However, it is possible once you understand how the YouTube Content ID system works. In this video I break down the whole process, from receiving a Content ID flag to clearing it with the proper paperwork.

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Of course, it’s unlikely that you can obtain permission to use a big name artist’s music in your YouTube videos. But there’s no reason you can’t license the music from a friend’s release or local indie band.

However, even between friends, if the music you’re using has already been released worldwide and fingerprinted by the YouTube Content ID system, you’ll need more than just a verbal agreement. You’ll need to have a signed and authorized sync license agreement to prove to the music’s distributor and YouTube that you actually have permission to use this music in your video.

Then, when this has all been done correctly, it can be a winning situation for all parties involved.