Art Tracks, Topic channels, YouTube Music and Shorts: how your music lives on YouTube and how each pays
By the SUF Digitals team · Updated
When you release a song, YouTube gets it four ways: as an Art Track on YouTube Music, on an auto-made Topic channel, in Content ID if the song is enrolled, and in the Shorts audio library. Your own channel's videos are a fifth. Each earns differently, and an Official Artist Channel ties them into one page. Here is what each one is and how it pays.
The five ways your music is on YouTube
| What it is | Where it comes from | How it earns |
|---|---|---|
| Art Track | Your distributor delivers each song to YouTube Music; YouTube makes a video of the audio with your cover art. | A share of YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscriptions and ads, paid through your distributor. |
| Topic channel (Your Name - Topic) | Made automatically by YouTube to hold your Art Tracks. | It does not earn by itself; the Art Tracks on it do. |
| Content ID claims | Your distributor enrols eligible songs; YouTube claims other people's videos that use them. | The ad money from those videos, paid through your distributor. |
| Shorts audio | Delivered songs can usually be added to Shorts from YouTube's audio library. | The music share of Shorts revenue, paid to the song's rights holders. |
| Your own videos | What you upload to your channel: official video, lyric video, live clips. | AdSense through the YouTube Partner Program, if your channel is in it and the video is not claimed. |
Art Tracks and YouTube Music
Every song you release with SUF goes to YouTube Music, where it appears as an Art Track: a static video with your cover. Listeners on YouTube Music, and anyone who searches your song on YouTube, can play it. Art Tracks are paid like a streaming store, per play from subscription and ad revenue, and they show on your statement as YouTube Art Tracks and Music Videos and YouTube subscription lines.
SUF delivers audio releases today. Music video delivery is planned, with no date yet, so upload your official video to your own channel.
Topic channels, and why you might have two
YouTube makes a Topic channel for each artist it receives music for. You cannot log in to it or upload to it. If your name was spelt differently on two releases, or another artist shares your name, you can end up with two Topic channels or songs on the wrong one. The fix is an Official Artist Channel, then a merge request for each Topic channel that is yours. See song on the wrong artist profile.
The Official Artist Channel joins it all up
An Official Artist Channel (OAC) turns your own channel into your verified artist home with the music note badge, and brings your Topic channel's music and subscribers into it. On SUF, request it from Support once at least three releases are live on YouTube Music and your channel has no strikes, then send a Merge a Topic channel into your OAC request for each extra Topic channel. Full steps in YouTube Official Artist Channel and in Hindi in official artist channel kaise banaye.
Content ID: money from other people's videos
If your song is enrolled in Content ID, every video on YouTube that uses it is claimed, and the ad money from those videos comes to you. It is valuable when your song is used in dance videos, status videos and edits. It must be used only for songs you own outright, and your own channel should be allowlisted so your videos are not claimed. Read copyright claim on your own song.
Shorts
Once your song is on YouTube, creators can usually add it to Shorts from the audio library. Shorts revenue is pooled, and the part that covers music is shared with the songs' rights holders, so a song that spreads in Shorts earns even if no one streams the full track. Make the first 15 seconds count: that is the part people pick.
Your own channel's videos
Your own uploads earn through the YouTube Partner Program once your channel qualifies, which YouTube currently sets at 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the past year or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. Until then, your own videos earn nothing directly, but they still feed views to your Art Tracks and your OAC.
Common questions
What is an Art Track on YouTube?
An automatic video of your song with its cover art, made by YouTube when your distributor delivers the song to YouTube Music. It earns from YouTube Music and YouTube Premium.
Can I log in to my Topic channel?
No. YouTube runs Topic channels automatically. Get an Official Artist Channel and merge the Topic channel into it instead.
Does a Topic channel get monetised?
The Art Tracks on it earn, and that money comes through your distributor, not through AdSense.
How do I get my song in the YouTube Shorts library?
Release it through a distributor that delivers to YouTube. Once it is live, creators can usually find it in the Shorts audio library.
Is YouTube Music the same as Content ID?
No. YouTube Music plays your song as an Art Track; Content ID claims other people's videos that use your song. They are paid separately.
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