Music in spotting videos: GEMA, royalty-free music and Content ID

The takeoff is perfect, the engines thunder, and underneath is the song that has been stuck in your head for weeks. As soon as the video is uploaded, the notice appears: copyrighted content found. Music rights in spotting videos are the topic that many only think about when it is too late. This guide explains which rights hang on a song, what GEMA (the German music rights collecting society) has to do with it, how Content ID works and which music sources you can use without worry. It is not a substitute for legal advice, but it gives you the basic knowledge to avoid costly and annoying mistakes.

The short answer

You may only put music under your video if you have the necessary usage rights. A purchased song, a streaming subscription or a CD from the shelf allow you to listen, not to publish. You are safe with tracks from the YouTube Audio Library (for YouTube), with library music under a clear license, with the respective platform’s music selection within its intended scope, or with your own music. Anything else is a risk that can range from an ad claim to channel termination.

One song, several rights holders

When people think of music rights, they usually think of the composer. In fact, several layers of rights hang on a single recording:

• Copyright in the composition and lyrics: It lies with the composer and lyricist, often represented by a music publisher. In Germany it ends 70 years after the death of the last author.
• Neighboring rights of the performers: The singer, band and session musicians have their own rights in their performance.
• Record producer’s right: The label that produced the recording holds a right of its own in exactly that recording. Under § 85 UrhG (the German Copyright Act), it normally runs 70 years from publication.

This gives rise to a trap that many spotters fall into: Public domain music is not automatically a public domain recording. A work by Beethoven has long been free, but an orchestra’s recording from recent decades is not. If you want to put classical music under a long-haul takeoff, you therefore need a recording that is itself free or licensed.

What GEMA has to do with it

GEMA is the German collecting society for music authors, based in Berlin. It exercises usage rights on behalf of its members, grants licenses and distributes the revenue. For you as a video creator, it is usually not the direct contact but works in the background.

For a long time, YouTube in Germany was the prime example of the conflict: many music videos were blocked because of a dispute between GEMA and YouTube. On November 1, 2016, the two announced a licensing agreement. Since then, the use of the GEMA repertoire on YouTube has in principle been licensed through the platform. That does not mean you may use every song, though: the rights to the recording still lie with the labels, and they enforce their own rules through Content ID.

Understanding “GEMA-free” correctly

Many music libraries advertise GEMA-free music. The term only means that the authors are not members of GEMA or do not have their rights administered by it. It says nothing about what you may do with the music. That is governed exclusively by the provider’s license: whether you pay once or by subscription, whether use on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok is equally allowed, whether monetized videos are covered and whether you have to credit the source.

GEMA becomes relevant again as soon as you perform videos publicly – for example at a club evening, at a spotter exhibition or at a trade fair booth. For public performances, the so-called GEMA presumption applies: it is assumed that music comes from the GEMA repertoire unless the organizer proves otherwise. With documented licenses for your library music, you are then clearly at an advantage.

How Content ID works

Content ID is YouTube’s automatic detection system. Rights holders upload reference files, and every new video is matched against them. If the system finds a match, a claim is created. According to YouTube, the rights holder then has three options, which they can even set differently by country:

Rights holder’s option	What happens to your video
Block	The video is no longer available, possibly only in certain countries
Monetize	Ads run, and the revenue goes to the rights holder or is shared
Track	The video stays online unchanged, and the rights holder only sees the statistics

Important for putting this in perspective: A Content ID claim is not a copyright strike. Strikes only arise from a formal takedown request. According to YouTube, channels that receive three strikes within 90 days face termination. A single strike expires after 90 days, provided you have completed YouTube’s copyright school.

How to respond to a claim

YouTube offers you several routes in Studio:

• Mute: Mute only the claimed track or the entire audio of the affected section. With aircraft videos this is bitter, because the engine sound can disappear with it.
• Trim: Cut the claimed section out of the video.
• Replace song: Swap the music for a track from the Audio Library, if this option is offered.
• Dispute: Only if you are sure you have the rights – for example with a valid license from your music library.
• Do nothing: The claim remains, and the video continues running under the rights holder’s terms.

Be careful with a dispute: if it turns out to have been unfounded, the rights holder can request removal – and then your channel gets a real strike. A dispute “on the off chance” is therefore not a good idea.

Safe music sources for aircraft videos

There is plenty of music you can use legally and cleanly. What matters is knowing the terms of the respective source.

YouTube Audio Library

You find the Audio Library in YouTube Studio in the left menu. YouTube provides music and sound effects there and guarantees only for these tracks that they pose no copyright risk for your YouTube videos. Some of the tracks are under a Creative Commons license: then you have to credit the artist in the video description. Whether you may use the tracks on other platforms as well is left open by the help page. Treat them therefore as pure YouTube music.

Licensed music libraries

Commercial libraries offer subscriptions or single licenses. Before signing up, look out for:

• Scope: Which platforms and channels are covered? The license is often tied to your channel.
• Commercial use: Are monetized videos, sponsorship and commissioned work allowed?
• Term: Do videos stay licensed if you cancel the subscription?
• Content ID clearance: Many providers let you put your channel on an allowlist so that their own tracks do not trigger claims.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons music is freely available, but tied to conditions. The four building blocks:

Abbreviation	Meaning	Consequence for your video
BY	Attribution	Name the author, title and license in the description
SA	Share-alike	Your result must be under the same license – often impractical for videos
NC	Noncommercial	Unsuitable for monetized or sponsored videos
ND	No derivatives	Trimming, looping or remixing can be problematic

CC BY tracks are the most straightforward. With NC licenses, you are in a gray area as soon as your channel runs ads.

