YouTube’s filters that they have in place to prevent copyrighted music from being used in video by the non-copyright holder is getting a change. Previously, users would need to upload their video before they would learn if the video would be removed, if the video would be muted by YouTube, or if the copyright holder decides to monetize your video instead.  Now, users can do a search for the song in the audio library to discover how it will affect their video before they upload it.

One issue with the music is that if you decide to use a song where the copyright holder decides to monetize it, this means that you will be unable to monetize the video yourself. So while it’s great for the copyright holder, if the user is trying to monetize the video themselves, they are severely restricted in doing so. But, it is definitely a more desirable option for most video creators than seeing it removed or muted.

However, for a user who just happens to be recording something funny their dog or their kid does, if a song happens to be playing in the background – even faintly – the video still could possibly be removed or muted. But for people deliberately recording videos that want background music, it does give you some options on what you can use and with what restrictions.

It is also great for someone who wants upload longer video, knows the music they have playing, and want to check on the status of the music before they go to the trouble of uploading it. Previously, there was no way for someone to know what songs were and weren’t allowed, and what restrictions were placed on them.

To learn what the restrictions are on the songs, you can go to YouTube’s audio library, and search for the song to see what the restrictions are if any, and if you can still monetize it. Here is just a sample of the top three songs for ad supported music.

YouTube also offers a free audio library of both songs and sound effects that can be used by anyone in YouTube videos without any restrictions, and which also means that users can monetize their videos to use the songs.