Contrary to what is generally thought, you can still receive copyright claims from royalty free music. We’re here to explain why, and how this can be dealt with!

When you upload videos to YouTube, you probably add music as well. This is a great way to make your content more entertaining and will help you seem like a vlogging pro. However, you can’t just use any old music you fancy.

If you feel pretty solid in your understanding of royalty free music and YouTube claims, head to the bottom of the article to have the main question answered!

Why Royalty Free?

Royalty free music, sometimes known as stock music, refers to music that can be used without you having to pay royalties to the rights holder every time the track is used. This type of music is great for accompanying projects where the budget may be a little limited.

The temptation to just use your favourite track by a chart topping artist is going to be strong. But, it’s important to resist the urge. Sadly, using music that you don’t have the appropriates rights to can lead to some copyright issues down the line. And if you want to license a famous track, chances are you’re going to be a bit stunned by the cost.

This concept also applied to sound effects (SFX). Synchedin offers both royalty free and creative commons (CC0) SFX. The big difference regarding this is that you can use the CC0 sounds for free.

What is a Copyright Claim?

Claims are generated by assets which are on YouTube’s content ID system. The system will use the audio or visual asset to constantly search for any videos that contain a match to parts or all of the asset.

When a match is found, it’s up to the asset creator to decide what happens next. Firstly, the video can be blocked so that it’s no longer available for public view. Secondly, it can be tracked and have the statistics/analytics monitored. And thirdly, it can be monetized, so the earnings go to the copyright holder. It’s pretty rare that claims result in videos being blocked. Often, creators opt for tracking or monetizing the videos, as this is beneficial to them. As such, claims are generally harmless, and not something to panic about.

Why am I Receiving Copyright Claims from Royalty Free Music?

So, you’re all clued-up on what a claim is, and you understand the concept of royalty free music. Or do you?

The word free often excites people, and as soon as we read it our minds turn to money or the freedom to use something however we want. It’s a popular misconception that royalty free is the same as copyright free, but it isn’t.

Money

Royalty free just means that you do not have to pay royalties every single time you use a track. Usually, you make a one off purchase for a track, and then can use it forever – but you still need to make that purchase. In the case of Synchedin, you pay a monthly or annual subscription which then allows you the use of an entire catalogue of music.

Copyright

Now we’re clear that royalty free means free of royalties, it may be easier to understand that this doesn’t mean it’s free of copyright. Someone still holds the copyright to that music, which means copyright claims can still be generated. This is completely normal and nothing to panic about!

Claims Control

If you would like to have control over the claims you receive on your videos, then using a music licensing service like Synchedin is the way to go.

We’ve got an agreement with all our contributors that means we have the power to release claims on their behalf. So, if you use a royalty free track and receive a claim, it can be sorted very easily in two ways.

  • Release it yourself â€“ Would you like to have all the power over your videos? We have made it possible for you to get the license key for any assets you use, so that you can release claims yourself on YouTube.
  • Ask us for help â€“ If you don’t feel confident releasing claims yourself, or are just still feeling a bit confused (no judgement, as soon as the word “copyright” pops up things can get confusing real quick), then just ask us for help. If you email support@synchedin.com and let us know the URL of the video in question, we can get the claim released for you.