Optimal YouTube Video Formats: A Comprehensive Guide

Best Video Format for YouTube Uploading

Richard Bennett

Feb 01, 2024• Proven solutions

0

Uploading your content in the best video format for YouTube can save you a lot of frustration. In this article, we will teach you about some of the best video formats and settings .

To upload a video to YouTube you have to make sure that you are using one of the video file formats that is supported by the platform itself. Here they are:

- MP4

- MOV

- AVI

- FLV

- 3GPP

- WMV

- WebM

- MPEGS

YouTube recommends uploading your videos as MP4 files. Some benefits of MP4s are that the files are not as large as AVIs, they provide better quality than FLVs, and they often display with the same quality or better as you would get watching the video on a native video player. Other file formats like 3GPP and MPEG-PS generally have resolutions too small for high-resolution tablets or desktop devices.

If your phone or video editing software does not output MP4 videos, consider getting video editing software or a conversion program that can (like Filmora Video Editor).

Filmora is an easy-to-use video editing program that can export to MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, TS, 3GP, MPEG-2, WEBM, GIF, and MP3. You can convert a video to an MP4 simply by importing it into Filmora, dragging it into the timeline, and exporting it in the MP4 format.

The Best Upload Settings for YouTube

The best video code:

The best video format: MP4

Audio should be produced using the LC format and stereo 5.1 or standard stereo. You can upload separate MP3 audio format files for voiceovers if you need to.

The aspect ratio for a video should be 16:9 so that it won’t have black bars on the side when uploaded to YouTube. YouTube has also made it possible for 9:16 (portrait) style videos to be viewed without black bars, full screen, using their iOS app.

You should export in at least 30 frames per second. Many creators push that to 60 frames per second, which is better for most types of videos (although it may not make a noticeable difference for others).

The maximum size for quick upload and load time on YouTube is generally under 2gb. Luckily MP4 offers a great degree of compression without sacrificing too much image quality.

If you scale down the file size of the video by reducing the resolution or choosing a format with more compression, that can cause you to lose quality. If you need a smaller file, it’s always better to scale down the length of a video rather than continually compress the file or lose frames from the video.

Although a 2 GB file of a very long will easily upload to YouTube, it will probably be very low quality.

Do you agree that MP4 is the best video format for YouTube, or do you use something else?

Create Stunning Videos with a High-Quality Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Feb 01, 2024• Proven solutions

0

Uploading your content in the best video format for YouTube can save you a lot of frustration. In this article, we will teach you about some of the best video formats and settings .

To upload a video to YouTube you have to make sure that you are using one of the video file formats that is supported by the platform itself. Here they are:

- MP4

- MOV

- AVI

- FLV

- 3GPP

- WMV

- WebM

- MPEGS

YouTube recommends uploading your videos as MP4 files. Some benefits of MP4s are that the files are not as large as AVIs, they provide better quality than FLVs, and they often display with the same quality or better as you would get watching the video on a native video player. Other file formats like 3GPP and MPEG-PS generally have resolutions too small for high-resolution tablets or desktop devices.

If your phone or video editing software does not output MP4 videos, consider getting video editing software or a conversion program that can (like Filmora Video Editor).

Filmora is an easy-to-use video editing program that can export to MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, TS, 3GP, MPEG-2, WEBM, GIF, and MP3. You can convert a video to an MP4 simply by importing it into Filmora, dragging it into the timeline, and exporting it in the MP4 format.

The Best Upload Settings for YouTube

The best video code:

The best video format: MP4

Audio should be produced using the LC format and stereo 5.1 or standard stereo. You can upload separate MP3 audio format files for voiceovers if you need to.

The aspect ratio for a video should be 16:9 so that it won’t have black bars on the side when uploaded to YouTube. YouTube has also made it possible for 9:16 (portrait) style videos to be viewed without black bars, full screen, using their iOS app.

You should export in at least 30 frames per second. Many creators push that to 60 frames per second, which is better for most types of videos (although it may not make a noticeable difference for others).

