Unfortunately, there are no fixed standards as to how much of a song you can use without infringing the song owner's copyright. Of course, the shorter you can make the clip, the stronger your argument for fair use protection.
Fair Dealing allows up to 10% of a musical work to be copied. So if a book contains a number of songs or musical scores then you can copy the greater of one musical work or 10% of the book.
According to internet lore, if you change 30% of a copyrighted work, it is no longer infringement and you can use it however you want.
The "15 Second" or "8 Bar" Rule
The idea is that if you use just 8 bars of a composition or sample less than 15 seconds of a recording, you'll be protected.
There are no limits on using music in Stories, or traditional musical performances (example: filming a live artist or band performing their own music). The more full-length recorded tracks in your video, the more likely the video may be limited (example: muted or blocked). Shorter clips of music are recommended.
Any use of copyrighted material without permission is, according to U.S. copyright law, copyright infringement. It does not matter if you use one second or the entire song, using copyrighted materials without the consent or permission of the copyright owner, constitutes copyright infringement.
It doesn't matter if it's just a short clip. 10 seconds or 30 seconds. You still can't use it. The only way to legally use music on YouTube is to get permission from the copyright holder (or whoever does actually “own the rights” to the song).
Copyrighted, unlicensed music samples must be short in comparison to the original song. As a rule of thumb, samples should not exceed 30 seconds or 10% of the length of the original song, whichever is shorter.
If someone wants to sample a sound recording, he or she must obtain the permission from both the copyright owner of the song (the music publisher(s)) and the copyright owner of the particular recording of that song (the record label) to avoid copyright infringement.
Giving credit to the owner of a copyrighted work won't by itself turn a non-transformative copy of their material into fair use. Phrases like “all rights go to the author” and “I do not own” don't automatically mean you're making fair use of that material. They also don't mean you have the copyright owner's permission.
1. You Don't Need Permission to Cover a Song. A common misconception in the music industry is that you need to receive permission from the original composer in order to record a cover version of their song. However, US copyright law makes it much easier than that for artists wishing to cover a piece of music.
But the bottom line is, if the track you're using is copyrighted and you edit it, you'll have created what is known in copyright law as a derivative work. It may sound different, but it will still be copyrighted and you'll still need to get permission to use it.
As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.
How many bars of a song can I copy without permission? There is no special number of “free” measures that can be used without authorization.
Copyright law is federal law and you can claim monetary damages as compensation. Suing for the use of a copyrighted song without permission entails proving in court ownership, access and substantial similarity of the song.
Public Domain Songs
In general, published works like musical compositions enter the public domain, or lose their legal copyright protection, about 70 years after the author dies. Songs published in 1926 and before are considered in the public domain as of January 1st, 2022.
Payments are typically at the discretion of the copyright owners. License fees from major projects can start as low as $2,500 but can get very expensive depending on how much of the sample or interpolation is used. Payments are split amongst the owners of the copyright, based on their percentage of ownership.
This is legal because copyright law determines infringement by copying it, but not if an artist imitates it. Choosing not to clear a sample before the song is released is a major risk and not recommended.
Registering songs with uncleared samples is a type of copyright infringement. An example of this would be if you used a loop from a Michael Jackson song, but didn't ask his label or publisher if you could use it in a song you released. (Samples require clearance from a song's recording owner and publisher.
Besides the legal factors, sampling is viewed by some outside of the music industry as stealing or a production quality that isn't creative. But sampling is simply not stealing. If used in the incorrect way, at worst, it's copyright infringement, which is implicitly different than theft.
Secondly, if your record contains a sample and you didn't clear it, you are infringing the original owner's copyright – and they have you 'bang to rights'.
There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work.
You may have heard of "fair use," a copyright provision that permits you to use 10, 15 or 30 seconds of music without copyright obligation. That is, you understand that you can use a short section of a song without paying a fee.
To get permission to use a copyrighted song, you'll need to find the artist or owner of the song and contact them directly. You can't contact famous musicians directly, but you can contact their music publishers.