Monetizing your YouTube channel can feel like a pathway to financial freedom, but it comes with a lot of essential considerations to keep in mind. There’s more than one way to earn using your channel, with traditional monetization and creating sponsored content being the two primary ways that people earn from their videos.

Earning from traditional YouTube monetization

Traditional monetization works by your content earning you a dollar value per view. For example, some estimate that long-form content typically earns more per 1,000 views than Shorts, though the exact figures vary widely by niche, audience location and time of year.

To make a consistent income off the back of your views alone, you need to foster a large, engaged audience that comes back to your content time after time. Doing so requires a comprehensive understanding of holding people’s attention through a variety of methods such as:

●      Fast-paced, but not overwhelming editing techniques

●      Clear hooks used early in the content to capture attention early

●      Regular changes in angles and imagery

●      Use of recognizable music to engage the audience on another level

In the case of the last point, music licensing for YouTube videos can be a smart investment, allowing you to use mainstream, popular tracks on your content without risk of Content ID claims causing you problems. It’s a great way to legitimize your content and increase retention.

Alternatively, you can use YouTube’s creator tools to add music from its in-house library, although depending on the track, this can mean paying an upfront fee or sharing your ad revenue with the music rights holder.

Earning from YouTube sponsored content

Learning how to get sponsored on YouTube offers an alternative pathway to earning on the platform, often without requiring the same number of views as a traditional monetization model. YouTube sponsors reach out to creators with dedicated fanbases, then pay these creators to reference or advertise their goods in their videos.

 Common sponsors for YouTube channels include:

●      Audible

●      HelloFresh

●      NordVPN

●      Squarespace

However, it’s worth noting that sponsored content comes with its own set of licensing considerations for creators to follow, particularly when it comes to music.

How to use mainstream music in sponsored content

Sponsored content doesn’t automatically rule out mainstream music, but it does change what your license needs to cover. Any video with a paid brand integration has a commercial element, and music rights holders care a great deal about how their tracks are connected to a brand’s message.

Licensed music from a creator platform like Lickd can cover certain sponsored content uses. The key distinction is where the music sits. Music that plays over your content as a whole is treated differently from music directly attached to a branded segment, such as a track soundtracking the sponsor read or a product showcase.

If you want licensed music to play specifically over a branded section, you’ll need a license designed for that purpose. Lickd for Brands is the appropriate route here, giving brands and agencies licensed access to mainstream tracks for their branded content.

What you shouldn’t do is drop an unlicensed, label-owned song into a sponsored video. Without the right permission, your video becomes open to muting, blocking, or removal, as well as potential copyright strikes, and the dispute could put your relationship with the sponsor at risk.

If you’re using music in sponsored content, make sure it’s properly licensed for that specific commercial use, whether that’s music supplied by the brand, audio cleared by YouTube for commercial use, a brand license, or claims-managed licensed tracks from a platform built for creators, used within the terms of that license.

Be considerate in your approach to content creation

There’s no reason you can’t balance monetized content and sponsored content on the same channel, and mainstream music can play a part in both. In fact, for the sake of exposure and diversification, a blend of both content approaches is a smart move. Just make sure you check what your license covers before a sponsored video goes live, particularly where your music and the branded segment overlap.

Mainstream music can be a great tool when making content for YouTube, but it has to be used responsibly. With the right license for the right use, sponsored and monetized videos can sit comfortably side by side.