Starting a YouTube channel can be daunting. There are technical hurdles and legal issues that may come up. When using music as a background, make sure you know the law and are in compliance. Do not just Google your favorite pop song and upload that for your video music because it's perky and fun! Unless you have contacted the copyright holder and have been granted permission, this is a huge no-no.
I rarely use music on my videos because of the hassle. However, when I do, I use royalty-free music from YouTube audio library. I pay attention to the requirements for each song. The requirements state whether or not I can montize (put ads on) the video, and also whether I have to give credit to the musician and copyright holder.
Since I stay in compliance, imagine my surprise when I've received emails that look like this:
If you receive an email like this, it means that someone has claimed that they own the copyright to the music on your video. This process is automated -- YouTube does not require verification or proof from them. YouTube automatically grants permission for them (the "claimant) to put ads on YOUR video and make money from it!
So what should you do? First of all, click the "view claim details" box. You'll see a pop up like this (WARNING -- foul language in photo).
Then take a look at the "claimant" at the bottom. I have circled it. Notice anything suspicious? Yes, that's right. This isn't even a real company. Even if the company sounds legit, do some research and make sure it's real. One claimant against me had no online business record except claiming copyright violations against YouTube videos!
Okay, the next step is to "file a dispute" by clicking the bottom right blue words. Then this will pop up.
Quite possibly, more than one answer will apply to your situation, so choose the best one. Click "continue" and you'll be taken to the next screen.
You are asked to verify again that the claim against you is not valid, so click the box and select to continue again, and you'll be taken to another screen:
Now you finally have a place to type in a specific response instead of just checking boxes. It helps to give any info that you discovered in your search, and the fact that the claimant is not a legitimate company is great info to include! Type your name in the last box as your digital signature, and then click to continue again. You will be taken to this summary of your dispute:
After reviewing it and confirming that the info is correct, select to submit the dispute. (Or if incorrect, click "back" to correct your prior info.) Then the next screen you'll see is this:
See the blue bar across the top? That is the verification that your dispute against the claim has been submitted. You'll also receive an email confirmation:
And that's all it takes. Now you wait until you hear back from YouTube. In the meantime, you might want to change your video from public to unlisted. That way no one can find and view your video and thereby give the claimant income from your video ads. Once the dispute is settled, you can change the video back to public!
I hope you never experience this process, but it's not as scary as it seems. Take your time and read each screen carefully, and you'll get through it just fine! Blessings,
Lolly