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YouTube Music Video Licensing Copyrights and Monetization

October 23, 2020
Minutes to Read:
6 min read

Most people would agree that music can heal a person. Music has an incredible power to change the expressions and the mood of a person because of its connection. Music is something every person is touched by, despite the culture or the region we belong to. Almost all of us can think of that one musical song that triggers our emotions. The song might be from our wedding day, or it reminds us of someone we lost. Music has incredible powers of evoking your feelings.

Music has become more and more common in our lives. From the television we watch to the social media we consume, everything has some sort of music. With the advancement in the tech world, the quality of music has also improved significantly. Nowadays, we have excellent digital audio mixers and recording interfaces that help us generate some of the clearest and top-notch music.


YouTube Music

There wasn't a specific primary source where you could get your favorite music from in the past, but this is no longer the case. Although there are multiple sources to access your music even today, YouTube is the indisputable king when it comes to music. The most viewed video in the world is found on YouTube, and it happens to be a music video. Every album that is released by a music company can be found on YouTube instantly. YouTube not only helps you get the latest and greatest music but all that for zero dollars in cost. Some premium videos may require paid subscriptions, but the number of such videos is next to none. YouTube Music has all sorts of songs and tracks that you can think of. Whether it is the original tracks that you want to listen, or any mashup or cover music, YouTube has got you covered.

As if YouTube Music wasn't successful enough, YouTube came with their Music App that helps you find music in the easiest way possible. The app's interface and the ease with which you can slide through your most liked music is fantastic. YouTube always keeps updating the YouTube Music app to elevate the music listening experience even further. YouTube music is for professional musicians, semi-pro, and amateur singers, and musicians can use the platform to portray their talents.

However, there is one major issue with YouTube, which is increasing by the day, and that is the advertisement section of YouTube Music. It seems like YouTube is getting real comfortable with their advertisements. There are ads at the beginning of the video, during the video, and at the end of the video. At first, this wasn't a major issue, but YouTube is going all out with their ads campaign by placing multiple ads at once, in some cases. The experience is even worse if you are on android. However, there is one way around this issue: getting the premium subscription that will get you rid of any type of ads.


How to get music for YouTube?

Using music on YouTube is not that easy as it sounds. You cannot just use any music that you find online in your video that is to be published on YouTube due to several copyright issues. Using some of the famous music tracks with the copyright holders' consent will get you muted or blocked and will not let you monetize your content in the future. We will get into these issues in just a bit, but for now, we have a look at some of the best sources for music that you can use in your music video without any issues.


Epidemic Sound

Epidemic Sound is one of the biggest names when it comes to getting licensed music. Their terms allows you to use their licensed music while you are currently have an active subscription with them. Epidemic Sound has an insanely extensive library of some of the best music that you can find for your YouTube videos. You have to pay a monthly fee for using epidemic sound, after which you get full access to the latest and most significant collection of royalty-free music. Over 100,000 creators on YouTube and other platforms use epidemic sound to get the most desirable music for their videos. You can get hip-hop, pop, acoustic, and several different types of music using epidemic sound.


Premium Beat

The premium beat is another excellent source where you can get royalty-free music for YouTube. One of the most highlighting features of Premium Beat is the diversity of the music that is available on the site. There are over 10000 plus tracks of different moods, artists, genres, and duration. The site also has a list of its personal favorites that makes it pretty easy for you to find the best of the best.


There are several other great sites as well, including

  • Artlist
  • Music Vine
  • Sound Stripe


Copyrights for YouTube Music.

The copyrights system is pretty strict when it comes to YouTube Music. There are very strict policies on the YouTube platform that prevent music usage that has been allowed by the original owner. You can use the music on YouTube videos only if the person who has the rights will enable you to use it.

There are some policies of YouTube Music that you must be aware of

  1. Monetization. If the copyright holder allows you to use and monetize their music, the ads will still appear on your video, however, the copyright holder can claim some amount from the revenue generated.
  2. Block Worldwide. If you use music without the copyright holder's permission, your video will most probably be removed or blocked worldwide. Not only that, but your YouTube channel also gets a warning from the platform.
  1. Block in some regions. This is another case in which the copyright holder has restricted some countries in which the music cannot be played. Instead, the music can be played in the countries where it is allowed to.