Nothing is free

Have you ever heard the phrase "nothing is free?" In the world of video editing this is one phrase you'll get to know very well. While the internet may seem like a full, open access portal for music and stock footage, there are quite a few people out there still trying to make claim on what they believe to be theirs.

This is the issue know as copyright claims. While the internet may give you access to a wide variety of music and stock footage, using it in a video is an entirely different affair. Something as simple as adding a music track to one's video can get it banned or taken down from some websites. YouTube in particular has developed internal detection programs for locating audio and video that has been claimed by production companies across the globe. If the program detects an audio track that has a claim on it then the audio could be muted. If the video has footage that has a claim on it, the video will either be taken down or your account could be suspended (or both).

The only way to completely avoid this issue is to only use content that has been recorded and written by you. It can put a damper on one's creativity though if you're not a musician or you wish to make a fanvideo which unavoidably does use footage that you have not recorded yourself. Questions are also being raised regarding music that has been bought legally through iTunes. If you purchased this song, why can't you use it? That seems to be a question yet to be answered.