With many artists globally receiving YouTube royalties, it has proven to be a lucrative platform for creators and artists. Videos that contain music can generate royalties for artists whose music features, but it can get a little confusing at times. Monetized YouTube videos generate both mechanical and performance royalties for songwriters, and videos that contain songs can also be monetized by publishers. Let’s take a look at some things you might not know about YouTube royalties!
YouTube Royalties
1. You Can Also Collect Royalties On Videos You Didn’t Upload
Songwriters are entitled to monetize and collect royalties when their song is used in a YouTube video. Publishers can claim any video that includes a recording or performance on YouTube. Once they have claimed it, they can choose to monetize the video and collect royalties.
2. Your Label Or Distributor Usually Won’t Collect Composition Royalties For You
There is essentially two ways for songs to earn royalties. These are:
- From the master recording (the actual audio file)
- From the composition (e.g. the music and lyrics)
Record labels or distributors usually only control the master recordings, and therefore collect royalties generated by this on YouTube. Songwriters are also owed royalties generated by the composition. In order to receive this, you will need a music publishing administrator. They will monetize your composition and collect the royalties on your behalf.
3. You Need Ads To Generate Royalties
YouTube videos (unfortunately) don’t generate royalties until an ad is featured. Ads are served on videos by a copyright owner placing a claim on the video, and telling YouTube to monetize the video. Videos without ads aren’t generating any royalties for the rights holders. However, royalties can also come from services such as YouTube Music.
4. Not Every YouTube Video Can Be Monetized
YouTube has thresholds for video monetization. These thresholds/requirements are:
- The channel must have at least 1000 subscribers
- It must also have had 4000 hours of watch time in the past year
Only if you meet these requirements can you qualify to have ads placed on your videos.
5. Copyright Strikes
A YouTube channel receives a copyright strike if a rights holder notifies YouTube that the uploader doesn’t have permission to post the content. After three strikes, the channel’s videos will be removed and the channel can be terminated. A rights holder can also choose to place a claim on a video in order to monetize it. This doesn’t give the uploader a copyright strike, it just means that the rights holder will receive owed royalties for the video.
How Audiosocket Can Help
If you’re looking for music for your YouTube videos, Audiosocket can help. Starting at $10 a month, you can have unlimited access to over 80,000 tracks! With various genres and moods, it couldn’t be easier to find music to heighten your content. Get started now!
