As of January 2022, YouTube ranks as the second most popular social channel worldwide, housing nearly 2.6 billion monthly active users. Those users watch roughly one BILLION hours of video daily, with 80% of those videos having music present, making YouTube one of the largest platforms for music discovery. (Source: Statistica) Needless to say, this kind of music prevalence gives artists opportunities for exposure and money thanks to YouTube’s Content ID system and Official Artist Channel.
Content ID is YouTube’s digital fingerprinting system that music creators can use to seamlessly identify, manage, and protect their music on Youtube. Content ID was developed and launched by YouTube’s parent company Google in 2007 to protect content owners from copyright infringements. This system is fully automated to identify when your music is used in a video uploaded by another user. For example, if a vlogger uses your song in the background of their video, Content ID will automatically detect the use of your piece, flag it, alert you, then work to monetize it in your favor.
With Content ID, YouTube listens to your song and creates a “digital fingerprint.” That digital fingerprint is stored within Content ID’s massive database and is then used to track and identify your music if it appears in any user-generated content. If a user uploads a video containing your song, that video is flagged, and the original content owner is alerted. In most cases, the user may opt-in to receive monetary compensation for the use of their song. As a result, YouTube then places ads on that video so you can earn money.
When Content ID finds a video with your music in it, there are three things you can do:
Musicians, most notably independent artists, have claimed hundreds of thousands of videos through Content ID. Most of these artists choose to monetize their claimed videos, where pay is collected through video ads. A portion of the ad earnings from the claimed videos redirects to the artists who have enabled monetization in the YouTube system.
As a result, billions of dollars have been paid out to content owners since 2007.
You can monetize any song in which you control the master recording and publishing rights. If your songs are 100% original, then you’re all set.
Songs that are not eligible for Content ID monetizing include:
Advertisers can only target ads to countries where YouTube has launched a monetized site. Here is a complete list of countries where YouTube monetization is available.
When you add Content ID to your track(s), it will prioritize scanning the most popular YouTube videos before moving on to videos with less engagement.
Depending on the popularity of your song(s), Content ID can take anywhere from two weeks to 6 months to claim ALL of the correct content.
If you choose to monetize the video that is using your music, there are two ways you can achieve that:
AND
Or
2. You can join Venice Music to unlock and add YouTube Content ID to ALL your tracks. 100% free with zero fees taken.
Learn how to use your streaming analytics and data to create insightful fan personas for your music marketing strategy.
With a ton of music distributors to choose from, see why Venice Music is the best option for independent musicians.
It's no secret that TikTok is the ultimate platform for getting your music discovered. Check out our 5 tips on how you can boost your music on TikTok.