Gone are the days when the use of any music on the Internet was not controlled by anyone. Today, many of those who post music to YouTube or social networks are faced with a situation where this content is removed, citing copyright infringement. But what if you really like this track? The search for a melody in the public domain begins, and in order for it to be successful and not to have to start all over again, you need to be able to check whether this work is subject to copyright.
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In what cases is it necessary to check whether a musical work has a license?
There is no need to explain that the absolute majority of musical works have an author. Rare exceptions are folklore, music by unknown authors, as well as tracks posted on the Internet for free access.
True, the concept of “copyright holder” and “author” are not identical, and it is the former who usually make sure that their intellectual property is not used free of charge. This is a common commercial practice that has been zealously followed lately at all high-traffic sites.
So, copyright infringement when posting licensed content on Youtube is fraught with the following consequences:
- an unlawfully posted video is removed from the video hosting, and if such a violation is recorded three times, the violator’s channel is blocked for six months or deleted altogether;
- the copyright holder has the right to take away all the money earned by placing his music on someone else’s resource.
But even if the consequences turn out to be the mildest (deleting a piece of music), this fact in itself will be unpleasant, so you need to try to avoid downloading licensed content so as not to become the object of future proceedings.
True, there are licenses that allow you to use the tracks for your own purposes (Royalty Free, as well as Creative Commons), but even here there are certain restrictions, non-compliance with which is fraught with troubles.
Ways to check a song for copyright
In order not to face situations when you can be called a thief with all the ensuing consequences, it is advisable to always check the tracks you like. It’s not so difficult to do this, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most popular ways to check songs for copyright.
YouTube Music Library
Both registered users of the service and anyone else can take advantage of this opportunity. Until May 2020, YouTube kept a database of musical works that had certain restrictions on use, and if the music you liked fell into this list, you could see who the copyright holder was and what restrictions he had imposed (regional ban, video monetization ban). Then it was decided to do exactly the opposite, collecting in the “Fonoteka” all the tracks distributed without any restrictions that violate copyright.
From the point of view of the end user, nothing has changed: he is looking for his own music, and if it is in the “Music Library”, then he can insert it into his resources and even monetize. You can search for music compositions by a variety of criteria: genre, name, artist, date added to the library, duration of the sound. In the column “License type” you can see the specifics of the terms of use of the track.
So, to make sure that the music you are looking for is without copyright, you need to go to the YouTube Creative Studio, select the “Music Library” tab in the menu on the right, then click on the “Free Music” section and proceed directly to the search for a piece of music.
Initially, this social network positioned itself as a photo hosting with the ability to leave small comments, but now you can add short videos here, so many bloggers, besides YouTube, use this popular platform to post music videos.
Copyright checking is carried out here automatically, using special software.
Checking music for copyright on Instagram is carried out in the most primitive way: you create a new account and post a video with the audio track you like. If your post is deleted with a notice of copyright infringement, you shouldn’t upload this video to the main account. Yes, the method is quite time-consuming and time-consuming, so you should only use it if a YouTube search is unsuccessful. This also happens.
YouTube block “Music from this video”
Strictly speaking, checking a video for copyright in relation to the audio track used in the video is somewhat more difficult than checking a pure audio file. But the popular video hosting is also doing this, and if the video material contains licensed music, such a video will have a special block in the description called “Music from this video.”
Moreover, there is the possibility of searching and remixing, but the accuracy of checking music for copyright is not very high here – 70%. And the copyright information is in a stripped-down format. For example, it does not indicate in which countries the content will not be available.
Uploading videos to YouTube
A technique somewhat similar to the one we described for Instagram. True, you don’t need to create a fake account here – you just upload your video, but always in limited access mode – so you can find out if the music from the video has copyright protection. And if so, then you will not face penalties.
The verification algorithm itself is simple:
- the video uploaded to YouTube must be in .mp4 format, if you have a file with a different extension (for example, .avi or .mkv, then you will have to use any of the many online converters);
- go to the Creative Studio;
- upload the file to video hosting, set up limited access.
The video verification process can last from 10 minutes to several hours, and there will be remixes and covers, with the provision of information about the list of regions where video viewing will be prohibited.
Online check on eProves
If the above methods do not suit you, you can use an alternative method – the eProves service, which checks only music, but very quickly (no more than 15 seconds) and accurately. The service is young, but already has over 60 thousand regular users and about 100 thousand checks per month.
It is very simple to use it: go to the site and enter the name of the song into the search bar, you can also check the direct link from YouTube (you just need to click on the corresponding line under the search window).
So you’ve checked the song for copyright protection. But how do you know by the type of license, can it be used or monetized?
The following table will help you:
How to use a copyrighted track you like
If you like the music so much that you are ready for any tricks just to keep it with you, there are several ways to avoid the test or pass it without the risk of being caught.
Content ID check bypass
So, you want to upload to your YouTube channel a video whose audio track is copyrighted.
Then we do the following. We register and create a new channel. After completing the procedure, you will be asked to confirm the registration by entering the code from the SMS. You must first upload the problem video to the channel (its duration should be no more than 15 minutes), and only then enter the code sent. After that, it remains to activate the uploaded file by clicking on the “Video Manager” tab. In this case, your video will not be sent for Content ID verification, and it will be able to hang on the channel until the copyright holder finds it (the probability of this event is low). The disadvantage of this method is that only one video uploaded during registration can be protected from verification in this way.
Uniqueizing tracks
Content checking programs use algorithms that are not overly sophisticated – otherwise the search would be time-consuming. Therefore, it is possible to change the audio track in such a way that the composition is recognizable by ear, but with changed parameters. This procedure can be done with any advanced sound editor, changing the bass, pitch or playback speed. It is highly likely that your efforts will be crowned with success and a check in the same YouTube will give negative results, that is, your content will be classified as unique.
It works, but it’s better to overdo it than to make a few changes. In addition, the copyright holder can independently calculate your video and complain about it.
Short tracks
Surely you have seen short video clips on social networks that are sent for full wiretapping to paid sites. You can also use this technique – tracks less than 30 seconds long can be posted without fear of violating copyright. Such fragments are considered for informational purposes only and are not ostracized.
Where to find copyright-free music
If you are a fan of music, you will have to collect your songs with copyright in mind. Most of the popular songs are licensed by the copyright holders, and you can’t just use them. But there are methods for finding non-copyrighted tracks.
YouTube Music Library
You are already familiar with this method, and the library contains a huge number of songs and sound special effects that you can use at your own discretion. You can search by the same parameters, plus by mood. The genre and emotion filter is the most common when it comes to finding new songs.
Special groups on VKontakte
Many social networks are able to analyze what kind of music the account owner is listening to in order to offer him similar compositions. But this method can hardly be called productive. Another thing is special genre selections that can be easily found in VKontakte groups. True, you still need to check the music you like for copyright if you don’t want to risk your channel with an established audience.
Free Music Internet Archives
Music without copyright can be searched, for example, on trackers. There are also special portals (Free Music Archive), where huge collections of songs for every taste are collected. This is mainly music posted by independent musicians, thus achieving greater fame and popularity.
Conclusion
Sooner or later, each of us will have to come to terms with the fact that the “ownerless” Internet is not. And checking music and video for copyright should become a common practice for you, otherwise you cannot avoid “abuse” and other troubles, up to legal proceedings – there are already precedents.