In Creator Music, you may see the following options to use a track:
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Get a license: Use music in your monetizing video at no-cost. Earn the same revenue share that applies to your monetizing videos without music.
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Share revenue: Split video revenue with the track’s rights holders.
Usage details, which define how a song can be used, vary depending on the track. The track's rights holders set the usage details for a track and can change them at their discretion.
- There are also specific restrictions on how licensed music can be used within videos.
- Some Creator Music tracks may not be eligible for licensing or revenue sharing. If you use one of these tracks, your video could get a Content ID claim or a copyright removal request.
- You can check usage details in advance so you know how a track can be safely used in your video.
Usage details for licenses
A license gives someone legal permission to use content that other people own the rights to. Before you license a track, it’s important to understand its usage details so you know what permissions you have to use the track you’re licensing.
- Only YouTube Audio Library licenses are valid to use in multiple videos uploaded to YouTube. All other Creator Music licenses are valid for one use in a single video uploaded to YouTube only.
- Creator Music licenses are not transferable to other platforms or other YouTube channels. Creator Music licenses can be transferred to other videos within a YouTube channel if they haven’t already been used in a published video.
- There are also restrictions on how licensed music can be used within videos. For more info, go to Creator Music eligibility and restrictions.
Usage details for revenue sharing
If you use a track that's eligible to share revenue in your video, it means you can split video revenue with the track's rights holders. Before you start revenue sharing, it’s important to understand the track's usage details so you know what permissions you have to use the track.
Videos that use revenue sharing tracks from Creator Music must meet these usage requirements to be eligible to share revenue:
- No monetization issues: Video can't have monetization issues, such as:
- Copyright claims that have blocked visibility or disabled monetization.
- Violations of YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
- No live streams or Shorts: Video can't be a live stream or a Short. Learn about Shorts revenue sharing.
Remember that usage requirements can change at the rights holders’ discretion. For example, after you upload a video that uses a revenue sharing track, the rights holder could later disable monetization for the track, which would disable monetization for your video. Changes to usage terms can apply in certain territories or all territories.
With Creator Music, if a long-form video uses tracks that are eligible for revenue sharing, the standard 55% revenue share is adjusted to cover the costs of clearing music rights as shown in the examples below. This depends on:
- Number of tracks used: How many eligible revenue sharing tracks a creator uses in their video (see examples below).
- Additional music rights costs: Deduction to cover additional music rights costs, such as performing rights. This deduction can be up to 5% and will reflect the blended cost of these additional music rights across Creator Music tracks that are eligible for revenue sharing.
Example: Use of 1 revenue sharing track |
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Example: Creator uses 1 revenue sharing track in their long-form video and earns half of the standard 55% revenue share (27.5%). As an example, the deduction for additional music rights costs could be 2.5%. For this video, the creator would earn 25% of total revenue (27.5% - 2.5%). |
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Example: Use of 2 revenue sharing tracks and 1 licensed track |
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Example: Creator uses 2 revenue sharing tracks and 1 licensed track in their long-form video and earns 1/3 of the standard 55% revenue share (18.33%). As an example, the deduction for additional music rights costs could be 2%. For this video, the creator would earn 16.33% of total revenue (18.33% - 2%). |
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