Covers &
performances
Someone singing or playing your song, at home or on a stage — including full live sets.
YouTube Content ID
Get paid every time
your sound is used
Fans are already making videos with your music. Content ID finds them, claims them on your behalf, and turns other people's uploads into part of your monthly payout — automatically, on every plan.
The basics
What is YouTube Content ID?
Content ID is YouTube's copyright-matching system. Every upload is scanned against a database of registered audio, and when a match is found, the rights holder decides what happens next. Register your catalog and you become that rights holder.
It is the difference between a cover of your song earning money for nobody, and that same cover paying you every month it keeps getting watched. For a lot of artists it turns out to be the largest slice of their YouTube income — bigger than their own channel.
Dance cover — wedding edit2.1M views · match found
ClaimedTravel vlog — Goa sunset640K views · match found
ClaimedGym motivation reelScanning new uploads…
ScanningVideos monetized this month0
UGC revenue
How it works
Register once.
It runs forever.
You do the first step. YouTube and our system handle the rest, around the clock.
-
Step 01
Register
Tick Content ID when you upload a release. We deliver an audio fingerprint of every track to YouTube.
-
Step 02
Detect
YouTube scans every new upload against that fingerprint — covers, clips, Shorts, background music, all of it.
-
Step 03
Claim
A claim is placed automatically on each match, so the ad revenue from that video is assigned to you.
-
Step 04
Get paid
Earnings land in your dashboard with your streaming royalties and withdraw on the same monthly cycle.
Coverage
Every way your music
shows up on YouTube
If the audio matches, it earns — whoever uploaded it and wherever it appears.
Covers &
Shorts &
reels
Short-form clips built on your sound — usually the fastest-growing source of claims.
Vlogs &
background use
Travel films, lifestyle vlogs and edits that use your track under the footage.
Samples &
interpolations
Sections of your recording lifted into someone else's upload still register as a match.
Dance &
fan edits
Choreography, lyric videos, fan compilations and anything else the internet makes with your track.
Your own
uploads
Official videos, visualisers and behind-the-scenes clips on your own channel are covered too.
What a claim actually does
A claim is not a strike
This is the part most artists get wrong. A Content ID claim doesn't punish anyone — it just tells YouTube who owns the audio. You choose what happens next.
Monetize
The video stays up and ads run against it, with the revenue routed to you. This is our default — it earns the most and keeps creators using your music.
Track
Leave the video alone and just collect the data — how often your track is used, by whom, and how fast that's growing.
Block
Take the video down where a use genuinely isn't acceptable. Rarely the right call, but it's yours to make — tell our team and we'll action it.
Eligibility
What you can
and can't register
Content ID only works on recordings you exclusively own. Registering anything else gets claims reversed and can put your channel at risk — so it's worth reading this list before you tick the box.
Eligible
Recordings where you hold exclusive rights to the master.
- Original songs you wrote and recorded
- Exclusively licensed beats — the licence must be exclusive, in writing
- Your label's catalog, where the label controls the masters
- Instrumentals and versions you produced yourself
- Collaborations where all parties agree to the registration
- Back catalog not registered with any other provider
Not eligible
Registering these causes disputes, reversals and removals.
- Non-exclusive leased beats — the most common rejection by far
- Remixes and mashups of someone else's recording
- Karaoke and backing tracks of songs you don't own
- Public-domain or royalty-free library music
- Tracks already registered through another distributor
- Compilations and "best of" collections of other artists
- Gameplay, trailers or TV audio layered into your upload
- Live recordings of other people's songs
If your track doesn't qualify
You still have options
Content ID isn't the only way to protect your work. If a release isn't eligible — or you'd rather not register it — YouTube offers lighter-touch tools you can use directly from your own channel, and we'll point you to the right one.
Ask us which applies
1
Copyright Match ToolFinds full re-uploads of your own video and lets you request removal
2
Copyright complaint webformA manual takedown request for a specific infringing video
3
Content Verification ProgramFor rights holders managing takedowns at scale
Official Artist Channel
Get the music note next to your name
An Official Artist Channel merges your auto-generated topic channel into your real one, unlocks the artist shelf and the "Official Artist Channel" badge, and tells YouTube you're the genuine source. We handle the eligibility checks and the submission with you.
- Eligibility review before you apply, so you don't get rejected
- Topic-channel merge so your streams consolidate in one place
- Included on every plan, Free and Pro alike
AK
Aarav K. — Official Artist ChannelVerified · topic channel merged
Live
Artist shelf enabledYour releases surface above topic uploads
UGC video listSee every video using your sound — Pro plan
Getting paid
One balance, one withdrawal
Content ID revenue isn't a separate account to chase. It's reported next to your streaming royalties, included in the same statements, and withdrawn from the same balance on the same monthly cycle. Your plan's revenue share applies exactly as it does everywhere else.
- Earnings scale with views — the more creators use your sound, the more it pays
- Splits still apply — collaborators get their share of UGC money too
- Per-release control — switch Content ID off for anything you'd rather leave alone
YouTube revenue this month₹0
▲ 34.2%
Content ID FAQ
Frequently
asked questions
Still unsure whether your track qualifies? Contact our team.
What is a YouTube Content ID claim?
A claim is an automatic notice placed on a video that contains your music. It doesn't penalise the uploader — it simply tells YouTube who owns the audio, so the advertising revenue from that video is routed to you instead of nobody.
Does a claim delete the video or strike the channel?
No. A Content ID claim is not a copyright strike and carries no penalty for the uploader. By default we monetize rather than block, so the video stays up, the creator keeps posting, and you earn from the views.
How much can I earn from Content ID?
Earnings track views on the videos using your music, so there's no fixed rate. A sound that catches on with many creators earns far more than a single official upload — which is why Content ID often out-earns an artist's own channel.
Can I register a beat I bought online?
Only if your licence is exclusive and in writing. Standard leased beats are sold to many artists at once, so registering one would claim other people's songs — that gets reversed and can put your account at risk.
What about remixes and covers I made?
Not eligible. Content ID needs exclusive ownership of the recording, and a remix or cover is built on someone else's work. You can still distribute them normally where you have the right to — just leave Content ID off.
My track is already registered elsewhere. Can I move it?
Yes, but the previous provider must release it first, otherwise both registrations conflict and neither collects properly. Ask them to remove the asset, then tell us and we'll register it from our side.
How long before claims start appearing?
Registration typically takes a few days to propagate after your release goes live. Once active, matching is continuous — new uploads are caught as they appear, and YouTube also scans back over existing videos.
Someone disputed my claim. What happens?
Disputes come to us, not to you. Our team reviews the video against your registration and responds on your behalf. If a claim was placed in error we release it; if it's valid, we uphold it.
Can I turn Content ID off for one release?
Yes. It's enabled per release, so you can leave it off for a collaboration, a remix, or anything with samples you don't exclusively control — and keep it on for the rest of your catalog.
Need help getting started?
Let's grow your
music together
Upload once. Reach 120+ stores. Keep 100% of your rights.