- Included
- On every distribution plan, at no extra charge
- Your share
- 80% of Content ID revenue on the Release, Artist and Label plans
- Managed by
- TempoDigital's own Music, Entertainment and Publishing Content ID networks
- Paid
- Monthly, into the same wallet as your streaming royalties
What Content ID does
Content ID is YouTube's matching system. Rights owners give YouTube a reference copy of their recording, and every video uploaded to YouTube is checked against those references. When your recording turns up in someone else's video, YouTube applies the policy you chose:
- Monetise — ads run on the video and you receive a share of the revenue
- Track — the video stays as it is and you see its viewing statistics
- Block — the video cannot be watched, in some countries or everywhere
For music the usual choice is to monetise. Every video that uses your song becomes another source of income, and the person who made it keeps their video.
Why artists get Content ID through a distributor
YouTube does not hand Content ID to everyone who asks. It is given to companies that own or administer large catalogues and can show they manage claims responsibly. An independent artist or a small label gets it through a partner that already holds that access.
That is where distributors differ. Many deliver your music to YouTube Music but charge extra for Content ID, or pass it to another company. TempoDigital operates three Content ID networks of its own — Music, Entertainment and Publishing — and more than a billion views a month run through them. Your recordings are registered and managed by the same team that delivers your releases.
Content ID and YouTube Music are two different incomes
Delivering a release to YouTube gives you two things, paid in two ways:
| Official audio on YouTube Music | Content ID claims | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your release as official tracks on YouTube Music and YouTube | Your recording found in other people's videos |
| How it earns | Ads and subscriptions when people play your tracks | Ads on the videos that use your recording |
| Your share on TempoDigital | The store rate of your plan — 100% on Artist and Label, 90% on Release | 80% on Release, Artist and Label |
We keep 20% of Content ID revenue because it is ongoing work: reviewing matches, releasing wrong claims, handling disputes and keeping your channels and your partners' channels clear. More in how YouTube pays for music.
Which music can go into Content ID
Content ID claims every match, so it only works for audio that is exclusively yours. YouTube's rules and ours are the same here. Do not send to Content ID:
- Covers of other people's recordings, or recordings you do not own
- Tracks built on samples you have not cleared
- Beats you licensed non-exclusively — other artists have the same audio
- Recordings in the public domain, sound effects, or loops from sample libraries
- Music you have licensed to others without restriction, such as royalty-free libraries
For everything else — your own recordings, made with your own sounds or properly cleared material — Content ID is simply a box to tick when you release. For new accounts it becomes available once the first release has been reviewed and approved.
Sending audio you do not exclusively control leads to claims on other creators' videos, disputes and, for repeat cases, removal from Content ID. It is the one rule here that cannot bend.
Your own channel, and your fans' videos
A common worry is Content ID claiming your own uploads. We allowlist the channels that should never be claimed — your official channel, your label's channel, a partner who has a licence — so their videos stay untouched.
Fans using your song is the point of Content ID. Their videos stay up, ads run, and you are paid. A claim is not a copyright strike: it does not count against the uploader's channel.
How to turn it on
- Release your music with TempoDigitalOn any plan. Apply for an account if you do not have one yet.
- Choose YouTube Content ID as a storeAlongside YouTube Music and the other stores, on the release's store list.
- Tell us which channels to leave aloneYour own channel and any licensed partners are allowlisted.
- Get paid monthlyContent ID revenue arrives in your wallet with the rest of your royalties.
Already have Content ID with another company? Each recording can have only one owner on YouTube, so the other company has to release it first. We plan that with you — see switching distributors.
Running a channel network, a label catalogue or a broadcaster's archive rather than releases? Our YouTube partnership covers channels and catalogues directly.