The maximum size for quick upload and load time on YouTube is generally under 2gb. Luckily MP4 offers a great degree of compression without sacrificing too much image quality.

If you scale down the file size of the video by reducing the resolution or choosing a format with more compression, that can cause you to lose quality. If you need a smaller file, it’s always better to scale down the length of a video rather than continually compress the file or lose frames from the video.

Although a 2 GB file of a very long will easily upload to YouTube, it will probably be very low quality.

Do you agree that MP4 is the best video format for YouTube, or do you use something else?

Create Stunning Videos with a High-Quality Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Feb 01, 2024• Proven solutions

0

Uploading your content in the best video format for YouTube can save you a lot of frustration. In this article, we will teach you about some of the best video formats and settings .

To upload a video to YouTube you have to make sure that you are using one of the video file formats that is supported by the platform itself. Here they are:

- MP4

- MOV

- AVI

- FLV

- 3GPP

- WMV

- WebM

- MPEGS

YouTube recommends uploading your videos as MP4 files. Some benefits of MP4s are that the files are not as large as AVIs, they provide better quality than FLVs, and they often display with the same quality or better as you would get watching the video on a native video player. Other file formats like 3GPP and MPEG-PS generally have resolutions too small for high-resolution tablets or desktop devices.

If your phone or video editing software does not output MP4 videos, consider getting video editing software or a conversion program that can (like Filmora Video Editor).

Filmora is an easy-to-use video editing program that can export to MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, TS, 3GP, MPEG-2, WEBM, GIF, and MP3. You can convert a video to an MP4 simply by importing it into Filmora, dragging it into the timeline, and exporting it in the MP4 format.

The Best Upload Settings for YouTube

The best video code:

The best video format: MP4

Audio should be produced using the LC format and stereo 5.1 or standard stereo. You can upload separate MP3 audio format files for voiceovers if you need to.

The aspect ratio for a video should be 16:9 so that it won’t have black bars on the side when uploaded to YouTube. YouTube has also made it possible for 9:16 (portrait) style videos to be viewed without black bars, full screen, using their iOS app.

You should export in at least 30 frames per second. Many creators push that to 60 frames per second, which is better for most types of videos (although it may not make a noticeable difference for others).

The maximum size for quick upload and load time on YouTube is generally under 2gb. Luckily MP4 offers a great degree of compression without sacrificing too much image quality.

If you scale down the file size of the video by reducing the resolution or choosing a format with more compression, that can cause you to lose quality. If you need a smaller file, it’s always better to scale down the length of a video rather than continually compress the file or lose frames from the video.

Although a 2 GB file of a very long will easily upload to YouTube, it will probably be very low quality.

Do you agree that MP4 is the best video format for YouTube, or do you use something else?

Create Stunning Videos with a High-Quality Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Feb 01, 2024• Proven solutions

0

Uploading your content in the best video format for YouTube can save you a lot of frustration. In this article, we will teach you about some of the best video formats and settings .

To upload a video to YouTube you have to make sure that you are using one of the video file formats that is supported by the platform itself. Here they are:

- MP4

- MOV

- AVI

- FLV

- 3GPP

- WMV

- WebM

- MPEGS

YouTube recommends uploading your videos as MP4 files. Some benefits of MP4s are that the files are not as large as AVIs, they provide better quality than FLVs, and they often display with the same quality or better as you would get watching the video on a native video player. Other file formats like 3GPP and MPEG-PS generally have resolutions too small for high-resolution tablets or desktop devices.

If your phone or video editing software does not output MP4 videos, consider getting video editing software or a conversion program that can (like Filmora Video Editor).

Filmora is an easy-to-use video editing program that can export to MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, TS, 3GP, MPEG-2, WEBM, GIF, and MP3. You can convert a video to an MP4 simply by importing it into Filmora, dragging it into the timeline, and exporting it in the MP4 format.

The Best Upload Settings for YouTube

The best video code:

The best video format: MP4

Audio should be produced using the LC format and stereo 5.1 or standard stereo. You can upload separate MP3 audio format files for voiceovers if you need to.

