What content is eligible and ineligible for monetization?

Adding your music to video monetization services such as YouTube Content ID and Facebook Rights Manager is powerful because it automatically generates claims against other people’s videos that match any portion of your music. Even if you exclusively own all of the content, some genres are not appropriate for this service because they generate incorrect results called false claims. We automatically exclude those genres. 

It is very important that the music you are opting in is eligible to avoid falsely claiming other user’s content. These rules apply equally to YouTube and Facebook.

What is eligible?

Songs that you control all of the master and publishing rights to.

• Your release must be opted into YouTube Music AND have NO territory restrictions in order to sign up for Content ID.
• The content must be 100% original and owned by you in order to be eligible.

What is not eligible?

The following examples are ineligible and cannot be used for YouTube or Facebook Monetization:

• Content licensed non-exclusively from a third party (such as samples or beats that are not exclusively licensed)
• Content released under Creative Commons or similar free/open licenses
• All cover songs, regardless of cover license, including karaoke versions
• Public domain footage, speeches, recordings, or compositions
• Clips from other sources used under fair use principles
• Video gameplay footage (by anyone other than the game’s publisher)
• Songs already monetized on YouTube by another distributor
• Content containing any audio library samples, sound effects, or production loops (such as GarageBand loops)
• Any content that is not exclusive to you

Compilations:

Compilations such as mashups, countdown lists, continuous DJ mixes, or full-album sound recordings that play within a single track are not eligible for Content ID.

Check out this video for more details:

Important: Violations of these guidelines may lead to permanent blocking of your track(s) from this service.

* Requirements - Your release must be both opted into YouTube Music AND have NO territory restrictions to also take part in YouTube Content ID.

If CD Baby has claimed a video on your behalf but you would rather monetize it on your own, please dispute our claim from within your YouTube account. Click here to see how.