- If I have a copyright claims and all copyright strikes
on some of my videos, will I still be able to apply
for the YouTube Partner Program and monetize my channel
when I reach the requirements?
Yes, but.
This is by far one of the most popular questions
we get here at vidIQ.
And I think the reason for that is because YouTube
themselves don't provide you with a definitive answer
or if and when you apply for the YouTube Partner Program
and you're rejected,
YouTube don't give you a thorough enough explanation
which leaves you thinking was it because I had one or two
copyright claims on videos.
So with that being said,
I've got a couple of questions for you.
Do you have any copyright claims or strikes on your channel?
How many do you have?
Have you applied for the YouTube Partner Program
with copyright claims and strikes
and were you rejected or accepted?
Share all of your experiences in the comments below
and help fellow creators.
And now it's our turn to investigate.
Here's what we found out.
When a creator uses content without the permission
of the owner of that content,
the creator runs the risk of violating copyright laws.
We'll save the argument of fair use
and search for another video.
Let's just say you are guilty.
YouTube handles this two different ways.
Those are copyright claims and copyright strikes.
And you can treat this as a good cop bad cop scenario.
When you receive a copyright claim,
YouTube is basically saying that you the creator,
can use the copyright owners content,
but the owner of a copyrighted content has the right
to place adverts on your video and earn income from it.
In this case, you the creator
are not punished for doing this.
Now of course, there is a side argument here of whether
or not that is fair.
If your video contains less than 1%
of somebody else's content,
why does that copyright owner get to claim 100%
of the ad revenue income.
Like fair use, that's an argument for another day.
And let's be honest, a copyright claim is a lot better
than receiving a copyright strike.
This is where the copyright owner isn't playing ball at all.
Your video will be removed from your channel and you will
also receive a copyright strike.
Three of them and your channel will be terminated.
And it might not end there either.
In extreme cases, you could find yourself in legal hot water
and have to defend yourself in court.
A couple more things to clarify.
You don't need to be monetized yourself in order to receive
copyright claims and copyright strikes.
Even if you have zero subscribers,
zero views and it's your very first video,
if it's copyright content,
you could get a claim or a strike.
Also, there is no guidebook or directory
that's going to tell you whether or not you will get
a copyright claim or a copyright strike.
Although there is a technical exception
when it comes to music.
The YouTube Music policy directory
lists the copyright status of thousands of tracks
explaining what happens if you use them in your videos.
For many tracks, you will be allowed to use them but you
won't be able to monetize the content and it maybe
blocked in some countries.
Using these songs will also result in a copyright claim
but you'll be able to review on your channel.
However, for many more thousands of songs,
you will find that there is a blanket ban.
If you try to use it, YouTube may mute it, block it, most
likely copyright claim it for the owner
and yes, even stamp a copyright strike on your channel.
Now to be clear, this only applies to music and YouTube
are going to be pulling away this tool anyway.
So it will be difficult to access it to know what's gonna
happen if you use any of this copyrighted music.
If you wanna know a little bit more specifically
about music copyright,
we actually tested this on one of our videos,
and you can find out the results over her.
And also there's no similar directory for video content.
So in short before we get to monetizing
your YouTube channel, the YouTube copyright system
isn't something that you can hack,
and it's not a game to be played with.
If your mindset is, I know the risks,
I'm going to do anyway because I just wanna monetize
some of my content, then you're probably gonna run
into problems which we'll talk about a little later.
On the other hand, there's many creators out there who
probably use copyrighted content unintentionally
by mistake on just a couple of videos
and now they're worried about whether or not their entire
channel is gonna be affected,
and they won't be able to apply for monetization.
So let's look at what YouTube does tell us about
applying for the YouTube Partner Program.
Make sure to check under the like button for links to all
of the stuff I'm about to show you.
The first one being the review process.
If you just needed 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours
of watch time, all of this will be simple.
But to monetize your channel,
you also need to comply with YouTube's community guidelines,
Terms of Service, copyright guidelines
and Google's ad policies.
Now that's a lot of complicated stuff that systems can't do
themselves and this is where an organic element
comes into play.
Each channel that applies for the YouTube Partner Program
must be assessed by a human reviewer.
Not to give humankind of bad rap here but
we're not perfect, were rarely consistent
and we can't do Absolutely everything all at once.
Now of course, a human is going to follow
a set of guidelines and protocols from YouTube,
and they look something like this.
