YouTube copyright issues...

thepianoplayer416 · 2025-06-11T12:30:06+00:00

Anybody had issues uploading videos to YouTube and get warnings certain videos violate copyright of other people's original song/composition? Recently my te...

ShiroKuro

Yep, I've had these problems too. There's something weird about videos that are less than three minutes long and/or vertical, because those get categorized as Shorts and then for some reason, the copyright enforcement is more strict. Which doesn't make sense to me.

And then there are the pieces which actually are under copyright (like a lot of contemporary piano music) but those I can upload without issue.

There's no rhyme or reason to it.

thepianoplayer416

Even Classical music by a dead composer at least 100 years ago may be flagged as copyright violation to a publishing company. While the score is freely distributed on IMSLP.org, the soundtrack that was recorded gets a warning.

Didn't think a Bach Minuet or a piece out of the "Notebook for Anna M" that many students would play would cause a warning...

BartK

The copyright claim is not on the music but on the recording of it. Claiming that the music is 300 years old will not help your case. Showing that it's you playing will.

Anyway, these are all sham claims made by AI and the only reason for them is to steal the ad revenue.

danno858 I once uploaded a terrible iPhone recording of me trying to play Clair de Lune when I was learning it. YouTube tried to tell me it was copyrighted but it asked if I wanted to continue anyway which I did. I never heard anything else on the issue....

You should dispute it. If you don't dispute then the fake claimant gets ad revenue from your video, which gives them an incentive to keep doing that. The only way to fight this plague is to not let them get away with fake claims like these.

ShiroKuro

BartK If you don't dispute then the fake claimant gets ad revenue from your video, which gives them an incentive to keep doing that

Ahh, I don’t think I understood this detail. Thanks!

thepianoplayer416

The YouTube upload screen was locked yesterday. Had to wait 24 hours for the screen to get unlocked.

Time to make a decision. The next screen has 4 options: Erase song, Replace song, Trim out segment or Dispute claim.

Of course the last option Dispute claim would be the most logical. After submitting a dispute, the outcome is not automatic. There is still a chance it would be rejected. Based on my experience, once the claim is accepted, you can upload a similar video later and won't get flagger again.

The next screen asks you to pick 1 of 4 reasons: Original content, License, Copyright exception such as fair use & Public domain. When performing a piece of Classical music at least 100 years old, have to assume "Public domain" would be the most logical pick and type in your reason.

The disputed "song" does have a BWV #. Anybody who plays or listens to music would know the piece was composed by Bach so at least 300 years old. Guess AI's algorithm doesn't pick up music by Bach, Mozart or Beethoven. It compares sound recordings for anything similar.

ShiroKuro

thepianoplayer416 Time to make a decision. The next screen has 4 options: Erase song, Replace song, Trim out segment or Dispute claim.

Always dispute.

At least, that's my takeaway from this thread.

Good luck!

twocats

thepianoplayer416 The next screen asks you to pick 1 of 4 reasons: Original content, License, Copyright exception such as fair use & Public domain. When performing a piece of Classical music at least 100 years old, have to assume "Public domain" would be the most logical pick and type in your reason.

I would pick Original Content because it's your original recording, and you didn't use someone else's audio in your video.

ShiroKuro

twocats I would pick Original Content because it's your original recording, and you didn't use someone else's audio in your video.

This makes a lot of sense. I wonder about the distinctions between "public domain" and "original content" ... if someone played from a score and it's recognizable as being consistent with the original (say, a composition by Bach), t seems like the obvious choice would be to claim public domain. But then you open yourself up to being accused of using someone else's recording. So, original content might be best??

twocats

ShiroKuro yeah public domain would be like, the audio clip I used is in the public domain (it's very old). Your own playing is original content.

Ultimately it's about making sure you dispute it because they try to claim copyright on anything that is remotely like a copyrighted recording of classical music!

ShiroKuro

twocats Your own playing is original content.

To me this is the most convincing argument (thanks for helping me clarify my thinking here)

@Jane please be sure to let us know the outcome of your dispute!

Jane

I didn't know what to select in disputing Cristina Ortiz' claim against my Rachmaninoff prélude and chose the public domain option.
The underlying content is public domain, my performance is original content. Which to pick?
Anyway, they now have 14 days remaining to dispute my dispute.

Jane

ShiroKuro @Jane please be sure to let us know the outcome of your dispute!