The aspect ratio for a video should be 16:9 so that it won’t have black bars on the side when uploaded to YouTube. YouTube has also made it possible for 9:16 (portrait) style videos to be viewed without black bars, full screen, using their iOS app.

You should export in at least 30 frames per second. Many creators push that to 60 frames per second, which is better for most types of videos (although it may not make a noticeable difference for others).

The maximum size for quick upload and load time on YouTube is generally under 2gb. Luckily MP4 offers a great degree of compression without sacrificing too much image quality.

If you scale down the file size of the video by reducing the resolution or choosing a format with more compression, that can cause you to lose quality. If you need a smaller file, it’s always better to scale down the length of a video rather than continually compress the file or lose frames from the video.

Although a 2 GB file of a very long will easily upload to YouTube, it will probably be very low quality.

Do you agree that MP4 is the best video format for YouTube, or do you use something else?

Create Stunning Videos with a High-Quality Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Demystifying Creative Commons and Its Legalities

How to Use Creative Commons Copyright Licenses [Complete Guide]

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

You might have noticed that, when you post a video, you get to choose how you want to copyright it: standard license, or creative commons. You’ve also probably noticed that when you looking for royalty-free music or stock footage a lot of it is licensed through creative commons.

So, what exactly are creative commons ?

To hold the copyright to a creative work means that you own it, and anybody who wants to use your work for anything (i.e. uses a song you composed in their YouTube video) has to do so on your terms. When you license your work through creative commons you do not give up your rights to your creative work (a common misconception).

When you use a creative commons license you are outlining the terms under which other creators are allowed to use your creations in their projects for free if they credit you for your work.

If you do not want anyone using your work for free in any context, you stick to traditional copyrighting.

But if you’ve created a piece of music, a photograph, or a clip that you wouldn’t mind other people using, potentially as a way to get your name out there, you might want to consider creative commons.

There are 6 different creative commons licenses. Which is right for you will depend on your answers to these two questions:

Are you okay with a creator making money off of something they create using your work?

Are you okay with a creator producing a derivative of your work?

To say ‘no derivatives’ is to say ‘I’m okay with people using it, so long as they don’t change it’. One example of a derivative is a techno remix of a song. If you are alright with other creators making derivatives of your work, you may also want to require them to ‘ShareAlike’. ShareAlike means that the creator of that techno remix of your song has to use the same creative commons license you used for your original to distribute the remix.

An example of a derivative someone might make of a YouTube video would be auto-tuning it to make a song or cutting up your video to make one that’s just ‘the funny parts’.

Here are the 6 creative commons licenses, and a chart you can use as a quick reference tool.

Attribution – CC BY

If you’re using music or other media with this license, all you need to do is credit the artist.

If you license your video this way, people can do whatever they like with any element of it (video or sound) so long as they credit you. I.e. if someone wanted to mute your clips and use you as stock footage in a bigger project, they could.

Attribution-ShareAlike – CC BY-SA

If you use music, photos, or any other media licensed this way, then you must both credit the artist and license your video this same way. Meaning, you can’t use YouTube’s standard license and must instead allow for others to use your work the way you are using the licensed media.

If you apply this license to your video, you’re saying you don’t mind people using all or portions of your video for their project so long as they allow others to use their work in the same way.

Attribution-NoDerivs – CC BY-ND

This one can get tricky.

Essentially, you can use media licensed this way so long as you don’t alter it or create a different version. For example, you can’t take a song licensed this way and use it in a mashup with another song. That part is clear. Where it gets tricky is when you want to use a song in your video.

Under normal copyright rules, using a royalty-free song in the background of your video would not count as creating a derivative. The definition of derivative according to creative commons is a bit broader and includes ‘syncing’. This means you can’t take an ‘Attribution-NoDerivs’ song and create any kind of music video for it.

For example, you can’t edit clips of yourself snowboarding so that they’re in sync with a song that has this license.

Whether or not you can play the song in the background of your vlog while you are speaking can be a bit of a grey area. In theory, it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re accessing the music through a social site like SoundCloud then it might be best to ask the artist first.

