YouTube has seen an astronomical growth in the last few years, with hundreds of millions of videos uploaded to the platform to date.
As such, it can be difficult for YouTube to manage the content on the site and this has led to the development of tools that automatically detect inappropriate content or rapidly respond to user reports.
One thing that YouTube is very strict on is the identification and removal of copyright protected content, which the platform will punish you for posting.This punishment comes in the form of copyright strikes, which can accumulate against your account and result in more serious consequences.
Here we will outline how to avoid copyright strikes on YouTube.
How To Avoid Copyright Strikes On YouTube
The most straightforward way to avoid these common copyright strikes is to only use content you own or that you have created.It sounds simple, but it is truly the only way to guarantee that your channel will not receive copyright strikes and your videos remain unaffected.
If you must use music in your content, you can find many services out there that will provide copyright free stock music that will never be claimed against.
This goes for images and sounds too, which can come in handy for a wide range of YouTube content. YouTube even has a dedicated audio library that includes music that you can use without fear of copyright strikes.
For those of you who are musically skilled, you could always put in the extra effort to create your own music using a dedicated music program. There are a few of these out there that are completely free, but this method will not be for everyone since it can be difficult and time consuming.
There is also the possibility of contacting the owner of the music or images in question to get their permission to use their content within your YouTube videos. This is easier said than done with certain copyright owners, since they likely receive a large number of messages on a daily basis.
As long as you stick to the fair use policy of copyright law, you will not receive any negative impacts on your channel. Fair use is generally reserved for using content for educational purposes, which can apply to content such as reviews.
Consequences Of Copyright Strikes
There are a number of consequences that you will suffer if you are hit with copyright strikes on your videos, which can range from a slap on the wrist to something a little more serious.
If the video that has received a copyright strike is monetized, it will automatically be demonetized and the owner of the music will receive all profits from the content instead of you. This can be frustrating if you have a lengthy video that only includes a song for a small part of it.
There is also a chance that your video will be muted, which means the video will play silently to remove the copyright protected music playing.Outside of these results, YouTube may also block your video entirely, removing it from the service and penalizing your channel in turn.
If you receive three of these copyright strikes simultaneously, your YouTube account and channel will be permanently deleted. You will not be able to use that account to create a new channel either.
As you can see, this is a very serious subject so you should follow the considerations below carefully to avoid these repercussions.
Music Copyright
The most common cause of YouTube copyright strikes is probably music. This is due to the platform’s implementation of detection tools to pick up on copyright protected music used in videos.
It is important to remember that YouTube itself is not the party filing the copyright claim, it is the owner of the music themselves.YouTube simply upholds copyright law by allowing copyright owners to make claims against any content that uses their material without permission.
The system in question is called Content ID, which scans content and detects music, checking it against a database of copyright protected music. If you have ever used the music identification service Shazam, it works in a similar way so there is no way to get around it.
How Long Do YouTube Copyright Strikes Last?
If you are unfortunate enough to receive a copyright strike on YouTube, it will stay on your account for 90 days. After this 90 day timeframe has elapsed, the strike will be removed from your account.
As mentioned above, it is essential that you do not accumulate three copyright strikes at any one time so that your account is not deleted.
Conclusion
If you are not careful, it is very easy to receive and accumulate copyright strikes on YouTube. If you receive three of these strikes, your channel will be deleted. Because of this, you will need to take careful steps to avoid getting copyright strikes on YouTube.
The easiest way to do this is simply to not use any content that you have not created or do not own the rights to.
By seeking the rights from the copyright owner or using copyright free content within your videos, you will ensure that you are protected against these repercussions that YouTube enforces for copyright protected content.
