FAQs
YouTube FAQs
Can I earn royalties if my music is used on YouTube?
Yes. Our licence agreement with YouTube covers the streaming of all music videos including music embedded in User Generated Content (UGC).
You may find that your works have been being synchronised as part of other users’ uploaded content to YouTube. It is important to understand that the synchronisation rights of a work are owned by the original copyright owner/music publisher. Therefore, a work cannot be used without gaining permission from the copyright holder (that means you or your publisher!).
If you discover that your musical work has been used without your consent, there are two options available:
- Contact the user who has used your work and license them directly.
- Contact us and we will endeavour to have the video taken down from YouTube on your behalf.
Please note, if you want to upload cover versions of songs to a User Generated Content site (UGC) where a visual element is present (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok etc), you may need to clear the synchronisation rights with the music publishers/original copyright owners.
Do I need clearance to upload other people's music?
APRA AMCOS has a licence agreement in place with YouTube. The licence does not extend to synchronisation (the initial reproduction of the song when making the video).
Our recommendation is to first contact the song’s copyright owner – often a music publisher. This will identify if a clearance is required to make a synchronisation of the song in a video.
Who gets paid for music covers on YouTube?
YouTube has a Content ID system to scan and identify copyright material. This system includes audio and audio-visual fingerprinting technology, as well as melody recognition for cover songs. The first two types of fingerprinting technologies are far more developed and accurate in identifying sound recordings and visual material (such as in films and TV programs). Melody recognition technology is less advanced and often cannot identify the large quantity of cover songs on YouTube.
Copyright owners can still claim their work manually. If a cover song went viral, it would be up to the copyright owner or music publishers to lodge a claim with YouTube.
