Creative Commons music in YouTube videos
CC BY music works in any video if you credit it. SA puts the same licence on your video. NC is out once a video earns money. ND music cannot go in a video at all, because syncing to video counts as adapting it.
Reading the letters
Every Creative Commons licence starts with BY, which means credit the creator. The other letters add limits.
| Letters | What they add | In a YouTube video |
|---|---|---|
| BY | Credit required | Yes |
| BY-SA | Share alike | Yes, but your video takes the same licence |
| BY-NC | Non-commercial only | Not if the video earns money |
| BY-ND | No derivatives | No |
Combinations such as BY-NC-SA and BY-NC-ND stack the limits.
ND is the one nobody expects
It looks harmless. You are not remixing the song, only playing it under your footage. Creative Commons disagrees: "synching music in timed relation with a moving image is always considered an adaptation, whether or not it would be considered so under applicable law."
ND licences do not allow adaptations to be shared. Free Music Archive's licence guide states the result plainly: "You cannot put this song in a video or other derivative work."
NC and ad revenue
NC licences bar uses "primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation." Creative Commons will not tell you whether your case counts. Its FAQ says "CC cannot advise you on what is and is not commercial use."
Free Music Archive is less shy. Its FAQ asks "Does advertising revenue factor into your project" and says that if so, you can only use music whose licence allows commercial use. A channel in the Partner Program, or one that plans to join, should treat NC music as unavailable.
SA binds your video
With a ShareAlike track, Free Music Archive says "You must add the same licence (CC BY-SA) to your video." That lets other people reuse your video under the same terms. If you would not accept that, skip SA music.
Getting the credit right
A CC licence is only valid while its conditions are met, and the credit is the condition that goes wrong most often.
- Put the credit in the video description. Incompetech says a credit placed only inside the video "could not be read automatically", which is how licensed videos end up with claims.
- Include the title, the artist, the source and the licence. Free Music Archive lists those four.
- For Creative Commons tracks in the YouTube Audio Library, copy the credit text YouTube Studio generates.
The safe pick
If you want Creative Commons music and no surprises, use CC BY tracks only, and paste the credit into the description before you publish.
Incompetech is all CC BY. Free Music Archive mixes every licence type, so read the badge on each track.
Common questions
Can you use CC BY-NC music in a monetised YouTube video?
Free Music Archive says no. If advertising revenue factors into your project, you can only use Creative Commons music that allows commercial use. Creative Commons itself does not rule on specific cases.
Can you use NoDerivatives music as background music?
No. Creative Commons says syncing music in timed relation with a moving image is always an adaptation, and ND licences do not permit sharing adaptations.
Sources
- Creative Commons FAQcreativecommons.org
- Free Music Archive licence guidefreemusicarchive.org
- Free Music Archive FAQfreemusicarchive.org
- Incompetech royalty-free music FAQincompetech.com
- Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library (YouTube Help)support.google.com
Facts checked against the sources below on . Licences and prices change, so read the provider's own page before you rely on one.