Using Copyright Music in Unmonetized Videos?

ColdRansom

Active Member
Hey guys! I'm just curious if it is allowed by the YouTube terms of services to use Copyright music in videos that are not monetized without them being striked or taken down. If you guys could share your knowledge/experiences, it would be much appreciated! ^.^
 
I put a playlist mix up which got muted by all the record labels that owned the records. Don't know how other channels get away with it??
That's what I'm saying..I've seen huge YouTubers use mainstream music in multiple videos with no repercussions.. :/
 
There is a section in your YouTube creator studio which tells you which songs you can use. Most songs are fine to use as long as you dont monetize. Super big popular songs are usually ok too but they can also make your video not appear to certain countries.

For example if I search Wonderwall by Oasis...

it says... If you use this song Your video won't be viewable in 10 countries: American Samoa, Belgium, Canada, Guam, Luxembourg, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States Virgin Islands.

You just have to search and see if the song you want to use is viewable worldwide.

Just go to Creator Studio > Create > Music Policies
 
Last edited:
I believed it was 15 seconds - but someone here told me thats wrong also?
There is NO bright line rule for fair use. So you can't say 15 seconds or any other amount automatically equals fair use.

In particular, content ID can match with pretty small amounts of content.

And although not using a lot of content and not using content for commercial purposes can help in the analysis, ultimately, you can't necessarily assume that you're fair use just because you don't monetize.

Please remember that while copyright infringement is partially about attribution, it's also about compensation. So, even if you don't monetize the video, you are still using that material without compensating the original owners, which is still copyright infringement.

@Camermon is correct about using the Music Policies database to see what will happen if you use particular songs though -- a better answer may be to let the copyright owner monetize your video (and take the monetization on those videos for themselves). You can check with music policies to see what copyright owners will do.
 
There is a section in your YouTube creator studio which tells you which songs you can use. Most songs are fine to use as long as you dont monetize. Super big popular songs are usually ok too but they can also make your video not appear to certain countries.

For example if I search Wonderwall by Oasis...

it says... If you use this song Your video won't be viewable in 10 countries: American Samoa, Belgium, Canada, Guam, Luxembourg, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States Virgin Islands.

You just have to search and see if the song you want to use is viewable worldwide.

Just go to Creator Studio > Create > Music Policies
Thanks you so much for this information!! This will be extremely helpful in future projects! ^.^
 
Back
Top