Free at last!
The clouds have lifted!
Cristina doesn't have me under her thumb!
Freedom!!!
Another small victory for the world or amateur mediocrity!

Not with a bang, not with a whimper, just fading... fading into nothingness.

@thepianoplayer416 My video was showing "Copyright" during the dispute period. As you can see in the second pic, that has changed to "none".

L-M

It’s actually a common issue on YouTube due to how their Content ID system works.

You can dispute the copyright claim on YouTube by:
Stating the piece is in the public domain.
Explaining your performance is original and doesn’t copy any commercial recording.
Mentioning it’s a common teaching piece many students play.

If possible, add the sheet music source and confirm you didn’t use any existing recordings.
After submitting, wait up to 30 days for a response. If none, the dispute is approved automatically.
If rejected, you can appeal, but there’s a small risk of a copyright strike.

twocats

L-M I've simply said "this is a recording of my own playing" and it was enough.

thepianoplayer416

In a piano competition, if you play a piece by Mozart or Beethoven even as an arrangement, the judges would treat the music as Public domain .

On YouTube, the AI algorithm makes the initial claim with no human involvement. After filing the claim, a Y-T employee would check if the claim is legit.

I’ve used Public domain as a reason in the past. Not sure if it’s a big deal to choose between Original content & Public domain when the composer is dead. I can be playing the “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. It’s my own playing so it’s Original content but not Public domain because he’s still around. The main thing is the $ being de-monetized if your video does go viral.

Anyway, I have 14 days to make a claim…

BartK

thepianoplayer416
Again, the copyright claim is NOT on the music but on the recording. You should always choose original content for your own videos.

Jane

BartK Again, the copyright claim is NOT on the music but on the recording. You should always choose original content for your own videos.

I'm going to disagree with you, Bart.
It looks to me as if their robot claims I stole Cristina Ortiz's MELODY - as per the circled items.
So I'm claiming, in effect, that the "melody" is Rachmaninoff's, and is not Cristina Ortiz's to challenge.

But I agree with others, the differentiation youtube is making could use some explanation.

ShiroKuro

Jane It looks to me as if their robot claims I stole Cristina Ortiz's MELODY - as per the circled items.
So I'm claiming, in effect, that the "melody" is Rachmaninoff's, and is not Cristina Ortiz's to challenge.

First of all, it's crazy to me how specific the YT claim is (specifying a certain section of the video).

Second, I think what you're pointing out isn't incompatible with what @BartK is saying. You can still claim that it's your original playing, regardless of where the melody came from.

Anyway, I'm sorry you have to deal with it! It's a silly problem!

Jane

ShiroKuro You can still claim that it's your original playing, regardless of where the melody came from.

Which is what I'm doing.
BUT that's where I see it differently from what I understood Bart to be saying.
To me, the content in my video includes the "melody" that Cristina Ortiz is claiming is hers.
So to select the option (shown in @thepianoplayer416 post screenshot above) asserting that "the content ... is my original content and I own ALL the rights to it" would not be my choice, because part of the content is the underlying score that was created by Rachmaninoff and I don't own it.

So I chose that the content is in the public domain (Rachmaninoff's score.)

But could also make a case that my amateurish playing has also "significantly transformed the content" (choice 3. Or is that choice C? Isn't one always supposed to guess at choice C in multiple-choice tests?)

But regardless, the wheels of justice are grinding forward!
Cristina Ortiz has but 5 more days in which to dispute my disputing of her disputing of my right to play Rachmaninoff!
Tick, tick, tick.....

thepianoplayer416

Still waiting for a reply from YouTube regarding the copyright claim on the last video.

twocats

Jane Cristina Ortiz has but 5 more days in which to dispute my disputing of her disputing of my right to play Rachmaninoff!

It's all automated, it's not her but her label making a copyright claim based on some kind of AI matching. And the use of the word "melody" applies more to pop song copyright issues, so don't read too much into the exact wording! I think the process is: your video gets automatically flagged because it's "close enough" to a copyrighted recording, you dispute, they don't do anything-- as long as you dispute the copyright claim, it'll expire on its own.

Jane

twocats Yes, my posts sometimes wax into hyperbole.
And I certainly can't envision Cristina Ortiz sitting in her studio listening to my poor little recording and exploding with outrage.
The AI has just begun to fight!