There’s no reason to license your YouTube videos this way. If people cannot alter your video, all that’s left is for them to repost it. Even though they’d also be crediting you, they’d still essentially be stealing views and ad revenue from your original video.

Attribution-NonCommercial – CC BY-NC

If you’re using stock footage, music, or stock photos licensed this way then you should still be able to monetize your video. YouTube monetization and commercial use are different things. However, there is a lot of confusion about this issue, and chances are the rights holder intends for this license to mean ‘no monetization’.

What you definitely could not do with a NonCommercial license is to use the song/other media in an actual commercial for a product, including product placement that a brand is paying you for.

If you license your video this way, people can use it in whatever way they like so long as they credit you and don’t try to make money off of it. Once again, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it in a YouTube video which they monetize because, technically, they’d be making money off of the ad that ran ahead of the video and not the video itself.

The thing to be careful of with this license is that it’s not ‘ShareAlike’. So, if you license your video this way somebody could use your clips as stock footage and then provide them - as part of their project – for free to a third person to use in a project they were making money off of.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike – CC BY-NC-SA

Music and other media with an ‘Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike’ license can be used in and altered for your videos, so long as you aren’t making money off those videos. You must also use this same license for the video you create using elements licensed this way.

If you license your video this way, people can use it or a portion of it in their project if they credit you. They must also use this same license for their video if they do. This protects you from the situation where a third person who never licensed your original content is making money off of it.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs – CC BY-NC-ND

There aren’t many situations where you would be using media licensed this way in your YouTube videos. You can’t alter it, sync videos to it, or make money from any video that uses it.

You also probably shouldn’t use this license for your videos. ‘NoDerivs’ means there are not many ways people could use your content, except to repost full videos and steal your views.

Edit Video with the Most Excellent Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

You might have noticed that, when you post a video, you get to choose how you want to copyright it: standard license, or creative commons. You’ve also probably noticed that when you looking for royalty-free music or stock footage a lot of it is licensed through creative commons.

So, what exactly are creative commons ?

To hold the copyright to a creative work means that you own it, and anybody who wants to use your work for anything (i.e. uses a song you composed in their YouTube video) has to do so on your terms. When you license your work through creative commons you do not give up your rights to your creative work (a common misconception).

When you use a creative commons license you are outlining the terms under which other creators are allowed to use your creations in their projects for free if they credit you for your work.

If you do not want anyone using your work for free in any context, you stick to traditional copyrighting.

But if you’ve created a piece of music, a photograph, or a clip that you wouldn’t mind other people using, potentially as a way to get your name out there, you might want to consider creative commons.

There are 6 different creative commons licenses. Which is right for you will depend on your answers to these two questions:

Are you okay with a creator making money off of something they create using your work?

Are you okay with a creator producing a derivative of your work?

To say ‘no derivatives’ is to say ‘I’m okay with people using it, so long as they don’t change it’. One example of a derivative is a techno remix of a song. If you are alright with other creators making derivatives of your work, you may also want to require them to ‘ShareAlike’. ShareAlike means that the creator of that techno remix of your song has to use the same creative commons license you used for your original to distribute the remix.

An example of a derivative someone might make of a YouTube video would be auto-tuning it to make a song or cutting up your video to make one that’s just ‘the funny parts’.

Here are the 6 creative commons licenses, and a chart you can use as a quick reference tool.

Attribution – CC BY

If you’re using music or other media with this license, all you need to do is credit the artist.

If you license your video this way, people can do whatever they like with any element of it (video or sound) so long as they credit you. I.e. if someone wanted to mute your clips and use you as stock footage in a bigger project, they could.

Attribution-ShareAlike – CC BY-SA

If you use music, photos, or any other media licensed this way, then you must both credit the artist and license your video this same way. Meaning, you can’t use YouTube’s standard license and must instead allow for others to use your work the way you are using the licensed media.

If you apply this license to your video, you’re saying you don’t mind people using all or portions of your video for their project so long as they allow others to use their work in the same way.

