YouTube and Cover Songs...

[Kreatorkind]

YouTube has something it calls "ContendID", an automated system that listens to videos and determines what song is being played. If you uploaded a cover song, you'll eventually get a notice of third party content. Usually, the copyright owner will keep your video active and just put ads on your video... but recently, the ContentID system matched my cover of "Panecea" by Rush to "JUSAGROOVE" by Chic. There is no way to tell YouTube that they made a mistake. I just had to delete the video. Has anyone else run into this problem?

Beyond that, what kind of legal problems can you run into from posting cover songs? Can you be sued?

[daddymack]

Legally, yes, you could be held liable, but typically they will just block or pull the video off if the copyright holder complains. With so many people uploading covers (and no one really making any $ off them except yt), odds are they won't go after indivduals unless they really do a full catalogue/channel.  IIRC, somewhere in the yt terms they tell you about the copyright holders' rights, and your responsibility. Where they have been getting heavily involved is original artist performance uploads, which I see more and more blocked every week.

Still, if you are posting the video, it is a recording, and therefore you really should get a mechanical license for it.

[Kreatorkind]

I haven't run into any issues (complaints from publishers) so far... the few covers that have been flagged, all I had to do was acknowledge that it was indeed the song they were claiming it was. They leave the video up and just put their own ad on the video... which to me, is totally fair. I get to play songs I love and share them with people, and the copyright owner gets a cut from the advertising, not having to do anything. I think it's a great way to deal with the situation.