To credit a song on YouTube, list the song title, the artist, the license type, and a link back to the source in your video description. Do that only after you’ve confirmed you actually have the right to use the track. Writing “no copyright infringement intended” or “all rights go to the artist” is not a license, and neither is a well-formatted credit. Attribution is a courtesy in some cases and a license requirement in others; it never substitutes for permission.
That distinction matters because YouTube runs Content ID, an automated system that scans uploads against a database of copyrighted audio and lets the rights holder monetize, block, or track your video when it finds a match.1Google Help. How Content ID Works Content ID doesn’t read your description. Credit the artist all you want; if you don’t have the underlying license, the claim still goes through.
What to Include in a Music Credit
When your license calls for attribution, put the following in your video description:
- Song title, spelled exactly as the release lists it.
- Artist name, meaning the performer or composer.
- Album title, if the track appears on one.
- License type, such as “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0” or “Licensed from [Library Name].”
- A link to the source track, the artist’s page, or the license text.
A clean version reads like this:
Music: “Track Title” by Artist Name
Album: Album Name
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Link: [URL to original track]
For anything you pulled from the YouTube Audio Library under a Creative Commons license, don’t write the credit yourself. Open the Audio Library in YouTube Studio, find the track, click the Creative Commons icon in the License Type column, and copy the attribution text it generates. That string is the exact wording the license expects.2YouTube Help. Use Music and Sound Effects From the Audio Library
Where to Place the Credit
The video description is the standard spot, and it’s where Creative Commons licenses specifically require attribution to appear. Put your music credits below the main description under a clear heading like “Music Used in This Video” so viewers and rights holders can find them.
A few supplements can raise visibility without replacing the description:
- A pinned comment with the same credit text, so it shows up beneath the video without anyone expanding the description.
- An end screen or card linking to the artist’s channel or the original track.
- An on-screen text credit while the song plays, which works for short acknowledgments.
None of these replace the description entry. Treat them as extras.
When Credit Is Required and When It’s Optional
Whether you need to credit at all depends on where the music came from.
YouTube Audio Library Tracks
The Audio Library holds royalty-free music and sound effects that are copyright-safe on YouTube.2YouTube Help. Use Music and Sound Effects From the Audio Library Tracks split into two groups. Some carry a standard YouTube Audio Library license and require no credit at all. Others carry a Creative Commons license and require you to credit the artist in your description. Filter by “Attribution required” or “Attribution not required” to see which one you’re dealing with. YouTube will automatically add a “Music in this Video” section to the watch page when you use Audio Library tracks, but that automatic notice does not satisfy the CC attribution requirement. You still need the credit in your description.
Creative Commons Tracks From Elsewhere
Every Creative Commons license requires attribution.3Creative Commons. About CC Licenses Beyond that, the variant determines what else you can do:
- CC BY: use, remix, and monetize with credit.
- CC BY-SA: same as CC BY, but any remix has to be released under the same terms.
- CC BY-NC: credit required, and noncommercial use only, which typically rules out a monetized channel.
- CC BY-ND: use and share with credit, no remixing or altering.
- CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND: the noncommercial restriction stacked with share-alike or no-derivatives.
The noncommercial condition is the one that catches YouTubers most often. If your channel runs ads, a CC BY-NC track can put you offside even with a flawless credit. Read the variant before you use the music.
Commercial Music Libraries
Services like commercial subscription libraries usually bundle the underlying rights so you don’t have to negotiate anything. Most don’t require attribution, though some ask for it as a courtesy. Check the specific service’s guidelines. If they don’t require credit, adding one anyway does no harm.
Copyrighted Commercial Music
For a song you’d hear on the radio, pairing it with video content requires a synchronization license from whoever controls the composition, and if you’re using a specific recording rather than performing it yourself, a master use license from whoever owns that recording.4Music Publishers Association of the United States. Copyright Search Independent creators rarely go through this process directly because it’s expensive and slow. If you haven’t cleared those rights, no credit line will make the upload safe. This is the boundary worth stating plainly: a description credit is not a license for commercial music.
Cover Songs
A cover you performed yourself is still a use of the underlying composition, so it technically needs a sync license from the publisher. In practice, most publishers don’t chase individual cover uploads. They let Content ID claim the video and take the ad revenue instead.
If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, you may be able to share revenue on eligible covers. Check the Content page in YouTube Studio; if the video carries a copyright restriction but is flagged as eligible for revenue sharing, you’ll split earnings with the publisher. Both new and older uploads can qualify.5YouTube Help. Monetizing Eligible Cover Videos Credit the original songwriter in your description. It won’t stop a Content ID claim, but it’s honest and helps viewers find the original.
What Happens If You Skip the License and Just Credit
Two things can hit your video, and they aren’t the same.
A Content ID claim is automated. The system detects the copyrighted audio and lets the rights holder monetize, block, or track the video.1Google Help. How Content ID Works The claim affects only that video. Your channel is fine. You may lose the ad revenue on the upload, and that’s usually the end of it.
A copyright strike is heavier. It comes from a rights holder submitting a formal DMCA takedown, and YouTube removes the video. Strikes attach to the channel. One strike can restrict live streaming and uploads longer than 15 minutes; completing Copyright School lets a first strike expire after 90 days. Three active strikes within 90 days can terminate the channel entirely.6YouTube Help. Understand Copyright Strikes
Disputing a Claim You Think Is Wrong
If a Content ID claim lands on a video where you do have a license, the audio was misidentified, or you have a solid fair use argument, you can dispute it. In YouTube Studio, open the Content tab, select the flagged video, review the claim, and submit a dispute with your explanation.7Google Help. Dispute a Content ID Claim
The claimant has 30 days to respond. If they don’t, the claim expires and releases automatically. If they reject the dispute, you can appeal. The last step is a formal counter-notification, which is a legal document requiring your full legal name, address, and a sworn statement, and it opens you to a lawsuit if the claimant chooses to file within 10 U.S. business days.8YouTube Help. Submit a Copyright Counter Notification Don’t take that step unless you’re confident about your rights to the music. Getting the credit right in the first place, on a track you’re actually licensed to use, keeps you out of that process entirely.