‘Copyright Claim’ is quite horrifying for musicians who did not copy anything in their musical creation, yet it can happen sometimes. Whether your work is flagged for copyright infringement or receives claims for using somebody else’s song, the first thing that you need to do is not panic. Right after receiving a legal notice or a notification from the streaming platform, most artists find themselves in a dark spot, and they try to withdraw everything, but first, you need to assess the situation, and based on that, you can proceed with different approaches to mitigate the issues.
You can only handle the copyright claim when you truly did not copy or misuse others’ creations and provided 100% originality for the listeners. You can definitely take inspiration from other artists without copying their work, but you should not copy, as it is not ethical creativity and hampers artistic integrity. Let’s find a few common scenarios and how to deal with the situation.
Scenario 1: Your Own Music Got Flagged (A False Claim)
There are many times when a false alarm is triggered due to automated systems. It is not humanly possible to keep track of every musical release and find its similarities with the previously released songs. That is why automated systems can sometimes flag your own song on your channel even if its 100% original without any plagiarism. First of all, do not panic in this situation, as it will only increase stress, and you need to stay calm to strategize your approach.
• Do Not Delete the Music or the Video
Whenever content gets flagged, the artists are more likely to delete everything and start from a fresh palate, but it can still happen with the new song. So, do not delete the video or the music content and wait until you can prove your originality. Deleting will make you lose your precious engagement, streams, and views that you gathered from the fans.
• Identifying Claimant
You should check the details of the claim and find out which artist made the claim. You can easily check it from the dashboard, and astonishingly, it is mainly your own digital distributor in most cases. You might find other artists, too.
• File a Dispute
Since you are well aware and confident about the fact that you did not copy, you have the right to submit a dispute against the “Copyright Claim”. Start by stating that you are the original artist behind the track and that you also own the master and publishing rights for this song. If you have used any DSP to distribute your track, you can also explicitly state their name and ask the person to release the claim, as is done by your own distributor. Only after that can you monetize your content.
The false claim of copyright is a common issue in the music industry, and you can easily avoid the situation by following the aforementioned steps.
Scenario 2: You Got a ‘Copyright Claim’ for Using Some Other Artist’s Music
If you have genuinely used another artist’s track or portion of it in the song, your project will receive a copyright claim. This is evidently visible among the top established artists, and as the popular songs get copied more. However, you can still deal with the claims as an Indie artist.
• Find the Impact
Before panicking about the copyright, find the impact of it. The copyright claims rarely result in the ‘strikes,’ which can get your account deleted from the streaming platform. However, the situation does not escalate that quickly. The claims usually mean that the copyright owner will be placing ads on your content, and it can be blocked in certain regions. You need to check how much of a bigger impact it is putting on your career and the effect it is having on it.
• Leverage Built-in Editors
There are many platforms, for example, YouTube, that can offer you a handful of built-in tools which allow artists to mute the copyrighted audio or trim the claimed segment, or you can replace it with other original sections or songs that are completely royalty –free. Therefore, do not delete the content; instead, edit it to make it appear original as it should be. You should check the dashboard and find out the tools to tweak your creation.
• Submit Your License
If you have a music license or a lease of a beat, you can easily file a dispute while attaching your proof of purchase, along with the license reference and the details of the contract. It shows that you have legally purchased the copyrighted portion; no one can claim it as it is purchased already. These steps can help to mitigate the situation.
Scenario 3: Someone Stole Your Creation
This is a similar situation, but this time you are making the ‘copyright claim’ as someone has stolen your music or creativity. It does not have to be the entire song, but you can make the claim even if it is just the hook. If you find any musician who has stolen and utilized your song without your permission, then,
• Utilize Content Management Tools
As a music artist yourself, you might not have the luxury of time to find out who is copying your song, but when you are notified, you can utilize the content management tools for the task of finding copied portions. These tools are exclusively provided for the artists and creators, which allows them to find the matches with their work, and then they can flag with accuracy and certainty.
• Request a Takedown
Well, you can go on with a legal fight only if you can keep up with it, and legal practices are expensive, and an independent music artist might not have the budget for it. Some artists chose to leave it up by allowing the sharing of the permit and the ad revenues. Usually, a message is sent to the other artist or the channel to resolve the issue. You can also file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) formal request in order to request a takedown of the musical content.
Final Thoughts
Even though you are aware of the steps of different copyright situations, the process is not always that easy, and it is not possible for an artist to keep an eye on every legal aspect of their craft. It is recommended to hire an experienced professional in this case, who has dealt with music copyrights and can help you in the same way. Embrace your creativity with 100% originality and zero fear!
