Content ID is a YouTube-owned tool
that IDs copyrights embedded in content.
Copyright owners (i.e., record companies, publishers and, I assume, film and TV rightsholders) use Content ID
to identify, tag, control and monetize content on YouTube.
The Content ID identification
process starts when content owners provide Google with metadata and copies of
their works. Content ID then uses digital fingerprinting technology to match
these works to uses in certain categories of content on YouTube (e.g., matches
to user generated videos, but not multichannel networks, which assume
responsibility to pay rightsholders).
Not only can the © owner control
(with other owners, if applicable) whether to leave the use up or take it down,
but also it can choose to monetize (via advertising and/or subscriber revenue).
Some record companies get 35% and music publishers get 15% of ad revenue for
user generated content. (Big © owners can negotiate directly with YouTube, so those minimums
and splits are confidential, but the some rates for indies are public, though they do not include the advances or minimums that major rights holders negotiate.)
