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Fair Use or Free Ride? The YouTube Music Hustle

YouTube Copyright Strike

Let’s get one thing straight: I would love to be able to make short videos with popular music soundtracks. Who wouldn’t? Drop a Van Halen riff, a James Brown groove, or a Beyoncé hook under a clip and boom—instant vibe. But here’s the problem: copyright law doesn’t care about your vibe.

And honestly? I get it. That music doesn’t belong to me. It doesn’t even fully belong to the artists most of the time. It belongs to the record label—the machine that holds the rights. If I want to use it, I have to play by the rules or face the takedown hammer.

But here’s where my beef comes in.

Some YouTubers build entire channels around playing pieces of popular songs under the banner of “fair use.” They’ll play a guitar intro here, a vocal lick there, and talk about why it’s great. The pitch is: “I’m educating. I’m reviewing. I’m safe under fair use.”

Except now, those same creators are crying foul because YouTube is cracking down. Some are facing copyright claims and even threats of losing their channels.

One guy in particular—he’s on video lamenting that a 40-second short of his only made $36 before it got flagged. Thirty-six bucks. He could just take the video down and protect his whole channel. But nope—he’d rather fight for that “principle.”

And I’m sitting here thinking: Really, dude? That $36 is your hill to die on?

Meanwhile, he’s pumping out multiple shorts a week, all built on the backs of legendary artists who poured blood, sweat, and tears into the music he’s cutting up. And let’s be real—most of those artists got chewed up by the record labels already.

So now, on top of all that, some YouTuber comes along, plays their work, monetizes it, and pockets guaranteed money just because the artist is popular. And he doesn’t share a dime.

I can’t muster sympathy. Sorry, not sorry.

Here’s my take: if you want to make money off YouTube—

• Get a job like the rest of us did.
• Or join the club of creators who’d love to use popular music but can’t because we respect the consequences.
• Or if you’re really a badass—make original music. Show us something we’ve never heard before.

Because at the end of the day, what’s being defended isn’t “fair use.” It’s a free ride.

And I’ll admit it—I’d love to take that free ride, too. Easy money off the hard work of others sounds great. But I know better. And if you’ve built your whole channel on someone else’s art, maybe it’s time you know better too.

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