Before submitting a video for monetization, you should be sure that you have all the necessary rights to use the content commercially. Below you can find examples of commonly-used content that partners may wish to monetize.
Can I monetize my video …
… if I created all the audio and visual content?You can monetize content that you created as long as you still hold the rights to the video. However, if your content is managed by a third party (i.e. music label), you may or may not be able to monetize your video depending on things like the assignment of rights.
You may be able to use audio and visual editing software to create monetizable content, but this depends on the scope, limitations and commercial permissions of the license. If you have used samples or loops, make sure that the license specifically allows for their commercial use.
You can monetize royalty-free or Creative Commons content if the license agreement grants you rights to use it commercially. Sometimes rights owners require you to credit the creator of the content or provide proof of purchase in order to use it in your video for commercial purposes. For more information, please review how to read licenses to understand your rights.
You can, but you need to be able to provide explicit written permission granting you commercial use rights by the rights holder at any time. For more information, please review what YouTube looks for in your documentation.
Whether you can use video game content for monetization depends on the commercial use rights granted to you by licenses of video game publishers. Some video game publishers may allow you to use all video game content for commercial use and state that in their license agreements. Videos simply showing game play for extended periods of time may not be accepted for monetization.
You can monetize videos showing software user interface only if you have a contract with the publisher or you have paid a licensing fee. Otherwise, showing software user interface on your video has to be minimal unless providing instructional or educational value.
If you can prove that the content in your video is in the public domain, you may be able monetize it on YouTube depending on the scope, limitations, and commercial permissions of the license. For more information, we encourage you to read these public domain resources.
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.
If you want to monetize your recording of a performance at a concert or show, you would have to get explicit written permission from the rights owners that own the rights to the performance you recorded.
Although you may have recorded something yourself, usually its actual creator or author holds many of the rights needed to commercially exploit this content. This means you cannot monetize third party content that you have recorded without explicit written permission.
Although you may have purchased something yourself, usually its actual creator or author holds many of the rights needed to commercially exploit this content. This means you cannot monetize third party content that you have purchased unless its rights owner grants you commercial use rights.
Although you may have found the content online for free, in most cases its actual creator holds many of the rights needed to commercially exploit the content. If you want to monetize such content, please ensure that you have have all the necessary commercial use rights for it.
If you are still unsure what kind of content you can or can’t monetize, please review our video monetization criteria. For more information about copyright, copyright infringement and fair use, please visit our Copyright Center.
Please note, the above material is being provided solely for educational purposes and is not legal advice. You should only seek legal advice from a lawyer or legal representative.