Attribution-NoDerivs – CC BY-ND

This one can get tricky.

Essentially, you can use media licensed this way so long as you don’t alter it or create a different version. For example, you can’t take a song licensed this way and use it in a mashup with another song. That part is clear. Where it gets tricky is when you want to use a song in your video.

Under normal copyright rules, using a royalty-free song in the background of your video would not count as creating a derivative. The definition of derivative according to creative commons is a bit broader and includes ‘syncing’. This means you can’t take an ‘Attribution-NoDerivs’ song and create any kind of music video for it.

For example, you can’t edit clips of yourself snowboarding so that they’re in sync with a song that has this license.

Whether or not you can play the song in the background of your vlog while you are speaking can be a bit of a grey area. In theory, it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re accessing the music through a social site like SoundCloud then it might be best to ask the artist first.

There’s no reason to license your YouTube videos this way. If people cannot alter your video, all that’s left is for them to repost it. Even though they’d also be crediting you, they’d still essentially be stealing views and ad revenue from your original video.

Attribution-NonCommercial – CC BY-NC

If you’re using stock footage, music, or stock photos licensed this way then you should still be able to monetize your video. YouTube monetization and commercial use are different things. However, there is a lot of confusion about this issue, and chances are the rights holder intends for this license to mean ‘no monetization’.

What you definitely could not do with a NonCommercial license is to use the song/other media in an actual commercial for a product, including product placement that a brand is paying you for.

If you license your video this way, people can use it in whatever way they like so long as they credit you and don’t try to make money off of it. Once again, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it in a YouTube video which they monetize because, technically, they’d be making money off of the ad that ran ahead of the video and not the video itself.

The thing to be careful of with this license is that it’s not ‘ShareAlike’. So, if you license your video this way somebody could use your clips as stock footage and then provide them - as part of their project – for free to a third person to use in a project they were making money off of.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike – CC BY-NC-SA

Music and other media with an ‘Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike’ license can be used in and altered for your videos, so long as you aren’t making money off those videos. You must also use this same license for the video you create using elements licensed this way.

If you license your video this way, people can use it or a portion of it in their project if they credit you. They must also use this same license for their video if they do. This protects you from the situation where a third person who never licensed your original content is making money off of it.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs – CC BY-NC-ND

There aren’t many situations where you would be using media licensed this way in your YouTube videos. You can’t alter it, sync videos to it, or make money from any video that uses it.

You also probably shouldn’t use this license for your videos. ‘NoDerivs’ means there are not many ways people could use your content, except to repost full videos and steal your views.

Edit Video with the Most Excellent Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

You might have noticed that, when you post a video, you get to choose how you want to copyright it: standard license, or creative commons. You’ve also probably noticed that when you looking for royalty-free music or stock footage a lot of it is licensed through creative commons.

So, what exactly are creative commons ?

To hold the copyright to a creative work means that you own it, and anybody who wants to use your work for anything (i.e. uses a song you composed in their YouTube video) has to do so on your terms. When you license your work through creative commons you do not give up your rights to your creative work (a common misconception).

When you use a creative commons license you are outlining the terms under which other creators are allowed to use your creations in their projects for free if they credit you for your work.

If you do not want anyone using your work for free in any context, you stick to traditional copyrighting.

But if you’ve created a piece of music, a photograph, or a clip that you wouldn’t mind other people using, potentially as a way to get your name out there, you might want to consider creative commons.

There are 6 different creative commons licenses. Which is right for you will depend on your answers to these two questions:

Are you okay with a creator making money off of something they create using your work?

Are you okay with a creator producing a derivative of your work?

To say ‘no derivatives’ is to say ‘I’m okay with people using it, so long as they don’t change it’. One example of a derivative is a techno remix of a song. If you are alright with other creators making derivatives of your work, you may also want to require them to ‘ShareAlike’. ShareAlike means that the creator of that techno remix of your song has to use the same creative commons license you used for your original to distribute the remix.

An example of a derivative someone might make of a YouTube video would be auto-tuning it to make a song or cutting up your video to make one that’s just ‘the funny parts’.