Platform music

Instagram and TikTok offer their own music catalogs in their apps. The platforms license this music for use in the app. For business accounts and some creator accounts, the selection is often restricted. If you upload the same video with the same music to another platform, the license does not come along. More on short-video formats is in Plane spotting on TikTok and in short videos and in the guide Instagram for plane spotters.

Your own music

If you compose yourself or have friends in the music scene, you are on the safest side – as long as no samples and loops with an unclear license are involved. With music from friends: have them briefly confirm the use in writing, and check that the song is not registered with Content ID through a distributor after all.

Statutory exceptions: less room than many think

Rules of thumb circulate online such as “under 30 seconds is allowed” or “it’s fine with a source credit”. Neither is true as stated. German copyright law does know exceptions, but they are narrow.

• Minor use under the UrhDaG: The Copyright Service Provider Act names in § 10 uses of up to 15 seconds of a soundtrack as minor – but only if they are noncommercial or generate only insignificant revenue. The rule mainly determines that platforms may not automatically block such content prematurely. It is not a license for you, has no effect outside Germany and does not prevent Content ID claims.
• Quotation: A music quotation is only permissible if you engage with the piece in substance. Background music under a landing approach is not a quotation.
• Parody and pastiche: § 51a UrhG allows uses for caricature, parody and pastiche. How far the term pastiche reaches is legally disputed. It is not suitable as a basis for a music bed.
• Incidental accessory work: Under § 57 UrhG, a work is permitted if it appears only incidentally alongside the actual subject. This can apply to music that happens to play in the background – but not to music you deliberately put underneath.

Music you didn’t add at all

Especially at the airport, music is often already in the original audio: from loudspeakers on the observation deck, from the car radio at the fence or at airshows when performances are accompanied by music. Content ID doesn’t distinguish whether you used the music deliberately. Even quiet music in the background can trigger a claim. Whether that would legally be incidental accessory work plays no role for the automatic matching.

Practical solutions: cut out the scene with music, lower the original audio at that point and replace it with a clean recording without music, or choose a location without loudspeakers right when shooting. How to capture engine sound cleanly is explained in the guide Recording engine sound.

Radio communications are a topic of their own

Besides engine sound, many spotting videos live on radio traffic. Here it is not about copyright but about entirely different legal questions. What applies when publishing radio recordings can be found in detail under Publishing ATC radio in videos. If you want to embed streams from third-party providers, you should also read their terms of use.

Livestreams: music is especially tricky here

With a plane spotting livestream, you can’t cut claims out afterward. Platforms sometimes detect protected music even during the broadcast and can interrupt streams or restrict the recording afterward. So don’t let any music play alongside in the stream, not even the radio in the car. How other airports and channels handle this can be seen in the overview of Airport livestreams.

Music or original audio? A decision aid

Before you rack your brain over licenses, a fundamental question is worthwhile: does your video need music at all? In the spotting community, the original audio is often considered the real highlight. The hum of a turboprop, the howl during spool-up, the reverse thrust after touchdown – that is exactly what many viewers want to hear.

Video type	Music makes sense?	Why
Single takeoff or landing	rather no	The engine sound carries the video
Day recap as a montage	rather yes	Music ties many short clips together
Short video or Reel	often yes	Use platform music within its intended scope
Livestream	no	Claims cannot be fixed afterward
Documentary or explainer video	subtle	Quiet music bed under the commentary, original audio in the footage

A proven middle path: music only in the intro, transitions and outro, the aircraft scenes with full original audio. How to build scenes that hold up without music is shown in the guide on Composition in aircraft videos. You will find the basics of shooting in Shooting plane spotting videos, and specifically for your phone in Shooting aircraft videos with your smartphone.

Don’t forget other rights in the video

Music is not the only right in a spotting video. You should keep three other points in view:

• Your own footage: Anyone who takes over your videos or stills infringes your rights. What you are entitled to as the author is covered in the article Copyright in aircraft photos.
• Logos and trademarks: Airline logos on the fuselage are generally unproblematic; in thumbnails and merchandise it can look different. Details are provided by Trademark law and airline logos.
• Location: On observation decks and in the terminal, the operator’s house rules apply, which can restrict filming and tripods – more under The airport operator’s house rules.

If you want to sell videos or produce for clients, you will find the legal basics, which largely transfer to videos, in the article Selling aircraft photos.

What to keep in mind

• No music from streaming services. Neither a recording nor a download of a song entitles you to publish.
• Read the license before editing. A track that has to be swapped out later often destroys the entire rhythm of the edit.
• Don’t rely on hearsay. Rules like “five seconds are allowed” are myths.
• Don’t take platform licenses with you. A Reel with Instagram music is not automatically licensed for the YouTube video.
• Get legal advice when in doubt. Especially if you use videos commercially, a consultation is worthwhile.

Conclusion

Music doesn’t automatically make a spotting video better, but it can quickly get it into trouble. If you know the basics, you avoid most problems: a song has several rights holders, purchased music is not licensed, “GEMA-free” is only a hint about rights administration, and Content ID checks every video automatically. With the Audio Library, a well-chosen library or Creative Commons tracks with a suitable license, you are on the safe side. And often the best soundtrack is the one the engines deliver anyway. You will find inspiration on how other channels handle this in the overview of plane spotting YouTube channels.