Creators & free downloads
By Simon
By Simon
Free music for your YouTube videos through the creator program.
Can I use Fatstep music in my YouTube videos for free?
Yes, on a channel of any size. There is no subscriber limit. Use Fatstep tracks in your videos for free through the creator program, as long as you credit Fatstep. What you get Free MP3 tracks to use in your videos. You start with a set of tracks and unlock more as your videos go live with a Fatstep credit. What we get Videos that use our music receive a YouTube Content ID claim, so we are paid out of the advertising on those videos. That is the whole arrangement, and it is what pays for giving you the music free. A Content ID claim is not a copyright strike. Your video stays up, your channel is never at risk, and viewers see no difference. If you would rather keep your ad revenue License the track through Songfindr instead. A Songfindr licence lets you have the claim released on your videos, so the revenue stays with you. It also covers things the creator program does not: client work, brand campaigns, games and broadcast. Related - Will my video get a copyright claim? - How do I get free tracks and credit them? - How do I unlock more free downloads?
How do I get free tracks and credit them?
Three steps: link your channel, download a track, credit it when you publish. 1. Link your YouTube channel Use Link with YouTube to connect and verify your channel so we can check your videos. Any channel size is fine. Your channel needs at least one video and to be more than a week old. 2. Download the track Download the MP3. Every track comes with its own unique credit link. 3. Credit it and publish Put that track's exact credit link (fatstep.com/c/your-code) in your video description, then publish. There is no single generic code - use the specific link for the track you actually used. Crediting is what keeps you eligible and unlocks more downloads. Related - How do I unlock more free downloads? - Will my video get a copyright claim?
How do I unlock more free downloads?
You unlock more download slots as your credited videos are confirmed. How slots work You start with a set of download slots. Each time a published video carrying your Fatstep credit is validated, you free up a slot and can take another track. Publish more and the number of slots you can hold at once goes up as well. If you see that all your slots are in use, publish and validate a video to free one. Make a video count Always add the exact credit link for the track you used, in the description, before the video goes live - that is what lets us validate it. Reusing a track Once you have published a video with a track, you can use that track in as many more videos as you like. Include its link each time. Reusing a track you have already published does not use a slot. Related - How do I get free tracks and credit them? - Can I use Fatstep music in my YouTube videos for free?
Will my video get a copyright claim?
Yes, and this is worth understanding before you publish, because the word "claim" alarms people who have not met one before. A claim is not a strike They are two completely different things. A copyright strike is a penalty. Three of them and YouTube can remove your channel. A Content ID claim is just YouTube's automatic system noticing that a video contains music somebody else owns. It carries no penalty at all. Nothing happens to your channel, the video stays up and public, and viewers see no difference. What the claim actually does The advertising on that video is shared. You are a rights holder in your own video and you keep a share of it; our share is what pays for the music. That is the only effect, and it is the trade: you get real music for nothing, and the track earns its keep through the claim rather than through a fee you pay. How that split falls is decided by YouTube's Content ID system, not by us. It depends on things like how much of the video uses the music and whether anyone else has claimed it. If you want to keep the ad revenue That is what Songfindr is for. Buy a licence for the track and you can have the claim released on your video, usually within about three days, so all of it stays with you. You link your channel, tell us which video uses the track, and we clear that video. Unlisted videos count too, so you can clear one before you publish it. Related - Can I use Fatstep music in my YouTube videos for free? - How do I get free tracks and credit them?