When your music is uploaded to YouTube, co:brand automatically applies Content ID claims on your behalf. This article explains what that means, when it makes sense to release a claim or whitelist a channel, and an important note on messages you may see on your own uploads.
If you upload your own music to YouTube
If you (or your team) upload your own tracks to YouTube after distributing through co:brand, you may see a Content ID claim or monetisation notice appear on that video shortly after upload.
This is expected and is us. Our system automatically detects the audio and applies a claim so we can monetise on your behalf across all territories where you hold rights. You do not need to do anything, and you should not remove or dispute this claim yourself. Removing it means we stop monetising the video and lose access to any of its data or analytics.
If you have a question about a claim on one of your own uploads, just reach out to your co:brand contact rather than releasing it directly.
What is claim releasing?
Releasing a claim means removing the Content ID policy that has been applied to a specific video. Our default policy is to monetise in every territory where you hold rights, so once a claim is released:
We stop monetising that video
We no longer receive data or analytics from it
Claim releases are typically requested in two situations:
There is a direct licence agreement in place for use of the audio on that video
The uploader has agreed with you directly that they will handle monetisation themselves
If you're requesting a claim release, it's worth double-checking with anyone involved (artists, label teams, uploaders) that they understand what this means in practice — namely, that co:brand will no longer be monetising or tracking that video afterwards.
What is channel whitelisting (allow listing)?
Whitelisting a channel means no claims will ever be applied to any video uploaded to that channel going forward. This means co:brand will not monetise any videos using your music on that channel, not just the one you originally had in mind.
Because of this broader impact, we generally recommend releasing a claim on the specific video in question rather than whitelisting an entire channel. Whitelisting a channel also has a knock-on effect across the wider YouTube licence, so if you do want to request this, please get in touch with your co:brand contact first before it's actioned.
Quick summary
Action | Effect |
Claim released on a video | We stop monetising and lose data on that one video |
Channel whitelisted | We stop monetising on every video on that channel |
If you have any claims you'd like released, or questions about a claim you've received, reach out to your co:brand contact and we'll go through it with you.