How can I use songs in my YouTube videos legally?
EitherUse them within the Fair Use guidelinesPay to use them (them claiming your video and slapping ads on them falls under this, I guess)
How do I upload songs to my YouTube channel?
Open YouTube. Go to YouTube in your computer's web browser. This will open your YouTube homepage if you're logged in.Click the "Upload" Image titled Android7videocamera.png icon. It's a video camera-shaped icon at the top of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.Click Upload video. This is in the drop-down menuClick Select files to upload. It's in the middle of the page. Clicking this option opens a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window.Select a video. Go to the location of the video you want to upload, then click once the video to select it.Click Open. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so begins uploading the video and opens the details page.Publish your video. Enter a title and description for the video as needed, then click Publish in the top-right corner of the page once the video finishes processing.Click YouTube Studio (beta). It's in the lower-right side of the page.Click Videos. This tab is on the left side of the page. Doing so will open a list of your uploaded videos.How to Grow Your YouTube Channel From Scratch.
Is it smart to put my original songs on YouTube?
The most important thing for you is promotion and visibility so yes you should.I was skeptical to say yes at first mainly because of copyright issues, meaning that if you post your original music on YouTube without having gone through TuneCore or some other agency, people can use your music that you post on YouTube however they want and they don't have to pay you a dime.That is irrelevantLike I said, if you are at the beginning of the latter then you need as much promotion as possible and YouTube is great for that. Especially if you let people use your music because it's good. I'll give you an example.Your song on YouTube gets 1,000 views, but you haven't made a copyright for it. So someone like me comes across your song and likes it enough to make a video on my channel with it. I get 30,000 views. How many listened have you gotten? And you didn't even have to pay me for the extra 30,000 views???!!Yeah usually I would have to pay you for it. But right now that's free promotion, they will hear your song and probably even try to find it to listen to it more. And stumble across your channel. A lot of music becomes popular because of videos and it's availability. If I were you, I would probably put all of your music on Shazam, or song identifiers alike. That way if someone finds your song, and want to know what it's called and where it came from they can find it whether the video publisher gave you credit or not.Btw people can “rip” your music off of your channel (download your music to an MP3 file, and re upload with their videos) that's the only “downfall” of posting your music on YouTube. But it sorta helps in he beginning anyways. Which is what I'm trying to explain. I'd do it. Just make sure that you stick to YouTube growth strategies.Post consistently and freaquently!!!!!!! 3 times a week, 2 times a week, 1 time a week, or everyday and around the same times. That will help with growth A Lot. Focus on researching what little things help your channel grow you need it.Hope this helps!Thanks and good luck!