If you’re going to be using my music in a YouTube video you need to purchase a license to use it (not just purchase the mp3 track – if you’re using my music without a license or permission, you run the risk of a copyright strike on your account so please ensure you license a track before you use it in any videos.)
When you upload a video to YouTube which contains music of mine you may receive an automatic ContentID copyright notice from YouTube identifying that track as mine (even if you’ve purchased a license from me). Because of how YouTube’s ContentID system works, these claims are automatically generated by YouTube but can usually be resolved easily if you’ve bought a license (if it recognises the music as something other than my music, please see the Incorrect ContentID Claims section below).
What To Do If You Get A ContentID Notice
You can either provide proof of your license to YouTube yourself or you can contact me to release the ContentID claim on your video. If you’re in any doubt or you’re having any problems with a ContentID claim regarding my music, please contact me here and include a link to your video on YouTube. It can usually be sorted fairly quickly so please be patient and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Incorrect ContentID Claims
There are occasional instances where YouTube’s ContentID system incorrectly matches a piece of music in a video to something completely different. ContentID is fairly accurate but it does occasionally make mistakes. I have been notified of a few rare instances where my music has been identified by YouTube as a completely different piece of music by a different artist. These tend to be the more atmospheric tracks which don’t have vocals or drums etc. and may be confused as something different (for example birdsong!)
In these instances where it identifies the wrong music, I unfortunately have no way of releasing the claim and you will need to file a dispute with the person making the claim (usually a record label or publisher). You can file a dispute if you get a genuine incorrect ContentID warning but the appeal is in the hands of the claimant. If the music you used is definitely mine but it’s identified as something else, they have no legal right to put a claim on it and should release the claim after reviewing it. This whole process is something that YouTube really needs to look at and reconsider the appeals process, as their system doesn’t provide an easy method to contact anyone for help.