If you upload a video with copyrighted music on YouTube, the platform may be forced to take it down. So how do you avoid copyright infringement? It’s simple: don’t use any songs that are copyrighted in your videos.
Well, almost simple… That might sound easy enough, but there are so many great tunes out there that finding royalty-free tracks online or even making your own can seem impossible.
In this article I’ll explain how to get permission for using a song (on YouTube). Before we go further into how to get permission, let me briefly explain how and why copyright works. This will help us understand how you should obtain permission for using a song.
What Might Happen If You Don’t Get Permission?
Let’s say you upload a video on YouTube, using a copyrighted song. If the copyright holder spots your video and decides to take it down, YouTube will take it down as well – and guess how much notification you get?
Nada. It could be months after uploading your video that you find out about the takedown notice.
Know How Music Rights Work
Music Rights are typically split into:
- Mechanical Rights
- Performance Rights
- Synchronization Rights.
Mechanical Rights: The owner of this particular right is very specific. This right allows the recording artist to make copies of their own songs (or let others do so). So if an artist records one or more songs in a studio , they own the right to make a copy of that song.
Performance Rights: The owner of this particular right is usually either a performing rights society or an artist.
A performing rights society is not an actual person or company, but rather a group of people who work together to collect royalties for artists and distribute them among artists how they see fit.
Some societies are run by brands or organizations, while others are run by national laws in specific countries (for example, PRS is operated under UK law).
Artists can also take matters into their own hands and manage how their songs are distributed, which results in them managing performance rights on their own.
Synchronization Rights: This right typically belongs to whoever owns copyright on a piece of music and its accompanying lyrics.
When a song is synchronized (combined) with moving image media (like film, TV shows, or advertisements), the one who owns this right has granted permission to do so.
In order to use copyrighted music in your video on YouTube you must get permission from all copyright holders involved. This can be very difficult and time-consuming (and even expensive), so how does a YouTuber avoid problems?
The Best Way Not To Run Into Any Copyright Issues
The safest way is by asking for permission – however it may be too late if your video already contains copyrighted material. If that’s the case, you’re going to have to take down your video and re-upload it without the copyrighted content .
It’s possible that your video will be reinstated as long as you don’t receive any copyright strikes, but it’s also possible that the copyright holder won’t agree.
What Is A Royalty-Free Song?
Royalty-free music has been composed specifically with how it may be used in mind. The best thing about working with royalty-free music is that you can use it for whatever purpose you like.
There are no restrictions on how you should or shouldn’t monetize your videos (for example). You can also re-upload your YouTube videos to multiple video platforms and websites without getting into trouble.
In order to avoid copyright infringement, make sure not to upload songs with copyrighted noise . This means that if somebody else created the music, there’s no need for permission from the copyright owner of the song.
How To Ask For Copyright Permission To Use A Song?
Whether you plan to monetize your video or not, you should always contact the holder of the music’s copyright first. The last thing you want is to have your video taken down for using copyrighted material without prior permission.
Here are some tips on how to get in touch with a song’s copyright holder:
- Search online for the name of the song and try finding how to contact its owner.
- Do an internet search for how to get in touch with any performing rights societies that represent the artist who created the song. Finally, send a letter and be prepared for being turned down or ignored as often happens . Publishing
How Much Does It Cost To License A Song?
A song’s price will vary depending on how you plan to use it and how popular the song is. The more people watch your video, and the more views it gets, the higher the price of using a particular song can get .
Every time somebody watches your video that contains copyrighted music, for example, royalties are automatically generated. This means that if you don’t own copyright on your videos but want to monetize them, you could end up in some trouble with rights holders.
Conclude
Copyright law can be complicated – how do you know how to get permission to use a song? The safest way to avoid copyright issues is by asking the copyright owner for permission.
You could also use royalty-free music, which means that there are no restrictions on how you should or shouldn’t monetize your videos . Lastly, make sure you’re paying attention to how you create your videos so that you can avoid copyright infringement.
So basically use Royalty free music if you do not plan on monetizing and get permission from the owner if you plan on monetizing. That is how I understood it anyway, but correct me if I am wrong somebody.
