Guidelines for Effective Use of CC Licenses

How to Use Creative Commons Copyright Licenses [Complete Guide]

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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

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YouTube is among the most frequently visited streaming channels. It has risen to fame in the last two years when the pandemic hit the whole world. Business owners, students, and the world have turned to social media for business, entertainment, and educational purposes. And YouTube was the first thought channel to bring everyone on board. With an advanced algorithm, you can find content that perfectly matches your interests easily. This also saw an increase in YouTube subscribers as well as content creators. But wait! You must be wondering about the channels that made it to the top. That’s what this article is yet to disclose to you. Keep reading.

How do popular YouTubers affect our lives?

Being a website open to the public, YouTube affects our lives dynamically. It depends on how you use the site. It can affect your life either positively or negatively.

- Learning

Through tutorial videos, YouTube has improved learning. Students who choose to work with visual components can refer to YT for in-depth illustrations of various studies. They can freely acquire course videos and other information.

- Remote access

Users are not limited to accessing any site regardless of their locality. With just a click of a button, you can get any information, such as how to use a product or service. You can also contact a content creator via community comments on their pages.

- Entertainment

This is an excellent platform for people to interact and keep busy with trending videos and music. You can also search for other Do It Yourself videos to try out home remedies.

- Earnings

You can earn money through YouTube once you hit the 1,000-subscription mark. You can also link your Google Adsense account for additional earning opportunities.

The Top 8 YouTubers Who Will Be the Fastest Growing in 2021

Check out the fastest-growing YouTubers who gained high popularity in 2021. They dwell in a variety of sections ranging from film production, children’s stories, gardening, startups, and many other categories.

• Jeferee Star

He started in 2006 and has risen to be a YouTube star today. Before building his YT base, Jeferee started making it big on Myspace. He is still recognized for his make-up talent. But it is his melodious singing that brought him to fame. He currently has about 17 million subscribers, having gained over 5 million followers last year.

• Goldmines Telefilms

With movies, songs, and comedy combined, Goldmines Telefilms has also seen many subscribers resolve to its content. It currently has a subscriber base of about 30 million, having gained over 10 million subscribers in 2020. Their secret lies in driving the audience’s attention.

• Inventor 101

Many people have resolved to do business online lately. More startups are being launched each day. Inventor 101 dwells on giving tips on everyday life hacks and how to survive business shortfalls. This channel has grown immensely since April 2019, going from 50,000 to about 1.3 million subscribers.

• Urban Gardening

Many people become innovative after spending more time at home. Gardening is one activity that topped the list of starter adventures. This saw the Urban Gardening channel rise to fame, getting up to 800 thousand subscribers in a short period. Look through for how-to guides and other tips on home gardening.

• Cocomelon

Kids love singing along to lovely tunes. Cocomelon brings to your screen cute nursery rhymes and knows how to keep kids locked in through 3D videos and fun-filled songs. The YouTube channel saw a drastic rise from 2005 with 36 million subscribers to 85 million subscribers today.

• T-Series

T-Series is among the increasing number of YouTubes in the film industry. It has been keeping viewers entertained with its ever-increasing Indian movies. Led by Sh. Gulshan Kumar, the channel had a rise of about 40 million this year, rising to 166 million subscribers currently.

• Felix Arvid

Known as PewDiePie, Felix has seen a drastic increase in the past year. His channel is about jokes that appeal to both young and old viewers. He has so far managed to reach about 101 million subscribers this year. His channel has gained 6.63 million subscribers.

• Just Eat

This is an online takeaway company that has steered home food deliveries. Before the spike in subscribers, Just Eat had been running for over 10 years and currently has a total of 60 million subscribers in 2021, up from the initial 2.4 million in 2011.

How to increase your YouTube subscribers faster

Long videos should be published.
Research shows that the possibility of longer videos ranking high in search engines is greater than shorter ones. Aim for your video to rank high in YouTube’s search engine. The best way is to have longer videos that show detailed information to viewers.
Optimize watch time.
YouTube also factors in the watch time, both for SEO results and promotional purposes. Videos with a high watch time are likely to be promoted on the YouTube homepage. You can use lots of patterns interrupts to keep people watching or include graphics to help them focus more.
Embed your videos into blog posts.
Blogs are a great way to tell your viewers what your product brings to the table. If you can get someone to read your post, then it shows they like your stuff. So, embed your video and let them learn via detailed steps, and they’ll probably subscribe to your channel.
Add a brand watermark.
A branding watermark helps viewers subscribe to your channel right inside the video. You can use a link that looks like a “YT subscribe” button. Also, make it large enough to be visible at a glance.
Promote videos on the end screen.
Remember that the more someone watches your videos, the higher the chances of them subscribing to your channel. So, do the trick and promote your next video on the end screen of the current video. This will make a viewer watch more and more of your videos, and probably subscribe to your channel.
Respond to every comment.
Show that you care. And note that every comment or review matters a lot to your brand. So, strive to respond to every comment that a viewer leaves on your page.
Give thought to the channel description.
Here is where some YouTube channels miss it all. The description should be engaging and inviting. That’s the only way to lure viewers to hit that subscribe button. Let the description tell viewers what the channel is about and give other important information.
Video quality
Your video is your voice when it comes to promoting your channel. Ensure you give people quality videos with a piece of detailed advice that works for them. Also, remember to upload quality videos regularly to boost the growth of your channel. A good video should have high resolution, among other good qualities.

Filmora - a useful tool to help make creative videos

Being creative and composing powerful videos is a plus if you want your YouTube channel to grow. That’s the tactic that highly ranked subscribers employ during video creation. We use Filmora, a video editing program with advanced features, to transform your video into a work of art. Use it to edit and export your videos at a high resolution of up to 4K. It also lets you layer several video clips with its Picture in Picture track feature.

Other important characteristics

The video should be edited with as little effect as possible. You can edit your video by splitting, merging, rotating, etc., from its interface. Filmora has simple steps for these.

Noise removal
Polish your video by removing unwanted background noise to help improve the overall outcome.

GIF support
You can add GIF images and then import or export your video to YouTube and other platforms

Detach audio
Filmora lets you do audio separation from your video and edit it separately. You can change the background music to your favorite.

Preview
Preview your video frame by frame and make any precise adjustments necessary before you release it to the public.

Advanced formatting
Stylish effects like overlays and transitions can give you a compelling piece of video that will woe subscribers to your channel.

Conclusion

● YouTube is a trustworthy platform that provides a diverse range of activities such as gaming, tutorials, the film industry, and cooking, among many others. Content creators use it to promote their brands and build a database of subscribers. It takes a considerable amount of effort to match the fastest-growing YouTube channels. A major contributing factor to the highly increasing number of subscribers is a clear video that is easily understood. The best video editor, Filmora, can help you achieve a milestone as far as composing a selling video is concerned.

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How do popular YouTubers affect our lives?

Being a website open to the public, YouTube affects our lives dynamically. It depends on how you use the site. It can affect your life either positively or negatively.