Is There Anything That Prevents Videos From Being Monetized on YouTube?

Yes - Certain requirements, set by Youtube, must first be met.

As of February 20, 2018, YouTube has enacted new eligibility requirements for monetization. For us to place ads on and monetize a video, the video must be on a channel that has at least 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 hours of watch time over the past 12 months, live in a country/region where the YouTube Partner Program is available, and have a linked Adsense account. If a video has had over 10,000 views, YouTube will review it manually to determine monetization eligibility.

Songtrust automatically delivers any songs in your account that have at least one recording / ISRC attached to it to YouTube’s Content ID system. YouTube Content ID then uses the provided metadata to scan uploaded videos for matching content. This enables us to claim the majority of monetizable videos on that platform automatically for you, without you having to send us the link manually. We are paid by YouTube on a monthly basis, and pay these royalties out at the end of the following quarter with our regular distribution. You can be confident that videos that qualify to be monetized are being claimed on your behalf and can use the Songtrust YouTube Claims page to discover and track all successful claims.

Lastly, please note that Songtrust monetizes compositions only. If you own your sound recordings, you'll want your distributor/label/a third party to help monetize those on your behalf.

PRO TIP: If you do have a YouTube channel, we highly suggest you join the YouTube Partner Program and add your channel to your YouTube Tool. This will allow you to monetize your own uploaded content without having to go through Songtrust. We will still claim any videos on other users' channels, provided that they do not have a proper agreement with you in place.

YouTube Tool Update - 11/21/2023: Songtrust has recently removed the functionality to manually claim YouTube videos within our app. This is because when you opt into YouTube monetization, we deliver all your songs, along with ISRC information, to YouTube’s Content ID System automatically. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the dashboard experience, we found that manually claiming videos only created duplicate records in our system. You can be confident that videos that qualify to be monetized are already being claimed on your behalf.

To learn more about YouTube’s monetization thresholds and eligibility, click here.

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