Here are the 6 creative commons licenses, and a chart you can use as a quick reference tool.

Attribution – CC BY

If you’re using music or other media with this license, all you need to do is credit the artist.

If you license your video this way, people can do whatever they like with any element of it (video or sound) so long as they credit you. I.e. if someone wanted to mute your clips and use you as stock footage in a bigger project, they could.

Attribution-ShareAlike – CC BY-SA

If you use music, photos, or any other media licensed this way, then you must both credit the artist and license your video this same way. Meaning, you can’t use YouTube’s standard license and must instead allow for others to use your work the way you are using the licensed media.

If you apply this license to your video, you’re saying you don’t mind people using all or portions of your video for their project so long as they allow others to use their work in the same way.

Attribution-NoDerivs – CC BY-ND

This one can get tricky.

Essentially, you can use media licensed this way so long as you don’t alter it or create a different version. For example, you can’t take a song licensed this way and use it in a mashup with another song. That part is clear. Where it gets tricky is when you want to use a song in your video.

Under normal copyright rules, using a royalty-free song in the background of your video would not count as creating a derivative. The definition of derivative according to creative commons is a bit broader and includes ‘syncing’. This means you can’t take an ‘Attribution-NoDerivs’ song and create any kind of music video for it.

For example, you can’t edit clips of yourself snowboarding so that they’re in sync with a song that has this license.

Whether or not you can play the song in the background of your vlog while you are speaking can be a bit of a grey area. In theory, it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re accessing the music through a social site like SoundCloud then it might be best to ask the artist first.

There’s no reason to license your YouTube videos this way. If people cannot alter your video, all that’s left is for them to repost it. Even though they’d also be crediting you, they’d still essentially be stealing views and ad revenue from your original video.

Attribution-NonCommercial – CC BY-NC

If you’re using stock footage, music, or stock photos licensed this way then you should still be able to monetize your video. YouTube monetization and commercial use are different things. However, there is a lot of confusion about this issue, and chances are the rights holder intends for this license to mean ‘no monetization’.

What you definitely could not do with a NonCommercial license is to use the song/other media in an actual commercial for a product, including product placement that a brand is paying you for.

If you license your video this way, people can use it in whatever way they like so long as they credit you and don’t try to make money off of it. Once again, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it in a YouTube video which they monetize because, technically, they’d be making money off of the ad that ran ahead of the video and not the video itself.

The thing to be careful of with this license is that it’s not ‘ShareAlike’. So, if you license your video this way somebody could use your clips as stock footage and then provide them - as part of their project – for free to a third person to use in a project they were making money off of.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike – CC BY-NC-SA

Music and other media with an ‘Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike’ license can be used in and altered for your videos, so long as you aren’t making money off those videos. You must also use this same license for the video you create using elements licensed this way.

If you license your video this way, people can use it or a portion of it in their project if they credit you. They must also use this same license for their video if they do. This protects you from the situation where a third person who never licensed your original content is making money off of it.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs – CC BY-NC-ND

There aren’t many situations where you would be using media licensed this way in your YouTube videos. You can’t alter it, sync videos to it, or make money from any video that uses it.

You also probably shouldn’t use this license for your videos. ‘NoDerivs’ means there are not many ways people could use your content, except to repost full videos and steal your views.

Edit Video with the Most Excellent Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

You might have noticed that, when you post a video, you get to choose how you want to copyright it: standard license, or creative commons. You’ve also probably noticed that when you looking for royalty-free music or stock footage a lot of it is licensed through creative commons.

So, what exactly are creative commons ?

To hold the copyright to a creative work means that you own it, and anybody who wants to use your work for anything (i.e. uses a song you composed in their YouTube video) has to do so on your terms. When you license your work through creative commons you do not give up your rights to your creative work (a common misconception).

When you use a creative commons license you are outlining the terms under which other creators are allowed to use your creations in their projects for free if they credit you for your work.

If you do not want anyone using your work for free in any context, you stick to traditional copyrighting.

