Posting your playing on YouTube or Instagram

[Rick5]

I never post myself playing any copyrighted tunes because it isn't clear to me what the current copyright issues are in this area (although I see other people doing it all the time). Is this something that just flies under the radar, or is it allowed on these platforms now (i.e., is there some sort of broad licensing agreement?).

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[AllanAllen]

YouTube will the take artists cut should your video become popular enough to earn money.

[Rick5]

YouTube will the take artists cut should your video become popular enough to earn money.

Put when you post something, don't you have to check a box indicating that you own the copyright to whatever you are posting or have permission to post it?

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[JazzPadd]

It’s been my experience with YT that it scans the upload, refers to a database for copyright holder claims and flags the item if needed. It might not allow public viewing, or limit that by geography, etc. I haven’t had to check any boxes for ownership.

Overall, it seems to be about monetization. They may insert ads before viewing. I’ve got a few dozen clips on my non-professional channel, mostly covers or interpretations of songs to share with friends or on forums, and only the most obvious covers, like note-for-note, got flagged, and still allowed with their ads. But I’m a casual amateur at this so the big league serious uploaders likely have different experiences.

[grahambop]

If the youtube algorithm detects that the tune is copyright, they usually just inform you with a standard message which says you do not need to take any action (because they will put adverts on it and pass a proportion of any revenue to the copyright holder).

Occasionally they might go further and insist that you remove the video, but this seems to be quite rare (especially if you are playing old jazz standards like we do!).

So I wouldn’t worry about it. Personally I take it as a sign of approval that I played the melody well enough for the bots to recognise it.

[ragman1]

I've posted a million tunes on YT over the years and never had any comeback about it. No need to put little explanations or disclaimers on it, just post it.

If there's anything they don't like about your post they'll let you know. They run checks before it's published so you don't need to worry that the jazz Swat team will arrest you in your bed one day, it's not going to happen.

Soundcloud is another one to watch. They run checks too and then send you a message telling you why it can't appear on the site. Again, there's nothing scary about it at all, your clip simply isn't published.

Don't forget these outfits are actually looking after themselves. It's they who'd be in trouble if they posted the wrong things, not you.

[Rick5]

Awesome comments everyone. Very helpful. Thanks.

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