A great percentage of the sounds that your ear picks up in a day are musical notes and melodies for a song. We don’t think twice before adding a song in the background to our personal videos, blog posts, and Instagram stories. But did you ever stop and think, “Wait, am I violating a law here?”
The answer depends on whether you’ve followed the copyright guidelines or not while using music for non-commercial use. In several situations, using a segment of a copyrighted work and providing accurate identification of the original author is sufficient to comply with intellectual property laws.
Using small bits of copyrighted work or copyrighted music for non-profit and for-profit purposes is usually considered legal, as it falls under the fair use doctrine. You may not use copyright material to its full length in any video without the owner’s consent or without acknowledging the true author of the work.
Different content creators, jurisdictions, and judicial officers have different criteria for what constitutes copyright violations. Would you like to know what these criteria are?
Keep reading to find out more!
What Is The Criteria For Copyright Infringement?
The use or development of copyright-protected content without the authorization of the real owner constitutes copyright infringement. Copyright infringement occurs when a third party violates the rights granted to the registered proprietor, such as the right to use a work for a defined amount of time.
The law must take into account (1) the nature of the copyrighted work and (2) the percentage and “substantiality of the component” used in connection to the protected content in its entirety.
Copyright infringement is, indeed, illegal. Copyright infringement is commonly considered a civil rather than a criminal contempt. Copyright infringement penalties typically demand a fine and/or payment to the wronged party.
What Does Non-commercial Mean In Copyright?
“Non-commercial” refers to activities that are not specifically designed or focused on commercial gain or financial reward. In acknowledgement of the many potential fact based scenarios and marketing strategies, the description is based on the intended outcome and purposely flexible.
Non-commercial use of music is outlined in the licence as “not primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation.” The definition is narrow enough to make its planned function and extent clear, but broad enough to cover a wide range of use cases.
Find out more in this video.
How Can I Legally Use Copyrighted Music?
Simply put, you can use music in videos legally if you have consent from the individual or company who owns the rights. Because music rights are typically held by both the publisher and the record label, you’ll need to obtain permission from both.
A synchronization will be provided by the publisher or composer (or sync license), after you’ve gained their permission. You cannot monetize your video if the song has not been claimed. Prior official authorization from the song’s content owner should be obtained.
How Do You Check If A Song Is Copyrighted?
Music in the public domain: The website PD Info not only provides information on copyright law, but it also catalogs all the music in the public domain. As of January 2022, these are often songs written or recorded in 1926 or earlier.
According to cyber tradition, if you modify 30% of a copyrighted work, it no longer constitutes infringement, and you are free to use it as you see fit.
Can You Use 30 Seconds Of A Copyrighted Song?
One of the most frequent myths is that one can use the first few seconds of music and not get copyrighted. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and there is no hard and fast rule that states a usage is permissible if it just takes 5, 15, or 30 seconds of a song.
Any unauthorized use of copyrighted content is considered a copyright infringement under US copyright law. If you use any of these songs, chances are that you are likely to be legally pursued and the medium uploaded on digital media will be taken down.
Where Can I Get Free Copyright Music For YouTube?
The Internet has a variety of platforms that offer copyright-free music. These samples, tunes, beats, melodies, and lyrics from a variety of genres can be used without being legally sued.
The top six websites for obtaining copyright free music are the following
- Icons8 Fugue
- TeknoAXE
- Pixabay
- Bensound
- Thematic
- Unminus
If you wish to lawfully utilize copyrighted music on YouTube, you must first obtain permission from the original creator. This is the other side of music licensing. Copyright law ensures that creators are compensated when their work is used. This is where YouTube’s music policy comes into play.
The majority of the time, YouTubers will include stock, library, or non-commercial music in their videos. Production/library music is intended for usage with video material, and licensing is purposefully kept as easy, straightforward, and quick as possible.
How Can I Put Copyrighted Music On YouTube For Free?
You may add music to your video using the YouTube Studio video editor from a library of licensed tunes. These tracks may be found in YouTube’s Audio Library. Songs from the Audio Library can be used in monetized videos.
You can add an audio track to your video by following the listed steps:
- Enter your YouTube Studio username and password.
- Select content from the left menu.
- Select the video you want to modify.
- Click Editor from the left menu.
- To discover a new audio track, select “Audio Music Note” and utilize the search filters. To listen to music, use the Play button.
- When you locate a song you like, click the ADD button. The song will be shown in a blue box in the editor.
- Drag the box to alter the start time of the song.
- Drag the box’s edges to adjust the quantity of music that plays.
- Make use of the zoom options. Zoom in for finer changes.
- When you’re finished, press the “save” button.
If your video has more than 100,000 views, you may be unable to preserve modifications to it. This limitation does not apply to YouTube Partner Program subscribers.
Conclusion
So the next time you want to jazz up your videos or make your posts aesthetic, make sure you give credit to the rightful owner of the music to avoid copyright lawsuits. We do not want to trip into the gaping mouth of a hideous lawsuit now, do we?