But if you’ve created a piece of music, a photograph, or a clip that you wouldn’t mind other people using, potentially as a way to get your name out there, you might want to consider creative commons.

There are 6 different creative commons licenses. Which is right for you will depend on your answers to these two questions:

Are you okay with a creator making money off of something they create using your work?

Are you okay with a creator producing a derivative of your work?

To say ‘no derivatives’ is to say ‘I’m okay with people using it, so long as they don’t change it’. One example of a derivative is a techno remix of a song. If you are alright with other creators making derivatives of your work, you may also want to require them to ‘ShareAlike’. ShareAlike means that the creator of that techno remix of your song has to use the same creative commons license you used for your original to distribute the remix.

An example of a derivative someone might make of a YouTube video would be auto-tuning it to make a song or cutting up your video to make one that’s just ‘the funny parts’.

Here are the 6 creative commons licenses, and a chart you can use as a quick reference tool.

Attribution – CC BY

If you’re using music or other media with this license, all you need to do is credit the artist.

If you license your video this way, people can do whatever they like with any element of it (video or sound) so long as they credit you. I.e. if someone wanted to mute your clips and use you as stock footage in a bigger project, they could.

Attribution-ShareAlike – CC BY-SA

If you use music, photos, or any other media licensed this way, then you must both credit the artist and license your video this same way. Meaning, you can’t use YouTube’s standard license and must instead allow for others to use your work the way you are using the licensed media.

If you apply this license to your video, you’re saying you don’t mind people using all or portions of your video for their project so long as they allow others to use their work in the same way.

Attribution-NoDerivs – CC BY-ND

This one can get tricky.

Essentially, you can use media licensed this way so long as you don’t alter it or create a different version. For example, you can’t take a song licensed this way and use it in a mashup with another song. That part is clear. Where it gets tricky is when you want to use a song in your video.

Under normal copyright rules, using a royalty-free song in the background of your video would not count as creating a derivative. The definition of derivative according to creative commons is a bit broader and includes ‘syncing’. This means you can’t take an ‘Attribution-NoDerivs’ song and create any kind of music video for it.

For example, you can’t edit clips of yourself snowboarding so that they’re in sync with a song that has this license.

Whether or not you can play the song in the background of your vlog while you are speaking can be a bit of a grey area. In theory, it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re accessing the music through a social site like SoundCloud then it might be best to ask the artist first.

There’s no reason to license your YouTube videos this way. If people cannot alter your video, all that’s left is for them to repost it. Even though they’d also be crediting you, they’d still essentially be stealing views and ad revenue from your original video.

Attribution-NonCommercial – CC BY-NC

If you’re using stock footage, music, or stock photos licensed this way then you should still be able to monetize your video. YouTube monetization and commercial use are different things. However, there is a lot of confusion about this issue, and chances are the rights holder intends for this license to mean ‘no monetization’.

What you definitely could not do with a NonCommercial license is to use the song/other media in an actual commercial for a product, including product placement that a brand is paying you for.

If you license your video this way, people can use it in whatever way they like so long as they credit you and don’t try to make money off of it. Once again, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it in a YouTube video which they monetize because, technically, they’d be making money off of the ad that ran ahead of the video and not the video itself.

The thing to be careful of with this license is that it’s not ‘ShareAlike’. So, if you license your video this way somebody could use your clips as stock footage and then provide them - as part of their project – for free to a third person to use in a project they were making money off of.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike – CC BY-NC-SA

Music and other media with an ‘Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike’ license can be used in and altered for your videos, so long as you aren’t making money off those videos. You must also use this same license for the video you create using elements licensed this way.

If you license your video this way, people can use it or a portion of it in their project if they credit you. They must also use this same license for their video if they do. This protects you from the situation where a third person who never licensed your original content is making money off of it.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs – CC BY-NC-ND

There aren’t many situations where you would be using media licensed this way in your YouTube videos. You can’t alter it, sync videos to it, or make money from any video that uses it.

You also probably shouldn’t use this license for your videos. ‘NoDerivs’ means there are not many ways people could use your content, except to repost full videos and steal your views.

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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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