How music from the Shorts sound picker works

What it is

When you record or edit a Short in the YouTube app, tapping "Add sound" opens a library of songs. YouTube Help describes it as "a selection of tracks from YouTube's audio library at no charge". These are commercial songs that music partners have agreed to make available for Shorts.

How long a song can play

YouTube says "you can use most songs for up to 90 seconds in a 3 minute Short. However, some tracks may be limited to 60 or 30 seconds." When you select a song, the app shows how many seconds it will cover.

What it does to your earnings

Shorts ad revenue is pooled each month. When a Short uses music, YouTube splits the revenue tied to its views between the Creator Pool and music partners. With one track, half goes to the pool and half covers music licensing. With two tracks, a third goes to the pool.

That split changes the size of the pool, not your slice of it. YouTube says each creator is "allocated 100% of the total number of engaged views on their Shorts, regardless of whether any music" is used, and that creators "keep 45% of their allocated revenue, regardless if music was used or not."

One rule to plan for: from 1 February 2027, YouTube will require at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to earn a share of Shorts ad revenue.

The catch

The licence comes from adding the song inside YouTube. If you edit the same song into your video in another app and upload the file, YouTube treats it as music you brought yourself.

YouTube Help says a Short "created outside of YouTube's creation tools" that uses copyright-protected content "may get a Content ID claim or be removed due to a copyright removal request". For a Short longer than one minute, an active claim means YouTube blocks it worldwide until the claim is resolved.

So if you want a chart song, add it with the sound picker. If you edit in CapCut or another editor first, use music you hold a licence for, such as the YouTube Audio Library or one of the other sources.