If you’re new to YouTube, you might have found yourself wondering, “what is content ID?” We’re here with the answer for you!

Whilst anyone can upload videos to YouTube, there are still some rules and systems you need to be aware of. As a video creator, you most likely understand the importance of background music. A good selection of songs accompanying your content helps to set the mood, emphasise your style, and lets audiences get a better idea of what they’re about to watch.

Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as adding any old music you like. Unless tracks are in the public domain and copyright free, you need the appropriate licenses and permissions to use it. This is because the copyright will still belong to someone else. In order to use copyrighted music, you’ll need to obtain a sync license. Doing this for popular, mainstream tracks on a case-by-case basis can become very expensive. We’re talking thousands.

You might be tempted to go ahead and use your favourite songs anyway, and hope for the best. But, the YouTube content ID system will make this difficult.

What Is Content ID?

The content ID system on YouTube takes registered audio assets and identifies videos containing any audio assets that match these.

This means that, if you use a copyrighted track, it’s likely registered to content ID, and YouTube will be able to spot you using it. This is nearly always a guarantee for contemporary, popular hits by big artists. But it’s also true for music from lesser known, independent musicians.

If you use music you’re not allowed to use, YouTube could dish out copyright claims or strikes to your channel. These disable you from earning money on the claimed video, and a strike is a little more serious – too many of these can result in a ban from the platform!

This might sound kind of annoying, to a newbie content creator. You just want to use good music in your videos, we get it. But content ID helps to protect other independent artists from having their intellectual property stolen or misused.

YouTube-Friendly Music

You can absolutely still use awesome music in your videos, and not run into copyright issues!

Royalty free music is music you can use without having to pay a fee for each time it’s used. You simply pay a one off fee, or a subscription to a royalty free music site, like Synchedin, and can use the music as many times as you want.

Synchedin ensures that you don’t experience any issues around claims or strikes, thanks to full claims control. By partnering with RouteNote, we are able to release and resolve any claims disputes within 48 hours, so you don’t lose out on monetisation.

You can subscribe monthly or annually, unlocking unlimited downloads of all tracks. From just $4.99 per month you can enjoy thumping electronic bangers, or relaxing acoustic ditties in your projects.

Sign up now, and start discovering the next perfect track for your YouTube video!