If you’ve spent ages mastering your tracks, you want to make sure they’ll be accepted by your distributor for Content ID. Music distributors can seem like they’re being tough with what they accept, but that’s only because they have strict rules they have to follow. YouTube Content ID and art tracks are two different things. Even if your tracks are accepted to one, it doesn’t mean they’ll automatically be allowed on the other. They must fit into the requirements.
Watch this short video and see a summary of what types of tracks can be placed onto the Content ID system. Whenever a track is placed onto YouTube within it’s Content ID system, it will be trackable against any matching audio. This means if your music uploaded matches anything already present within the system, it won’t be able to go onto Content ID.
However, if your music is successful and gets placed onto YouTube in this way, then your music will be protected. Any time anyone uses your sounds on the platform, it will automatically generate a claim. You can decide how you act on this claim. It might be that you want the content removing, or you might be happy for it to stay online, providing you get the generated earnings from it. YouTube Content ID protects artists from having their music stolen and being used for profit.
With all of this being said, it’s no wonder that you must own all rights to the sound. You cannot upload something onto the system that you do not own. For example, if you’ve used samples from someone else’s tracks, this won’t be accepted. Think about your samples when creating new music. They won’t be allowed onto the system if they are owned by someone else. YouTube are really strict on these rules. They’re there to protect artists and their music.
