Hi everyone! I was reading a thread on Youtube help about music covers, but it's kind of confusing to me. It states you can monetize a song cover, but I got lost on the process of doing so: Does the copyright author have to accept your video to be monetized, and also gets a part of it?
How do song covers monetization work?
- Thread starter PoochMx
- Start date
darksmokeyt
Loving YTtalk
I did some research on this myself, although I cannot guarantee the validity. I found that music covers and parodies aren't always considered "fair use" and you may need permission to perform them, given you are not disrespecting the original song. As far as monetization is concerned, I believe that depends on the song you cover. Some producers take all of the earnings, some take half, etc. Hope this helps!
Last edited:
KudoJin
I've Got It
I've done a lot of research on this as well so I'll chime in. That said, I am NOT a lawyer, so yeah keep that in mind.
Simply covering a song does NOT fall under fair use. You still need permission from the rights-holders to do that, so you need to be careful about what songs you cover. With some songs you are allowed to cover them, but with others you aren't. Look up the copyright status of the song you're looking at, and you should be able to figure out what it is. You would also need permission from the rightsholders to monetize any of your stuff.
Now some rightsholders to allow you to cover and monetize, so be sure to double check that stuff before you go and cover and songs.
Parodies can be considered fair use, but the issue is that "fair use" has to be proven in a court of law. So a company could still very will sue you even if your parody falls under fair use. Also, while you technically are allowed to monetize stuff that falls under fair use, not making money off of it would probably (I think, not sure) be a huge point in favor of any legal argument that something falls under fair use.
Fair use and copyright is a complicated legal mess, so if I got anything wrong please feel free to correct me.
Simply covering a song does NOT fall under fair use. You still need permission from the rights-holders to do that, so you need to be careful about what songs you cover. With some songs you are allowed to cover them, but with others you aren't. Look up the copyright status of the song you're looking at, and you should be able to figure out what it is. You would also need permission from the rightsholders to monetize any of your stuff.
Now some rightsholders to allow you to cover and monetize, so be sure to double check that stuff before you go and cover and songs.
Parodies can be considered fair use, but the issue is that "fair use" has to be proven in a court of law. So a company could still very will sue you even if your parody falls under fair use. Also, while you technically are allowed to monetize stuff that falls under fair use, not making money off of it would probably (I think, not sure) be a huge point in favor of any legal argument that something falls under fair use.
Fair use and copyright is a complicated legal mess, so if I got anything wrong please feel free to correct me.
Stike96
I Love YTtalk
I don't do song covers myself so can't say how accurate this is, but there's an area on YouTube that says whether you can or can not monetise songs here: https://www.youtube.com/music_policies
This area has separated song covers and just generally using music in videos.
Highfalutin' Low Carb
Loving YTtalk
The clearest info about this I’ve ever read is an article on LegalZoom website. I can’t post a link here, but if you google “cover song YouTube legalzoom” you will find it.
The most important part:
“Once a musical work has been published, anyone can record a cover version of the song by obtaining a mechanical license. A song is “published” when copies or recordings are distributed to the public for sale or rent. A live performance is not publication.
The song’s copyright owner must give you a mechanical license if you pay a royalty fee based on estimated revenue from your cover song. You can obtain a mechanical license through the Harry Fox Agency.
The mechanical license only covers the audio portion of your YouTube cover. To post video along with the song, you’ll need a synchronization license, also called a “sync” license. You must negotiate a sync license with the copyright holder. While copyright owners must grant mechanical licenses, they are not required to give you a sync license, nor is there a set fee for the license.
The good news is that many music publishers have already made agreements with YouTube that allow their songs to be used in exchange for a portion of the ad revenue generated on YouTube. You can find out if there is already an agreement in place for the song you want to use by contacting the music publisher directly.
Consequences of Posting a Cover Song Without a License
The consequences of posting a cover song without a music license depend on the copyright holder.
Some copyright owners don’t mind YouTube covers—they increase a song’s exposure and may introduce a new audience to the songwriters’ or original performer’s music. If songs are posted by fans, a band isn’t likely to risk alienating them by taking down their videos.
Other copyright owners object to unlicensed use of their work. A few years ago, Prince famously had YouTube remove a video that showed a toddler dancing to one of his songs.
If a copyright owner objects, YouTube may remove your video or it may negotiate a deal for the copyright owner to obtain revenue from ads that appear on YouTube. If YouTube removes the video for copyright issues, it will also place a strike against your YouTube channel. After multiple strikes, YouTube will delete your channel, along with the videos, subscribers, likes, views and comments. If you’ve worked hard to cultivate your channel, this can be devastating.”
Hope this helps!
The most important part:
“Once a musical work has been published, anyone can record a cover version of the song by obtaining a mechanical license. A song is “published” when copies or recordings are distributed to the public for sale or rent. A live performance is not publication.
The song’s copyright owner must give you a mechanical license if you pay a royalty fee based on estimated revenue from your cover song. You can obtain a mechanical license through the Harry Fox Agency.
The mechanical license only covers the audio portion of your YouTube cover. To post video along with the song, you’ll need a synchronization license, also called a “sync” license. You must negotiate a sync license with the copyright holder. While copyright owners must grant mechanical licenses, they are not required to give you a sync license, nor is there a set fee for the license.
The good news is that many music publishers have already made agreements with YouTube that allow their songs to be used in exchange for a portion of the ad revenue generated on YouTube. You can find out if there is already an agreement in place for the song you want to use by contacting the music publisher directly.
Consequences of Posting a Cover Song Without a License
The consequences of posting a cover song without a music license depend on the copyright holder.
Some copyright owners don’t mind YouTube covers—they increase a song’s exposure and may introduce a new audience to the songwriters’ or original performer’s music. If songs are posted by fans, a band isn’t likely to risk alienating them by taking down their videos.
Other copyright owners object to unlicensed use of their work. A few years ago, Prince famously had YouTube remove a video that showed a toddler dancing to one of his songs.
If a copyright owner objects, YouTube may remove your video or it may negotiate a deal for the copyright owner to obtain revenue from ads that appear on YouTube. If YouTube removes the video for copyright issues, it will also place a strike against your YouTube channel. After multiple strikes, YouTube will delete your channel, along with the videos, subscribers, likes, views and comments. If you’ve worked hard to cultivate your channel, this can be devastating.”
Hope this helps!