How to Check if a Song Is Copyrighted [Updated] | Artlist — Artlist Blog

Highlights

Almost all music is copyrighted. As a creator, it's important to find out the restrictions that a copyright entail.

To know if a song is copyrighted on YouTube, log in to the YouTube Studio and upload your video in Private or Hidden mode.

There are many types of licenses out there, from free to royalty-free. Find out which works best for you.

What is copyrighted music?

A copyrighted piece of music is designed to protect the intellectual property of its creators by giving them and only them exclusive rights to use their work however they want. Everybody else needs to get permission, or a license, from the copyright holder to use their song, usually for a fee.

Is all music copyrighted?

Spoiler alert: Almost all music is copyrighted. But what matters most in terms of restrictions placed on that music is how you use it.

However, there are a few cases where a song or piece of music is copyright free:

1. Music in the public domain

Public domain music is music free to use by everyone without permission. There are a few criteria that make a piece of music fall under the public domain category:

• If the song was created before copyright existed (the first copyright act was created in Britain in 1710)
• If between 50 to 70 years have passed from the author’s death (depending on the country)
• Works created before 1978 whose copyright owners failed to renew their copyrights.

2. Music under Creative Commons licenses

Using music that falls under a Creative Commons license is free. However, there are certain restrictions and requirements you need to follow to use it correctly or you'll be committing copyright infringement. There are 6 different Creative Commons licenses, each with its own guidelines.

3. Royalty-free music

What exactly is royalty-free music? A royalty-free license eliminates the need to negotiate licensing fees with Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) and gives you the right to use copyrighted music any way you like. Using royalty-free music is usually not free. However, you pay for the license only once (usually through a subscription to a platform), and you can use that song.

Using licensed royalty-free music in your videos has many advantages over choosing songs in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license:

• The quality is much better
• You have much more variety
• The songs are more unique

When is it ok to use copyrighted music?

There are a few very specific instances where you can use copyrighted music without committing copyright infringement:

1. Personal use - if the video you're making is for your personal use and you aren't going to use it to make money, you're home-free, and don't need a license.
2. If you own the copyright to the song.
3. Fair use - if you use the video for educational purposes or to comment, criticize or parody a piece of music, you can do it without a license.

How to check if a song is copyrighted on YouTube

Since it’s the 2nd most popular site on the internet and the most popular video site, the first place you need to check to know if a song is copyrighted is YouTube.

The best way to find out if a song is copyrighted is by uploading it to YouTube and letting the Copyright Checker check if there are any copyright issues. Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to your YouTube account and then go to the YouTube Creator Studio.
2. Click CREATE in the top right corner of the page and then Upload videos.
3. Upload a video with the song whose copyright you want to check.
4. When YouTube has finished processing your video, click on Checks.
5. If a song is copyright-free, you'll see “No issues found” under Copyright with a green checkmark on the right.
6. If the song is copyrighted, you'll see a red exclamation mark near the Checks section.
7. When you click Check, you'll see the copyright details.

How to check if a song is copyrighted on Instagram and Facebook

Instagram and Facebook have automated systems that recognize if the song playing in the background of your video is subject to copyright. But you can’t find out if a song is copyrighted on Instagram or Facebook until you post your video. A warning will appear if there is an issue of copyright infringement.

How to know if a song is copyrighted on Twitch

In the past, Twitch failed to enforce its own copyright rules, which forbid using uncopyrighted music in streams or highlight videos. As a result, Twitch music rules became clearer, and the platform added its own library of Twitch-cleared music. This means that the only music sources available to Twitch streamers are:

1. Music in the public domain or Creative Commons.
2. Songs from the Twitch music library.
3. Licensed royalty-free music.

Using copyright music checker tools

What is a copyright checker and how do they work?

A copyright music checker tool can detect if a piece of music has been copyrighted by comparing their melody, lyrics, rhythm, or sound patterns with a database of copyrighted music. The tool can tell whether a song is copyrighted or available for public use under licenses like Creative Commons, and helps find unauthorized use of copyrighted music, including sampling or copying.

By using tools like Shazam or SoundHound, you can ask “what song is this?”, and music checkers can help you find out if a song is copyrighted. Platforms like YouTube use these tools to automatically detect copyrighted music uploaded to their platform.

Top 3 music copyright checker tools

1. Audible Magic is one of the best tools out there for checking if your audio or video content includes copyrighted material. It works by comparing your music or audio with its huge database of copyrighted music, flagging any matches, and telling you who owns it.
2. YouTube’s Creator Studio helps content creators identify if their uploaded videos contain copyrighted material.
3. TubePilot’s Music Copyright Checker can check the copyright status of your video by copying and pasting a YouTube link.

What happens if I use copyrighted music without permission?

Most of the time, it's not a matter of whether a song is copyrighted but a matter of understanding exactly what that copyright entails, or, in other words, how restrictive it is. If you use copyrighted music without a license, you can get a copyright strike. YouTube could block your video and mute its music. The other restriction for using copyrighted music is that you cannot monetize the video yourself. You may lose out on making money from traffic and plays. That is why licensing royalty-free music is often the easiest and most trouble-free way to go.

Why you should use royalty-free music from Artlist

Navigating music copyright laws can be time-consuming and risky. Even using just a few seconds of the wrong track can result in takedowns, demonetization, or legal trouble. That’s why many creators choose Artlist— a royalty-free music platform that allows you to use music with total confidence.