How to Know If a Song is Copyrighted?

YouTube takes copyright claims very seriously. If YouTube’s algorithm detects a copyright violation in your video or a copyright owner’s makes a valid takedown request, you get a copyright strike. A copyright strike can cause you to lose your monetization privileges or your ability to livestream for 7 days. If you get more than one copyright strikes, you might even lose your channel for good.

YouTube is very serious with copyright claims. That is why it is best to avoid getting copyright strikes. The best way to do is using non copyrighted music in your YouTube videos.

All content creators know that they should not use copyrighted music in their YouTube videos but only a few know how to check if a song is copyrighted.

There are few ways to discover if a song is copyrighted: You can use YouTube’s Audio Library or check the list of Public Domain Songs.

Before you post a video on YouTube, you can check YouTube’s Audio Library to see if the song you want to use is copyrighted.

1. Go to YouTube.
2. Switch to Creator Studio dashboard.
3. Click on Audio Library.
4. Find and click the Create option in the menu.
5. Click “Ad-Supported Music” button. There you will see Audio Library’s search box.
6. Type the name of the song you want to check. Click on the “Check its copyright policies” button to see the details.

You can check if a song is in the public domain on PD Info webpage. All you need to do is type in the name of the song. If it is on the list, it is on the public domain –which means you can safely use that song in your videos and other projects. If it is not on the public domain list, it is copyrighted.

You can use non-copyrighted music in your YouTube videos without any hesitation! But do you know what non copyrighted music is?

Non-copyrighted music refers to the songs that you can use freely in your commercial or personal projects without paying for each use.

Contrary to the popular belief, royalty free and copyright free are not the same!

Copyright free music does not require payment: You can use copyright free music without paying for it or making attributions. Unfortunately, completely copyright free music is very, very rare.

Royalty free, on the other hand, means that you don’t have to pay for royalties. You purchase royalty free songs just once, you don’t have to pay for each use.

Finding high quality, copyright free songs has never been easier! Browse our extensive non copyrighted music archive by genre, mood or artist to find what you are looking for.