Taming The “Wild West” of Rights Management
Here’s something most people don’t realize about YouTube’s Content ID system: Anyone can apply ownership to anything (with a few exceptions). Quite literally anyone on the planet could go in right now and apply ownership to the publishing on “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. It seems crazy, but it’s true.
This creates what I like to call the “Wild West” of rights management—a space where rules exist, but enforcement depends on the ethics and expertise of the participants. In other words, it’s not completely automated –there is a human element here that is easy to miss if you’re not navigating the system like we are on a daily basis.
The agency YouTube grants rights managers demands a high level of ethics in the system. For rights holders, this means your intellectual property requires active protection. Without proper oversight, your royalties might be flowing elsewhere due to incorrect claims that go uncontested.
The Unexpected Human Element
Despite all the sophisticated technology behind Content ID, what surprises most people is how much human interaction drives the system’s success.
There’s a huge data component to what we do. We update, clean, and enforce copyright information through various technical tasks within the Content Management System (CMS). But the ultimate value of any effective CMS administrator, Audiam included, is the ability to resolve conflicts. This requires building a strong reputation in the industry, knowing how to effectively communicate with other rights holders, and maintaining excellent relationships with YouTube itself.
Can you pick up the phone and call an account manager at YouTube? We do, all the time. We use these connections strategically because YouTube’s team is understandably busy. But ultimately, YouTube hires people specifically to interface with music publishing executives to ensure their needs are addressed.
When we discover someone incorrectly claiming our clients’ rights, we don’t lead with aggression. Being rude isn’t as effective in getting them to relinquish ownership as being kind, being patient – and being human.
From years in the business, I’ve seen first hand that what sets great CMS administrators apart is truly caring–about the tech and about the people on the other side of the screen. Of course, there must be a high level of care about metadata, making sure that everything is clean in terms of what the copyright says about itself. Equally important is the willingness to enforce your rights in the system properly – doing what is right and only what is right, meaning only enforcing the rights you actually control.
Transparency as a Competitive Advantage
One industry practice I’ve never been a fan of is secrecy. There’s a widespread reluctance to share information in the music business, based on the fear that transparency might reveal competitive advantages to rivals. I think it’s better to be fearless – and do great work.
From the perspective of songwriters and artists – who we care about most—learning about these systems is only a good thing. The better you understand the environment that you’re playing in, which is ultimately how you make money, the more leverage you have in your business.
At Audiam, I personally walk clients through our processes and answer any questions they have. I make sure they understand the agreements they’re signing. I make sure they know they can ask anything about our systems and approaches. This transparency builds stronger, more trusting partnerships.
Emerging Trends and Opportunities
As we look toward the future, YouTube Shorts presents an exciting frontier for music monetization. The way YouTube monetizes Shorts is different from long form content, and this creates new opportunities for rights holders. We’re seeing many clients strategically focusing on placing their music in Shorts to capitalize on this growing format.
These platform evolutions create new revenue streams for rights holders who understand the nuances and stay ahead of trends.
Do You Know Where Your Money Is?
If you’re wondering whether you need professional help managing your YouTube rights, ask yourself two simple questions: First, do you know where your money is? And second, do you know if you’re earning all of it?
If you even suspect you’re leaving money on the table, I can confidently tell you that you probably are. In my experience, I’ve never onboarded a client who wasn’t missing some portion of their potential revenue. There’s always money to be made that’s currently being overlooked.
For this reason, Audiam is particularly valuable for publishers and label rights owners with substantial catalogs who are looking to increase their revenue collection. We commonly see 60-80% increase and even 90-100% in extreme cases of publishers missing out on what they’re owed.
Getting Started
Before considering professional rights management, ensure you have the fundamentals in place: Do you have your copyrights registered with the Copyright Office? Are you registered with a PRO for both your publishing and songwriter royalties? Do you understand how mechanicals and synchronization rights are defined differently in non-US territories?
These are the essential first steps you should take before venturing into the world of royalty collection, as they form the foundation for everything that follows.
Regardless of where you are in your journey, you can always reach out to us. At minimum, we’ll answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
Despite some common misconceptions, YouTube actually offers more transparency for copyright holders than anyone else. My experience is that they’ve created a system that grants more power to individual rights holders than most centralized royalty systems and organizations in the music business. It is truly a decentralized rights management tool for the music business, and that’s rare. I don’t know of any other system like it.
Audiam is a division of Music Services, and to learn more about our full suite of licensing and administration services for indie music publishers, click here.
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