What does TuneCore’s YouTube Sound Recording Revenue service do to collect the money I’ve earned?
This artist service tracks down and collects revenue for artists when their sound recordings are used anywhere on YouTube.
What are the benefits of TuneCore’s YouTube Sound Recording Revenue Collection service?
- Artists can choose which tracks they want to collect money on, or monetize
- Artists can choose to monetize their own YouTube Channel or whitelist their channel to prevent TuneCore monetization claims
- TuneCore submits eligible tracks to YouTube on your behalf
- YouTube Content ID system identifies artists’ sound recordings & revenue
- TuneCore collects the revenue from YouTube on your behalf
- TuneCore deposits money directly in artists’ TuneCore Accounts each month
- Artists pay a one-time setup fee and keep 80% of collected revenue
- Setup fee covers all the artists’ current and future sound recordings
What happens when I opt in?
- When you select tracks, they go through a vetting process. At this stage, your YouTube Sound Recording Revenue Dashboard will show these tracks are processing
- The tracks that are found eligible under our terms and conditions are sent to YouTube. If a track is found ineligible, you will also see that on your dashboard
- YouTube creates a fingerprint of the eligible tracks (a digital indicator), and scans all videos on the platform for matches where your music is used.
- TuneCore collects the revenue from the videos that use your sound recordings and sends it directly to your TuneCore Account
Which types of rights are eligible to monetize?
There are two kinds of "rights":
- Sound Recording (Audio)
- Publishing (Composition)
The YouTube Sound Recording Revenue service monetizes the first right, audio.
What do the terms "monetization" and "monetize" mean?
"Monetization" is the act of making money on goods or services. Artists earn money from their sound recordings on YouTube videos when ads have been placed on the videos. The YouTube Sound Recording Revenue collection service "monetizes" (identifies and collects revenue from) those sound recordings for you.
What's the difference between "eligible" sound recordings that I can monetize and "ineligible" sound recordings that I can not monetize on YouTube?
Eligible: You can submit specific tracks to YouTube for revenue collection that:
- Use only your own material for which you have exclusive rights
- Use third-party material for which you have exclusive rights
Ineligible: You cannot submit tracks to YouTube for revenue collection that:
- Contain public domain clips or speeches
- Contain any ambient sound effects (like nature sounds), production loops (such as GarageBand loops) or samples from audio libraries (like Musicbed or Audiojungle)
- Contain any third party content that you have not exclusively licensed (such as samples/beats that are used in other tracks)
- Are karaoke versions or sound-a-like cover versions
- Are part of a compilation/various artists album
- You have previously licensed to a third party, on an exclusive basis
- Are already monetized on YouTube by another distributor
- Are video game soundtracks (unless you are the video game publisher)
(Violations of these guidelines may lead to permanent blocking of your account from this service.)
Does TuneCore monetize my sound recordings if they have been included in videos uploaded by other people to YouTube?
If you purchase this service, we will monetize all YouTube videos in which other people have used your music and where ads have been placed on those videos. We'll even monetize the tracks on your own YouTube channel unless you decide to whitelist (exclude) it. Please note that we can only monetize videos with exact audio matches - this means that alternative versions of your song (e.g., live or cover versions) cannot be claimed via this service.
What are the types of ads that can appear on my videos?
- Display ads (i.e. banners)
- Overlay in-video ads
- TrueView in-stream ads
- Non-skippable in-stream ads
These ads can range from a simple banner to an actual commercial. More than one advertisement may be linked to your video at any given time, which can mean additional monetization income for you. You can see more about the different types of ads here.
How much money can I make on YouTube?
It depends on various factors, including on how often your music is used. The more people upload and stream your music, the more you can earn from your sound recordings.
When I release new singles or albums, can I add them to this service without paying another fee?
You pay a one-time set-up fee for this service, included in that fee is the ability to add all current and future releases at no additional charge. As you release new music, you can hand-pick which eligible tracks will be monetized.
Can I monetize my music on YouTube by myself?
In order to collect the most money from the use of your music in other people's videos, you need access to YouTube's backend system, and access is typically restricted to large labels, publishers and distributors. Plus, you need the training and knowledge to navigate YouTube's complex system to collect revenue and manage rights disputes. TuneCore's YouTube Sound Recording Revenue service manages these monetization tasks for you. If you choose to monetize your own channel yourself, you have the option to whitelist that channel and prevent TuneCore claims on your videos.
Who gets notified when this service claims my sound recordings on YouTube?
Because you are a customer, you and other people using your music on YouTube will get a YouTube notification stating that TuneCore has claimed your sound recording. The notification means that TuneCore is officially collecting money on your behalf. TuneCore’s claims do not block videos unless you request us to do so. These claims are not copyright strikes and do not negatively affect the status of your channel.
What does it mean for me to whitelist my YouTube channel?
Whitelist means to "exclude." If you do not want TuneCore to collect revenue for your sound recordings on your channel, you can set your Channel Preferences to whitelist (exclude) your YouTube channel.
If I whitelist my YouTube channel, will this service still collect revenue that does not come from my channel for me?
Yes, we will still monetize videos that are not part of your whitelisted channel.
How long does it take for videos to become monetized on YouTube?
Once you've signed up for the YouTube Sound Recording Revenue Collection Service and opted in tracks, it can take up to a month for YouTube's Content ID matching system to find all the videos across the platform that are using your sound recordings. This process can take even longer for older videos (it will first scan new videos and the most popular videos). However, now that your tracks are in the system, if a new video is created containing your sound recording, the match should be instantaneous.
You can check the delivery status of your track/s on your YouTube Dashboard by clicking on Manage Tracks.
You can sign up for TuneCore's YouTube Sound Recording Revenue Collection Service here.
Want to learn more about this service?
Check out our blog posts: