Beat licence matrix
Can I register my song with YouTube Content ID?
Exclusive rights licence
On the Exclusive rights tier, register with youtube content id is depends on the contract as these agreements are ordinarily written. Content ID asserts an exclusive claim over a recording. A non-exclusive beat is, by definition, in other people's records too, so registering it claims work that is not solely yours and generates claims against them.
The trap
Even on an exclusive, the producer may already have registered the instrumental, or may retain that right. Being the only artist on the beat is not the same as holding the right to fingerprint it.
What to check in your agreement
Search the agreement for 'Content ID', 'fingerprint', or 'digital rights management'. If it is silent, assume no and ask in writing.
The same question on every other tier
| Licence tier | Register with YouTube Content ID |
|---|---|
| Free (tagged) | Not permitted |
| Basic (MP3) | Not permitted |
| Premium (WAV) | Not permitted |
| Trackout / Stems | Not permitted |
| Unlimited lease | Not permitted |
What this tier is
The beat comes off the market. It does NOT mean you own it: in most exclusive agreements the producer keeps the writer's share and the publishing. Typical price: $300–2,000+.
Scope limit. This models the STANDARD form of each tier. Any individual agreement overrides it. Where a cell says 'depends', the answer is genuinely contract-specific and no general resource can resolve it.
Part of the Beat Licence Checker and
an open dataset published under CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12.