This might be W-A-Y off topic for this forum, so please excuse me if that's the case (I'll understand if a moderator locks this thread or takes some other appropriate corrective action).

However, I've started playing around with shooting video of some of the venues I ride, and I've seen a lot of vids posted by BF members that have edited their videos to include music. I also see a lot of videos posted all over YouTube that are accompanied by copyrighted music.

I know that this is not a good place to get legal advice, but hopefully someone has managed to research this more fully and can help clarify the rules for me here. My inference is that this falls under the "fair use" umbrella, since these videos are not flagged as violating copyright and taken down. On the other hand, it could be that folks just aren't as vigilant as they should be about the use of their copyrighted material in some kind of mash-up, and the posters are in violation, but just haven't been "caught".

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks.

I wouldn't worry about it. Youtube has some fancy software that recognizes the song and blocks them automatically if the copyright holder has requested it. My view is that if you aren't making any money from the video they shouldn't be able to stop you from using it.

Using copyrighted music without permission is NOT "fair use". However, as the other response states, some copyright holders will let you go, possibly if you post an advertisement for their music with your YouTube listing. YouTube will not let you post your own ads on videos using copyrighted music.

I'd be happy to include links to the labels' or artist's stores, or to the Amazon entry to purchase. Maybe I'll just give it a try and see what happens.

Two things:
Adding music to YouTube clips really irritates me. I just mute them. Usually if there's music added I assume it's because the video is boring.

Second, I have posted many videos of a community band my wife is in. I put the title of the music in the title and description of my post. YouTube always sends me an email within minutes saying they've "detected copyrighted works within my video" but they also say that unless the copyright holder complains, it's no big deal, and even if they do, they'll just remove the video. I've never had a copyright holder complain. But I've never posted anything owned by Sony either...

My opinion is simple: do the right thing. In this case, the right thing is to either contact the rights holder of the music and request to use it, or don't use it at all. If you consider that musicians (or at least the rights holders) do get paid to have their music used in some videos, it's therefore not proper to assume that you can use it for free as fair use.

Here's an informative post:

https://daredreamermag.com/2011/02/23/how-to-legally-use-music-in-your-films-and-videos/

I suppose a strict reading of the copyright would restrict the music to your own personal use in your own equipment.

If you put music on a video or slideshow that you don't post on-line... no violation at all.
If you put music on a video that's just for fun and you're not a professional and you don't get any money at all and it doesn't go viral - tiny violation that nobody cares about.
I always put a music credit at the end of my videos. I use Vimeo though and hardly ever post to YouTube.

Youtube will detect the music that's in your video, and then will look it up and do what the owners of the music want done.

They might disable your video unless you remove the entire audio track. (You can't just remove the song and leave the audio track, of course.)

They might allow it to be up, but put ads next to it.

They might allow it to be up, and just put a little button to buy the music in question below it.

They might (in addition to something above) limit your video somehow -- not let it play in certain countries, not allow it on mobile devices, etc. This limitation will go away if you delete the audio track, however.

They might do nothing.

In any event, I don't think you'll get in any trouble under any of these scenarios, as long as you're posting your video with somebody else's music. (There are other things you can post that can get you in trouble, but this really isn't one of those things.)

Also, it may take a while for them to detect the music. They usually detect it within a few hours, but they might months from now.

Try some royalty free music to be really different

https://www.jamendo.com/en/