If you are performing a song that does not belong to you

If you are performing a song that does not belong to you, you may not be able to monetize it unless you have explicit written permission from the rights owner of the song, or that owner has claimed and elected to monetize the song in your video and share revenue with you. Visit this article for more information.

Monetizing eligible cover videos

Creators participating in the YouTube Partner Program can now share in the revenue from eligible cover song videos on YouTube, once those videos are claimed by music publisher owners. You will be paid revenue for these videos on a pro rata basis.

How to determine if your cover song video is eligible for monetization

You'll know you can share in revenue from a cover song video when you see this message next to the video in your Monetization tab: “Monetize my video. This is my cover of a song written by somebody else. Learn more”

This message will appear for videos that have been claimed through the Content ID system by the music publisher(s) who own(s) the copyright in the musical composition performed. Both new uploads and prior uploads may be eligible, so you can also see if your prior cover song video uploads are eligible by looking in the YouTube Video Manager.

Please note, some specific songs have not been enabled for this feature by their copyright owner(s), so this may not appear for certain claimed cover videos. Other circumstances where videos are not eligible for this revenue share opportunity include:

• Videos that contain a commercial sound recording, such as an instrumental or karaoke recording
• Videos of live concert performances

How to enable revenue sharing for your cover song video

To enable revenue sharing for your cover song video once it has been claimed by a music publisher:

1. Enable your account for monetization, if you have not already done so. Visit the Monetization tab in your account settings.
2. Locate the eligible cover song video within Video Manager. It will have a “Matched third party content” notification and a gray dollar sign icon.
3. Click on the gray dollar sign icon next to the video. Then on the Monetization tab, tick the checkbox next to the message that reads: “Monetize my video. This is my cover of a song written by somebody else. Learn more"
4. Your video will then be reviewed to see if it contains third party content outside of the 3rd party song.
5. You will soon be notified if further information is required. If you have questions, you can visit the monetization troubleshooter.