From Content ID hijacking to missing attribution, in this guide we break down why copyright claims might happen even when you've been careful to only use music labeled as "no copyright" or "royalty-free."
As a content creator, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a copyright claim notification in your YouTube Studio – especially when you’ve gone out of your way to use music labeled as "no copyright" or "royalty-free." Understanding why claims happen is the first step to protecting your channel’s monetization.
While the term "no copyright" is widely used, it can be quite misleading. In reality, almost all music is protected by copyright from the moment it’s created. This is also the case with all music available on our platform, Free To Use. However, our Free To Use License grants users the right to use our music for free under specific conditions – described below.
Unfortunately, the world of digital music isn’t without its bad actors. In some cases, a copyright claim has nothing to do with the original creator or rights holder.
Instead, individuals or fraudulent companies steal royalty-free music from the web, upload it to YouTube’s Content ID database as their own, and attempt to "hijack" the monetization of every video using that track. This is a form of digital theft that targets both the original artist and you, the creator.
If your videos' monetization is being hijacked, you can find a step-by-step guide on disputing, appealing, and submitting a counter notification within YouTube Studio here:
At Free To Use, we work hard to combat Content ID hijacking – a persistent challenge in the "no copyright" music community. Unlike many other free music sites such as Pixabay, we own the exclusive worldwide rights to our entire music catalog.
This ownership allows us to protect the creators using our music in two critical ways:
Proactive Protection: We register all music in YouTube’s Content ID database and similar matching systems. This ensures we maintain official ownership, preventing bad actors from hijacking/stealing the monetization revenue from your videos.
Permanent Licensing: We guarantee that all tracks remain licensed under the Free To Use License in perpetuity. Artists cannot retroactively pull tracks from this agreement to claim your revenue later.
By choosing music from Free To Use, you’ve already gone a long way to protect your content.
Even though Content ID hijacking is real, the most common reason for a copyright claim is still a simple oversight: missing attribution or license payment.
At Free To Use, we provide creators with high-quality music that is free to use in non-commercial content* shared on social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitch.
*Content created and published with the intent to promote, market, sell, or otherwise support a business, product, service, brand, or commercial activity. This includes, but is not limited to, paid or sponsored content, online advertising, client projects, or any content published on behalf of a company or organization. It also includes content distributed via, or incorporated into, podcasts, company websites, mobile or desktop applications, and video games.
When using our music for free, we ask for a small but vital "payment" in the form of attribution. This includes listing the artist name(s) and track title(s) of the music you’ve used, along with a link to Free To Use. Every time you download a track, a pop-up will provide the exact attribution text required. To ensure your video remains claim-free, simply copy and paste this text into your video description before changing your visibility from private to public or unlisted.
If you’re using multiple tracks in a single video, use the following format for attribution:
Music from Free To Use
Source: https://freetouse.com/music
Track by Artist
Track by Artist
…
In case you don’t want to include attribution, consider purchasing one of our subscription plans. A subscription gives you full access to our entire music catalog, and it lets you whitelist your YouTube channel(s), ensuring you won’t receive any Content ID claims when using our music without attribution.
Note: If you’ve received a Content ID claim from us at Free To Use, please add the required attribution to your video description and send an email to copyright@freetouse.com. In the email, include a link to your YouTube video(s) and an explanation of your situation. Once received, we will remove the Content ID claim from your video. This is usually done within 24 hours, but during periods of high demand, it may take up to 7 days. Please do not dispute the Content ID claim, as this will only prolong the process.