If you are a YouTuber, you probably use background music and sound effects in many of your videos to make them interesting to watch. To find such music, what most people do is to do a simple search on google, find suitable music, simply download it and use it in their videos. And you probably also started doing it the same way. But over time you have heard that it is not as simple as that and there are some copyright issues involved in using music on youtube. Well, you have heard it right. And even if you have not heard it yet, you must know that if you’re not doing it legally, youtube can remove your video or your entire youtube channel as well! However, there is nothing to worry about as you are at the right place. Read on to know all about how you can add music to your youtube videos legally.
What Are Copyrights?
Have you ever thought about where actually the music that you use in your videos come from? These music and sound effects do not originate on their own but are created by an artist who puts his precious time, money, hard work and passion into creating them. And that’s why artists hold the copyrights of songs created by them. This means that only the artist or a person licensed by the artists to use his songs can use them. Any usage of such songs without the permission of the artists is therefore illegal.
What Happens If You Use Music Without A Proper License?
Youtube follows a process to verify all its videos to ensure that they don’t violate copyright laws. Let’s read about the process in detail.
- Youtube detects copyright infringement:
Youtube has sophisticated scanning systems that scan each and every video that is uploaded on its platform. The system scans each element of your video and compares it with its huge database of copyright protected assets. If there is a match it means that your video contains copyright protected assets and a warning is delivered to you immediately.
- Youtube takes action against you:
Using music without a proper license is regarded as copyright infringement and youtube takes it very seriously. If youtube detects your videos doing this and you don’t have a license, it will take strict actions which may include removing your videos or ceasing monetisation of your videos.
The Way To Use Music In Youtube Videos Legally
Most people think it’s difficult and expensive as well to get a thing like a license. But actually, it is not. It is just our lack of awareness. This used to be so in the past. Earlier it was difficult to find good artists and you also had to pay periodical royalty as long as you used their music. But now the times have changed. Today it is neither difficult nor does it has to be expensive.
- There are many good online platforms available today which bring together the music artists and video creators. They offer a variety of music and sound effects for every type of need and usage. It has in fact never been easier to the type of music you want.
- Most of the music platforms today offer royalty free music. This means that there are no periodic payment obligations on you as long as you use the music. There are many platforms on which you can find royalty free music for free. Just download, follow some usage conditions and you are ready to use them for life.
- There are many premium platforms as well which charge you a one time payment for downloading the music. Or you can subscribe to their services at a small fee and then download as much as you want. Each download or subscription comes with certain usage conditions and prices may vary based on different conditions, so make sure to check them before paying.
- If you are confused about how to find such music platforms, you should know there are many good websites available which can help you in finding everything you need. One such good website is YouTubeSelection. It is made with the objective of helping the youtube creator community in finding all the assets they need for their work. Make sure to check it out. There are various other platforms as well. Spend some time searching on google and you should find them without much difficulty.
