YouTube song cover

[Redjo]

Hello do you need permission to do cover of 'X' popular youtube song? 

 

For Example to do cover of 

Spoiler

 

Do i need permission ? 

[TonyTheNain]

1 minute ago, Redjo said:

Hello do you need permission to do cover of 'X' popular youtube song? 

 

For Example to do cover of 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Do i need permission ? 

I think if you don't put ads on your video/ you don't make money with it, it's okay

[Redjo]

Just now, Fourmi Kill3r said:

I think if you don't put ads on your video/ you don't make money with it, it's okay

But i still make money from viewers, dont i ? 

[TonyTheNain]

Just now, Redjo said:

But i still make money from viewers, dont i ? 

I can't help you anymore, i'm not a pro in this domain... sorry x)

[Rushfriend]

8 minutes ago, Redjo said:

Hello do you need permission to do cover of 'X' popular youtube song? 

 

For Example to do cover of 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Do i need permission ? 

If the song is copyrighted, the creater will claim it and monitize the video for him. That means you can't make money with video's that have copyrighted content in them.

 

The video won't be deleted though, you just can't make money with it.

 

But if you use a remake of the song (or maybe a instrumental version) which is not copyrighted then you can monetize the video just fine.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Rushfriend
Extra information

[mikat]

@nicklmg Could you ask Berkel? (he's done this kind of thing before)

[Redjo]

2 minutes ago, Rushfriend said:

If the song is copyrighted, the creater will claim it and monitize the video for him. That means you can't make money with video's that have copyrighted content in them.

 

The video won't be deleted though, you just can't make money with it.

How do you know if the video is copyrighted or not? 

If its not you dont ask for permission at all and you can make money from it right? 

[Rushfriend]

1 minute ago, Redjo said:

How do you know if the video is copyrighted or not? 

If its not you dont ask for permission at all and you can make money from it right? 

Most of the time that can be found in the bottom of the description of the video.

 

Some creators don't copyright there work but they want something in return like credits in description. You will have to find that out for your music you want to use but they can't track if you credit them or not. 

[ShadowCaptain]

27 minutes ago, Redjo said:

Hello do you need permission to do cover of 'X' popular youtube song? 

 

For Example to do cover of 

Do i need permission ? 

Covers are classed as "fair use" you are free to cover a song

[Redjo]

Just now, ShadowCaptain said:

Covers are classed as "fair use" you are free to cover a song

So basically i can make cover of any song i want and make money out of it? 

[GeekJump]

Idk if it changed since but it use to be - it depends  

 

- If you do a cover but the video is still the actual music video - no moneys for you and it will prob be flagged

- If you use part of the music (either just the music or the vocals) they most likely let you keep it up but no money

- If you do 100% your own cover (own video, own voice, own music) - it's fair use and you can make dat green

[Redjo]

2 minutes ago, GeekJump said:

Idk if it changed since but it use to be - it depends  

 

- If you do a cover but the video is still the actual music video - no moneys for you but you can probably still keep it up.

- If you use part of the music (either just the music or the vocals) they most likely will flag it.

- If you do 100% your own cover (own video, own voice, own music) - it's fair use and you can make dat green

Hmmm i was plan using original song beat and do the cover with my voice or friend voice and own video, so it will not work if i use original song beat? 

[ShadowCaptain]

3 minutes ago, Redjo said:

So basically i can make cover of any song i want and make money out of it? 

Yes

1 minute ago, GeekJump said:

Idk if it changed since but it use to be - it depends  

 

That is wrong

 

If your work is considered "transformative" ie, changed in style, meaning etc then that is considered fair use

ergo, a cover even using the original music is fair use

[GeekJump]

Just now, Redjo said:

Hmmm i was plan using original song beat and do the cover with my voice or friend voice and own video 

Sorry I changed my answer a bit 

Just now, ShadowCaptain said:

Yes

That is wrong

 

If your work is considered "transformative" ie, changed in style, meaning etc then that is considered fair use

ergo, a cover even using the original music is fair use

Tell that to Music labels. Some will flag your videos for the smallest thing. I have a couple friends who do covers and they have told me their stories. The only time there are safe was when they did everything themselves. Labels/agencies have warned them for using the original music, using the original video, etc. Even if when they edited both to cover it up a bit they still got notified sometimes. And some of their covers are much different than the original songs.

 

And for point one - that's right. Even if you dub over it, YT's algorithm looks for copy righted video and flags potential hits.

[ShadowCaptain]

1 minute ago, GeekJump said:

SNIP

YouTubes automated system is not the LAW, if you get flagged, then you dispute it, and I guarantee you will win, they would not take you to court over a cover because they would lose

 

I didnt say you would not get flagged by youtube, but that you are legally allowed to make covers since they come under fair use which is a very strongly defended part of the law

 

[mikeeginger]

Just don't monetize it and Put a Link to the original song 

And you might be ok 

[Redjo]

1 minute ago, mikeeginger said:

Just don't monetize it and Put a Link to the original song 

And you might be ok 

Well doesnt that mean no money at all? 

