YouTube Shorts: music and copyright claims

YouTube Shorts questions, answered

• Free music you can't use on YouTube

  Music that is free inside one app is usually licensed for that app only. TikTok and Meta say so in their terms, SoundCloud forbids reuse unless the uploader allows it, and YouTube disowns "royalty-free" channels.

  • YouTube Shorts
  • TikTok
  • Instagram Reels
• Safest music for Shorts, Reels and TikTok

  On YouTube, use the Audio Library or the in-app sound picker. On Instagram and TikTok, use each app's own library inside the app. For one source across all three, subscribe to Epidemic Sound.

  • YouTube Shorts
  • Instagram Reels
  • TikTok
• Can you repost TikToks to Shorts and Reels?

  Only if the music is yours to take with you. Music added inside TikTok or YouTube is licensed for that platform alone, and a visible watermark from another app makes a video ineligible for TikTok's For You feed.

  • YouTube Shorts
  • Instagram Reels
  • TikTok
• Can you use Suno music on YouTube?

  Not on the free plan if you want to earn from the video. Suno says free-plan songs are for personal, non-commercial use and cannot be monetised, and subscribing later does not cover them by default.

  • YouTube Shorts
• Copyright claim vs strike on YouTube Shorts

  A claim is an automatic Content ID match that affects one video and never counts against your channel. A strike follows a valid legal removal request, and three strikes in 90 days can end a channel.

  • YouTube Shorts
• Copyright claims on YouTube vs TikTok

  YouTube's Content ID puts a claim on the video, which usually stays up while the revenue moves. TikTok mutes or removes the video instead. Both let you appeal, and both can end an account for repeat infringement.

  • YouTube Shorts
  • TikTok
• 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.

  • YouTube Shorts
• How to dispute a YouTube Content ID claim

  In YouTube Studio, open the claim details on the video and choose Take action, then Dispute. Attach your licence details. The claimant has 30 days to respond, and disputing within 5 days protects your revenue.

  • YouTube Shorts
• Royalty free vs copyright free music

  Royalty free means you pay no fee each time the music plays. It still has an owner and can still be registered with Content ID. Truly copyright-free music is rare, and "no copyright" in a name is usually a licence.

  • YouTube Shorts
• What happens when you cancel a music licence

  With Epidemic Sound, Artlist and Envato, videos you published while subscribed stay licensed after you cancel. What you lose is the right to publish anything new with the music, even tracks you already downloaded.

  • YouTube Shorts
• Where to get free music for YouTube Shorts

  Start with YouTube's own Audio Library and the Shorts sound picker, which YouTube says won't be claimed. After that, StreamBeats needs no credit, and Incompetech, NCS and Bensound are free if you credit them correctly.

  • YouTube Shorts

Music sources that name YouTube Shorts

These sources name YouTube Shorts in their own licence or help pages. A source missing from this list may still allow it. Its pages just do not say so. The full comparison has every source.