Lyric videos with copyright free music

Lyric videos with copyright free music are not allowed. A video whose job is to play the song and show the words is a music upload. The license says no to music-only uploads, lyric videos, and visualisers.

The line you cannot cross

Full lyrics on screen, a karaoke bounce, a “lyrics in description” video that is otherwise just the song, or a caption track of the whole verse over a still. Those are lyric videos. Credit does not fix them. See can I reupload.

The line you can use

Your montage, your vlog b-roll, your workout, with a short phrase on screen as a title. The pictures are the video. One line of text does not turn it into a lyric video. If you remove the pictures and the song still “works” as a release, you have crossed the line.

The songs already have a home on the songs page and on the Arctaholic YouTube channel. Link those. Do not rebuild them.

Lyric videos with copyright free music are music uploads

Lyric videos with copyright free music are not allowed. A video whose job is to play the song and show the words is a music upload. The license says no to music-only uploads, lyric videos, and visualisers. Credit does not fix the shape.

These cross the line: full lyrics on screen, a karaoke bounce, a “lyrics in the description” video that is otherwise just the song, a caption track of the whole verse over a still. If you remove the pictures and the song still works as a release, it is a lyric video. Take it down.

These do not: your montage, your b-roll, or your workout, with a short phrase as a title card. One line of text does not convert the video. Auto-captions on a legitimate video are fine. Building the video so the captions are the show is not. The re-upload guide is the same rule from the other side.

Quoting one bar inside a real commentary is a quote, not a lyric video. The commentary has to be the video. The commentary guide says not to play the whole song under the quote.

The songs already live on the songs page. Link them. The Copyright Office fair use index is not a path around this ban. The owner of these recordings is telling you the lyric video is outside the grant.

Before export, hide the captions and watch. If the video becomes a still with a song, it is a lyric video and it should not go up. Put your pictures back or cut the song down to a sting inside a video that is about something else. Auto-captions can stay on a montage. A full verse you typed on screen cannot. If one is already public, delete it instead of pinning a comment with the license. The license is the document that says this shape is out. Linking it under a video the license refuses does not pull the video back in. Point people to the song page if they want the words.

Questions

Can I quote one bar in a commentary?

Yes, as a quote inside a video that is actually commentary. The commentary page is copyright free music for commentary videos. Do not play the whole song under the quote.

What if YouTube’s auto-captions show the words?

Auto-captions on your legitimate video are fine. Do not build the video to be a caption showcase.