[GeekJump]

2 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

YouTubes automated system is not the LAW, if you get flagged, then you dispute it, and I guarantee you will win, they would not take you to court over a cover because they would lose

 

I didnt say you would not get flagged by youtube, but that you are legally allowed to make covers since they come under fair use which is a very strongly defended part of the law

Oh, my answer only meant flags and monitization. Not WarnerBros and Sony music kicking down your door and suing you lol

[Redjo]

Look guys i will make it simple. 

I want to do song covers with original beat of them and make money out of that without getting into any issues by the original owners. 

[ShadowCaptain]

Just now, Redjo said:

Look guys i will make it simple. 

I want to do song covers with original beat of them and make money out of that without getting into any issues by the original owners. 

Dude its impossible to say, the YouTube copyright flagging system is the most broken thing in the world

legally you can, .. will companies try taking your vidoes down? maybe, will YouTube flag your videos as copyright? maybe

there is no "yes" or "no" answer
 

Technically it should be fine 

[nicklmg]

2 hours ago, ShadowCaptain said:

Yes

That is wrong

 

If your work is considered "transformative" ie, changed in style, meaning etc then that is considered fair use

ergo, a cover even using the original music is fair use

While it should be covered under fair use, that doesn't necessarily mean YouTube won't pull your monetization as soon as they get a false claim from the label or copyright owner. This person is asking about how they can make money from a cover, and if there is a claim submitted against the video they make nothing - there is no retroactive pay on YouTube.

1 hour ago, ShadowCaptain said:

YouTubes automated system is not the LAW, if you get flagged, then you dispute it, and I guarantee you will win, they would not take you to court over a cover because they would lose

 

I didnt say you would not get flagged by youtube, but that you are legally allowed to make covers since they come under fair use which is a very strongly defended part of the law

 

You are correct, by law, but again this person is trying to make some money off the video... If there is a claim submitted, if they are a user on YouTube with few subscribers that claim could be stuck in limbo for months, even indefinitely.


TL;DR if you're trying to make a few bucks, I don't think covering songs (or, to be fully honest, even making videos on YouTube) is the way to do it. Creators don't say "only do this if you're passionate about it" because they're trying to dispel competition - it's because you will not make money on YouTube for a LONG TIME (unless you have a stroke of huge luck/skill and get viral hits right away).

[Redjo]

4 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

While it should be covered under fair use, that doesn't necessarily mean YouTube won't pull your monetization as soon as they get a false claim from the label or copyright owner. This person is asking about how they can make money from a cover, and if there is a claim submitted against the video they make nothing - there is no retroactive pay on YouTube.

You are correct, by law, but again this person is trying to make some money off the video... If there is a claim submitted, if they are a user on YouTube with few subscribers that claim could be stuck in limbo for months, even indefinitely.


TL;DR if you're trying to make a few bucks, I don't think covering songs (or, to be fully honest, even making videos on YouTube) is the way to do it. Creators don't say "only do this if you're passionate about it" because they're trying to dispel competition - it's because you will not make money on YouTube for a LONG TIME (unless you have a stroke of huge luck/skill and get viral hits right away).

Well my main goal isn't exactly to do such videos to make few bucks, but over time i guess it will come to that point. 

My main question was do i need permissions to do Covers and seems like answer is ''NO'' i dont or like it depends. 

 

Well gentlaman, thank you for your help. 

[nicklmg]

12 minutes ago, Redjo said:

Well my main goal isn't exactly to do such videos to make few bucks, but over time i guess it will come to that point. 

My main question was do i need permissions to do Covers and seems like answer is ''NO'' i dont or like it depends. 

 

Well gentlaman, thank you for your help. 

6/8 of your comments in this thread mentioned "can I make money off of this" lol.

Either way, the answer is legally yes you should be fine, on YouTube who knows nowadays as apparently fair use isn't protected very well.

[ShadowCaptain]

27 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

TL;DR if you're trying to make a few bucks, I don't think covering songs (or, to be fully honest, even making videos on YouTube) is the way to do it. Creators don't say "only do this if you're passionate about it" because they're trying to dispel competition - it's because you will not make money on YouTube for a LONG TIME (unless you have a stroke of huge luck/skill and get viral hits right away).

6000000000000000000% agree here

 

Make videos for fun, or because its a passion, make it a hobby, if you make money, great, dont make that your goal

[Redjo]

7 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

6/8 of your comments in this thread mentioned "can I make money off of this" lol.

Either way, the answer is legally yes you should be fine, on YouTube who knows nowadays as apparently fair use isn't protected very well.

Not gonna lie i want to make money out of this, but i dont set it as my main goal. I will do it just because i like to do it something like hoby you know and maybe over time i will get some cash as reward. 

 

Anyways thank you to you and everyone else who helped me. 

3 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

6000000000000000000% agree here

 

Make videos for fun, or because its a passion, make it a hobby, if you make money, great, dont make that your goal

Yup! Just writed the same thing up before you post and totally agree with you.

 

Thank you tho.