Do I have to credit copyright free music?

Do I have to credit copyright free music from Arctaholic? No. The license says credit is optional. A video with no credit is still licensed. A video with a credit is not more licensed.

If you add one anyway

Music: [Song Title] by Arctaholic
[YouTube link to the track]

The full placement notes are how to credit a track. One block per song. Description, caption, About panel, or show notes. Nothing burned into the picture.

What a credit does not do

It does not clear a song you found somewhere else. It does not make a re-upload allowed. It does not turn an ad into an organic post. It does not let you skip the bans on remixes and lyric videos.

Some other libraries require credit, including many Creative Commons tracks. Their rule is not this rule. See Creative Commons vs copyright free.

Skipping the line does not move you closer to a claim from Arctaholic, and adding it does not clear a different song.

Do I have to credit copyright free music from Arctaholic

Do I have to credit copyright free music from this catalog? No. A video with no credit is licensed. A video with a credit is not more licensed. Sponsors, networks, and clients may still ask for the line. You can add it to be useful. You do not add it to “activate” the permission. The permission is already on the license.

The block, if you use it, is the song title, the name Arctaholic, and the track link. Placement is in the credit guide. One block per song. Nothing burned into the picture. Skipping the line does not move you closer to a claim from Arctaholic. Adding the line does not clear a song you found somewhere else, and it does not make a re-upload or an ad allowed.

Other libraries, including many Creative Commons tracks, do require credit. Their rule is not this rule. The Creative Commons comparison is that difference. Do not paste a CC badge on these songs to look thorough. They are not CC.

The Copyright Office fair use FAQ treats credit as a courtesy, not as a substitute for permission. You already have permission. Credit is the courtesy. Leave it off if you want.

Decide once per channel, not once per video in a panic. Either you credit Arctaholic tracks as a habit, with the title and the link, or you do not. Both are allowed. What is not allowed is crediting only when you are scared of a claim. The claim does not check the description for the line. A moderator might. A claim robot will not. If a client requires the line, add it for that client and leave your other videos as they are. Write the requirement into their delivery note so the next editor does not think the license changed. It did not. The client asked for a courtesy the license already called optional. A missing line does not cause a claim from Arctaholic. Credit is a courtesy. It is not the switch that turns the license on.

Questions

Will a missing credit cause a claim?

Not from Arctaholic. The promise not to claim does not depend on the credit line.

Should a client still ask for the credit?

They can. It helps viewers find the song. It is not a clause you have to satisfy.