Can I Use Copyrighted Music on YouTube? Rules for 2026

You can use copyrighted music on YouTube only if you have the rights to it: you own it, you licensed it, the owner gave you permission, or it comes from a source YouTube clears for you, such as the Audio Library or Creator Music. If you upload a song without those rights, YouTube's Content ID system usually spots it, and the song's owner then decides what happens to your video.

What happens if you use copyrighted music on YouTube?

Most of the time, Content ID matches the song and puts a claim on your video. YouTube's page Learn about Content ID claims says the rights holder's settings decide the outcome, and it can differ by country.

If you get a claim, YouTube lets you remove the music and the claim with it: mute the claimed song, trim out the claimed part, or replace the song with an Audio Library track. You can dispute the claim if you are sure you have the rights. YouTube warns that a dispute without a valid reason can lead to a removal request, and a valid removal request means a copyright strike.

Copyright music myths YouTube says are wrong

YouTube's Help page Common copyright myths answers the excuses people use most often. None of these give you the right to use a song.

• Giving credit to the artist. Credit alone does not give you rights, except for Creative Commons music that asks for credit.
• Writing all rights go to the author, I do not own this, or no infringement intended.
• Not making money from the video, or calling it educational or entertainment.
• Having bought the song or CD. A purchase is for listening, not for uploading.
• Recording it from the radio, TV or a concert.
• Using only a few seconds. YouTube says even a few seconds can cause problems.
• Other channels using the same song. They may have a license you do not have.
• Changing the song, for example a cover or remix. Covers and parodies usually still need permission.

Is using music on YouTube fair use?

Rarely for background music. YouTube's Fair use on YouTube page explains that courts, not YouTube, decide fair use case by case, using four factors: the purpose of the use, the nature of the work, how much is used, and the effect on the owner's market. A use is more likely to count if it adds new meaning, such as commentary or criticism of the song itself. Playing a hit song under your vlog does not add new meaning to it.

YouTube also points out that Content ID cannot decide fair use, so a fair use video can still be claimed. And fair use is a US idea. Other countries have different rules, such as fair dealing or set exceptions in the EU for quotation, criticism and parody.

Where to get music you can use safely

How to use the YouTube Audio Library

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio and choose Audio library from the left menu.
2. Browse or search the music and sound effects, and check the License type column.
3. Download the track and add it to your video.
4. If the track is Creative Commons, click the license icon to copy the credit text and paste it into your video description.

YouTube Help says copyright-safe tracks from the Audio Library will not be claimed through Content ID, and that only Audio Library music is known to YouTube as copyright-safe. Music sold elsewhere as royalty-free can still be claimed, so keep your license for any outside track.

What is YouTube Creator Music?

Creator Music is a catalogue of commercial songs inside YouTube Studio. According to YouTube Help, it is open to US creators in the YouTube Partner Program, and expansion to other countries is still pending. It offers two kinds of tracks:

• Licensed tracks: you take a single-use license for one video and earn the same revenue share as a video without music. Licenses apply automatically when you upload the video with the downloaded track.
• Revenue share tracks: no upfront payment, but the video's revenue is shared with the track's rights holders. YouTube says the standard 55% creator share for long-form videos is adjusted to cover music rights, and falls further the more eligible tracks you use.

Creator Music does not cover live streams, and a license can only be removed while the video is Private, Unlisted or a draft.

YouTube rules on copyrighted music in Shorts

Shorts follow the same copyright rules. YouTube's Common copyright myths page notes that some YouTube features, such as remixing content for Shorts, come with a license, but a song you add from outside YouTube needs your own rights. Two more points are worth knowing.

• Shorts longer than one minute that carry an active Content ID claim are blocked, whatever the rights holder's setting is. YouTube says this on its Content ID claims page. If a claim is found when you upload, remove the claimed part or dispute it, and the Short becomes viewable once the claim is resolved.
• Music lowers what goes into the Shorts Creator Pool. YouTube's Shorts monetization policies say that with one track, half of the revenue tied to those views goes to the pool and half covers music licensing. With two tracks, the pool gets one third. Your own 45% share of your allocated revenue stays the same.

Can you get demonetized for using copyrighted music?

For a single claim, you usually lose the ads on that video, not your whole channel. But YouTube's page Monetization is disabled for my channel lists copyright strikes among the reasons monetization can be suspended, and YouTube's monetization policies do not pay for reused content that adds nothing of your own. A channel built on other people's songs is a risky channel.

Starting a music-safe channel from scratch

The cleanest setup is a channel with no claim history that uses only Audio Library, licensed or original music from day one. If you are in good standing and want that clean start without waiting to qualify for the YouTube Partner Program, you can begin with a channel that is already monetized, which also gives you access to monetize Audio Library tracks right away.