Copyright free music for ads

Copyright free music for ads is the limit people miss. A monetized YouTube video is not an ad. A paid advertisement is an ad. The license allows the first and does not allow the second.

Covered, even if money moves

YouTube ads on your vlog. A TikTok that earns a creator bonus. A podcast with a host-read ad somewhere else in the episode, while the track is only your intro. A client’s organic upload on their own channel. That last case is client videos.

Not covered

Pre-rolls you produced for a brand, spark ads, boosted ads, television, a film, a game, in-store video, and a sponsor integration whose point is the advertisement. Email arctaholic@gmail.com and wait for a written yes before you cut the spot. Silence is not a yes.

Putting “we don’t own the music” in the caption does not convert an ad into an organic post.

Copyright free music for ads is the line monetization does not cross

Copyright free music for ads is refused. A monetized YouTube video is not an ad. A paid advertisement is an ad. The license allows the first and does not allow the second.

Still covered: ads that YouTube runs on your vlog, a creator bonus on an organic post, a podcast that has a host-read ad somewhere else while the track is only your intro, a client’s organic upload on their own channel. That last case is the client guide.

Not covered: pre-rolls you produced for a brand, spark ads, boosted posts, television, a film, a game, in-store video, and a sponsor integration whose point is the advertisement. Email arctaholic@gmail.com and wait for a written yes before you picture-lock. Silence is not a yes. A caption that says you do not own the music does not convert the spot into an organic post.

If an organic video later gets used as an ad, the organic post was fine and the ad use is new. Tell the buyer before they boost it. YouTube’s Creator Music help describes tracks that share revenue. This catalog does not share revenue on organic videos, and it still does not include ads.

Add a line to the brief before you edit: “organic post” or “paid placement.” If the brief says paid, do not start the cut on this track until arctaholic@gmail.com has said yes. If the brief says organic and later changes to paid, the cut you already posted can stay and the media buy waits. Send the buyer that distinction in writing so their ads manager does not boost the post on a Friday. YouTube ads on a normal upload are not the brief. Those can stay on. The brief is someone paying to run the film as an advertisement. That is the use that needs the extra yes. A boost is a new use. The organic post can stay up. Organic monetization can stay. A paid placement has to wait for a written yes.

Questions

My organic video later gets used as an ad. Is that fine?

The organic post was fine. The ad use needs permission before it runs. Tell the buyer that.

Can I run ads to promote my own song cover?

You cannot post a cover of the song as a lyric video at all. See lyric videos. Promoting your own creator video that uses the track inside your footage is ordinary monetization, not this ban.