It's not a complete list of everything that review
will check for on your channel,
but when it comes to the question of copyright
affecting your application,
these are probably the two biggest red flags.
For example, let's say you've made 10 videos
on your channel and just one of those videos
has a copyright claim but that single video accounts for 60%
of your watch time because it went viral,
thanks to the copyright content within that video.
In that case, have you really reached 4000 hours
of watch time within the spirit
of the YouTube monetization program?
On the other hand, let's say a creator has hundreds
of videos on their channel and four or five
of them have copyright claims but those videos account
for 20 to 30 hours of the channels total watch time,
the human reviewer at YouTube is probably gonna recognize
that as nothing to be too concerned about.
And just to be clear,
this is hypothetical, I'm not saying this as fact,
I'm just putting myself in YouTube shoes.
Now some may argue what's wrong with using
copyrighted content on my channel.
I'm not monetized, but it allows you to to put adverts
on my videos so that YouTube earns money from it.
While in the short term that may be true
and it will earn YouTube a few extra bucks,
in the long term it degrades
the credibility of the platform.
What YouTube really wants from all of us
is original content.
YouTube often talk about something called Reused Content.
This content you may be allowed to use
and is free from copyright.
But it is something that YouTube frown upon and may prevent
you from monetizing your content.
In YouTube's own words, the spirit of this Reused policy
is that it's to make sure
we YouTube are incentivizing unique and original content
in the YouTube Partner Program,
and that we're protecting and rewarding the creators
who work hard on original content.
Now to be completely transparent, copyright falls under
its own policy, while Reuse content falls
into the Quality Control Policy
all under the YouTube Partner Program
monetization application process.
But if we remove the legal and ownership aspects
out of the copyright policy,
then the definitions are essentially the same.
Copyrights reused its unoriginal
YouTube doesn't like this.
And I think when it comes to reviewing your channel,
YouTube is going to take into account the volume
of copyright and reuse content on your channel.
So if you have a copyright claim or a copyright strike
on your channel, will you be rejected for monetization?
No, but bear in mind copyright strikes are serious offenses
or if your channel has no copyright claims,
and no copyright strikes,
you'll automatically be accepted
into the YouTube Partner Program.
No, because you've also got to consider reuse content
and all of the other community guidelines
you need to adhere to.
As always, when it comes to YouTube,
it's never a black or white answer.
There's a misty murky shade of gray you've gotta try
and wade through.
In fairness to YouTube,
I contacted them both through online support
and through at Twitter for clarification.
Online support sent me to the links you will find
in the video description.
And team YouTube on Twitter did respond,
but with a typically a generic answer.
The best response actually came from KTP wrestling who told
us but it took 18 months to be accepted for monetization.
They didn't have any copyright claims nor strikes,
but they were aware that there may have been some
copyright material on their channel.
Anyway, let's fast forward to the worst case scenario.
You know, you've got copyright claims on your channel,
you apply for monetization and you're rejected.
What happens next?
Well, there is a silver lining you can reapply,
but it gets awkward.
If you use someone else's content enough to annoy YouTube,
they will reject your application via email
with the headline reason of either duplication
or reuse content.
The problem from the creators point of view,
which can be really frustrating is that YouTube
won't tell you specifically what's wrong with your channel.
They will list a certain video that needs to be removed
or tell you that you need
to get rid of these copyright claim videos.
You have to work it out.
And then 30 days after you were rejected, you can reapply.
Now, I will admit this has been a pretty long video
to answer what seems to be a very simple question,
but turns out to be quite complicated.
And I'm gonna make a bit of an assumption here
and I apologize if I'm wrong.
But if you've been wanting to know the answer
to this question, and you abandon this video
after two or three minutes, because you were bored,
then I'm afraid you're not taking the YouTube
and copyright seriously enough.
And yes, I do appreciate the irony of talking to an audience
that's already left the video, but for those who are still
watching this video, you are serious about YouTube
and you are serious about following
the YouTube copyright guidelines
and everything else that's gonna ensure
that you get monetized.
So, well done to you.
(claps)
I've said this before in previous videos,
monetization of your channel is not an entitlement.
It's a privilege that is rewarded to those who deserve it.
We've got more copyright content
over here that you may find interesting.
Don't forget those links below to reference
all of the stuff we talked about.
Otherwise, thank you very much watching and enjoy
the rest of your copyright free video making day.