YouTube now requires timestamps in Content ID manual claims

YouTube is making some adjustments to its Content ID platform. The new changes are related to manual claims in the system for copyrighted audio. While they may make things clearer for people making content for YouTube, copyright holders will have an additional step to take.

Going forward, rightsholders making a manual claim within Content ID will need to provide a timestamp for the section of a video where their material appears. Along with providing exact times for copyright claims, YouTube is also updating editing tools so that video creators can remove the infringint material. Doing so will automatically release the manual claim.

Video creators can opt to mute all sound when the copyrighted segment plays, to replace the song with a track from the YouTube Audio Library, or to cut the timestamped segment with the Trim feature.

YouTube has been a lightning rod of copyright debate, from how much responsibility Content ID places on rightsholders to the volume of royalties it pays out each year. The video platform has added more music credits to uploads by fans and official artist videos.

Anna Washenko