On July 4, YouTube released an updated eraser tool for creators so they can easily remove any copyrighted music from their videos without any other audio such as dialog or sound effects, TechCrunch reported.
YouTube chief Neal Mohan posted about the tool on X and said “Good news, creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyright-claimed music from your video (while leaving the rest of your audio intact.).”
In the video, the company said that it had been testing the eraser tool for a while, but it wasn’t as accurate in removing a copyrighted song. It noted that the new tool uses an AI-powered algorithm to specifically detect and remove that song without impacting other audio in the clip.
On its support page, YouTube still warns that, at times, the algorithm might fail to remove just the song.
The Verge reported YouTube has launched an improved eraser tool that lets creators remove copyrighted music from their videos while keeping other audio intact. The revamped tool, which was released this week, was first reported by TechCrunch.
The Erase Song feature lets creators silence copyrighted music in their content, the company announced in a video. The tool had been previously been in place as a beta features, but it wasn’t always accurate.
The updated Erase Song feature uses an “AI-powered algorithm” to help it more precisely identify and remove copyrighted songs without affecting other audio on a particular clip. That’s the goal, at least.
YouTube’s support page says the Erase Song tool “might not work if the song is hard to remove,” so muting the audio instead can help to remove a content ID claim against a video.
Engadget reported when creators get a copyright claim for music, YouTube gives them the option to trim out the affected segment or to replace the song with an approved one in its library. Creators can’t monetize that particular video until they resolve the claim.
The website has been testing its “erase song” tool for a while, but in the video, the company says it hasn’t been as accurate as it would like. To solve that problem, it redesigned the tool so that it now uses an AI-powered algorithm to accurately detect and remove copyrighted music from videos.
Still, YouTube admits that the tool might not always work. If a song is particularly hard to remove, presumably due to audio quality or the presence of other sounds while it’s playing, creators may have to resort to other options. Creators will be able to put that part of their video through the new erase tool.
The website’s upgraded erase song tool will be available in YouTube Studio in the coming weeks.
In my opinion, the Erase Song option was a good choice for YouTube. It means that videos posted on YouTube don’t have to be entirely stricken from the website – so long as the Erase Song feature works.