What Content ID Is
YouTube Content ID is YouTube's automated rights-management system. It creates a digital fingerprint of your recording and scans every video uploaded to YouTube. When it finds your music in someone else's video, it can place ads on that video and pay you a share of the revenue.
How You Earn From It
- InterSpace delivers your track to Content ID and registers its fingerprint.
- Content ID scans YouTube for matches.
- When your music is used, the video is monetised and you earn a share.
- These earnings appear as Content ID royalties. See Understanding YouTube Content ID Royalties.
Important Cautions
- Only enable Content ID for music you fully own. Do not claim tracks that contain uncleared samples, public-domain performances by others, or third-party content, because you would be claiming revenue you are not entitled to.
- Do not upload the same song to Content ID through two distributors, or you will create conflicting claims.
- If your own video gets claimed by your own music, that is usually just Content ID recognising your delivered track, and it can be resolved.
Content ID vs YouTube Music
Content ID is about earning from other people's videos. YouTube Music is the streaming service where fans play your songs directly. They are separate systems, and you can be on both.