The best way to find out if a song is copyrighted is by uploading it to YouTube and letting the Copyright Checker check if there are any copyright issues. Here's how to do it: Log in to your YouTube account and then go to the YouTube Creator Studio. Click CREATE in the top right corner of the page and then Upload ...
Music and lyrics published in 1927 or earlier are in the public domain in the USA. No one can claim ownership of a song in the public domain, therefore public domain songs can be freely used with no fees or royalties payable to anyone.
Giving credit to the owner of a copyrighted work won't by itself turn a non-transformative copy of their material into fair use. Phrases like “all rights go to the author” and “I do not own” don't automatically mean you're making fair use of that material. They also don't mean you have the copyright owner's permission.
To get permission to use a copyrighted song, you'll need to find the artist or owner of the song and contact them directly. You can't contact famous musicians directly, but you can contact their music publishers.
Another way to avoid copyright infringement and strikes is to only use your own content on YouTube. If you only use music and videos that you've created yourself, you won't have to worry about copyright claims as you'll be the copyright owner.
In the Audio Library in YouTube Studio, you can find royalty-free production music and sound effects to use in your videos. Music and sound effects from the YouTube Audio Library are copyright-safe.
The song you want to use is copyrighted if you see the copyright symbol next to it when you download the song. (Not to be confused with the Creative Commons licensing symbol). Know what the law says. To avoid infringing your country of residence's copyright law, there is nothing better than knowing what it says.
The "15 Second" or "8 Bar" Rule
The reality is that there is no legal protection in copyright law for these types of use. If you use a piece of a composition or sound recording that is copyrighted, you will need a license.
Copyright Act protects the work of the artist/proprietor and confers the owner with the right of selling and distributing their work. A remix song is legal only when the owner of the remix song informs via notice declaring their intentions behind the remix song and pays a royalty to the original proprietor.
You CAN use copyrighted music on YouTube, as long as you understand the rules. If a particular song is registered with Content ID, you will get a claim. It doesn't matter is that song is labelled “royalty free”, “no copyright”, or came from a music library.
It doesn't matter if it's just a short clip. 10 seconds or 30 seconds. You still can't use it. The only way to legally use music on YouTube is to get permission from the copyright holder (or whoever does actually “own the rights” to the song).
Your song's music and lyrics are protected by copyright as soon as you record them, even if it's just a rough recording on your cell phone. But to get the full benefit of copyright protection, including the right to sue people for infringing your copyright, you must register it with the U.S. Copyright Office.
YouTube's Audio Library has royalty-free music that creators can use in their YouTube videos.
To be eligible for copyright, a sound recording must be the original work of the author and show a minimal amount of creativity. You may also copyright a sound effect, called a sound mark by the Copyright Office. Think, for example, of NBC's three chimes—they are copyrighted.
In other words, Spotify is a streaming platform only and has no authority over music copyright. It is purely for listening to music. To use royalty-free music safely on Twitch, you must have permission from the music copyright holder.
Music You Can Use On YouTube
The reality is that most YouTubers will use stock, library or non-commercial royalty free music for their videos. With this content, licensing is made as easy and hassle-free as possible.
While you can extract YouTube audio from almost any video be sure that you have the consent of the author if the video is not yours. We don't condone any copyright breaking activities. Most people are happy to let you use their content so just reach out and be on the safe side.
Assume just because you only use a few seconds of any clip that it will “be ok.” You cannot use any copyrighted material, no matter the length, without permission. Think that if you give credit to the artist, you can use their copyrighted material. Again, unless you get specific permission, you cannot use it.
First, reach out to the copyright owners or rightsholders directly and negotiate the appropriate licenses for your use. Then, check the license. Licenses have explicit permission for using the content and often include limitations for how the content is used.
In the Restrictions column, hover over Copyright. Click SEE DETAILS. Under the Content identified in this video section, find the relevant claim and click Actions. Trim out segment, Replace song, or Mute song.