Someone used my music without permission
A recorded song carries two copyrights, and they can be owned by different people. Before anyone files a notice over music, the first job is working out which of them is yours, because a notice filed by the wrong owner is a false statement made under penalty of perjury.
Two copyrights in every recording
- The composition
- The music and lyrics as written. Usually owned by the songwriters, or by a publisher they assigned it to.
- The sound recording
- That particular recorded performance. Usually owned by whoever paid for the recording: the artist, the producer or the label.
If you wrote, performed, recorded and released it yourself without signing anything away, you probably hold both. If you signed with a label, a publisher, a beat-leasing platform or a distributor, read what you signed: an exclusive deal may mean they are the ones entitled to file, and a co-writer may hold a share of the composition.
Leases and licenses
Reupload or background music
A straight reupload of your track, posted as if it were theirs, is the clearest case. Your track playing under someone else's video is also a use of it, but filing against it removes their whole video, not only your music. That is sometimes the right outcome and sometimes out of proportion. A fan cover is a use of the composition, not your recording, which matters for who can complain.
Short excerpts in a review or commentary can be fair use. A full track rarely is.
Where the notice goes
YouTube
A copyright removal request from YouTube Studio, or by email to [email protected]. A separate matter from Content ID, which a distributor may already manage for you.
SoundCloud
Its Report Form or the Report button on the track, signed in, or email to [email protected]. A formal § 512(c) notice goes to its designated agent, [email protected].
TikTok or Instagram
Their copyright forms, one link per post. Use of a sound through the app's own sound feature is a different situation from a ripped upload.
A website or download site
The host's designated agent, found through the Copyright Office directory.
SoundCloud's help page warns that reporting content that is not yours can get the reporter's own account suspended. YouTube's removal requests carry a strike against the uploader's channel. Both are reasons to settle ownership first.
If a distributor already runs Content ID for you
Many distributors register releases with YouTube's Content ID and similar systems. If yours does, a matching upload may already be claimed automatically, with ad revenue going to you rather than the video being removed. A removal request on top of that can conflict with what your distributor is doing. Check your distributor's dashboard before filing, and tell us if they manage claims for your catalog. If they do, they may be the quicker route for YouTube, and we take care of the platforms they do not cover.
What happens after you file
On YouTube, a successful removal request takes the video down and puts a copyright strike on the uploader's channel; a channel with three strikes in 90 days is subject to termination. Your name is shown where the video was. You can schedule the removal for seven days later instead, giving the uploader the chance to delete it and avoid the strike.
On every US platform, SoundCloud included, the uploader can respond with a counter-notice, and the material can return after 10 to 14 business days unless you start a court case. An uploader who simply reposted your track may not counter-notify, because it means giving their real name and address and agreeing to a US court's jurisdiction. Someone who believes they had a license may well do so, which is another reason to settle the rights question before filing rather than after.
What we need from you
- 1
The link to each copy
One link per upload or per video, not the account.
- 2
Your release
Where it is officially out, with the release date. Your distributor's release page or your own upload works.
- 3
Which rights are yours
Writer, performer, producer, owner of the master, or all of them. Any label, publisher or co-writer involved.
- 4
What you signed
A label, publishing, distribution or beat-lease agreement, if there is one. We read it before filing, not after.
Open a case with those, and we confirm the rights before anything is priced. If your label or publisher should be the one filing, we will say so rather than file for you.
Last reviewed November 2, 2026. This is general information about a US statute, not legal advice, and we are not a law firm.
What people ask next
They sampled a few seconds of my track. Can I file?
Possibly. Sampling a sound recording without a license can be infringement, and there is no fixed number of seconds that is safe. It is also more contested than a full reupload, and a lawyer is the right person to weigh it.
Can I take down a cover of my song?
A cover uses your composition. In the US, covers of released songs are often made under a compulsory mechanical license, which does not need your permission. A cover posted to video platforms is more complicated. Whether a takedown is justified depends on what license, if any, they have.
My co-writer does not want to file. Can I?
Co-owners can generally act on a jointly owned work, but doing it over a co-owner's objection invites a dispute. Talk to them, and to a lawyer if it matters.
Related
Someone reuploaded my video on YouTube
Your video reuploaded to another YouTube channel: when a removal request applies, how to file it, the seven-day scheduled option, what the uploader sees, and what happens after.
PlatformMy reel or TikTok was reposted without permission
Your TikTok or Instagram reel reposted by another account: what the platforms treat as infringement, how their copyright reports work, what they tell the poster, and repost accounts.
GuideDo you need to register your copyright?
Registration is not needed to own a copyright or send a takedown. What it changes: statutory damages, the right to sue, and how easily you prove ownership.
Free to start · you approve every copy
Point us at the copy.
Scan your website for copies of your text and photos, or open a case with the link to anything else. You see exactly what we would file before we file it.
Not a website? Open a case instead