YouTube Adding Songwriter, Label, And Publisher Credits To All Official And User-Generated Music Videos

YouTube is continuing to ratchet up the site-wide services it provides for musicians — following last week’s launch of four new charts that publicly display trending tracks, artists, and music videos. The additions arrive as YouTube readies a music subscription service under the tutelage of global music head Lyor Cohen — which has been rumored since late last year.

Today, the company will vastly increase the way it credits videos containing music — adding artist, songwriter, label, and publisher details to more than half a billion videos, the company shared on its YouTube For Artists blog. The new feature, dubbed ‘Music In This Video’, will apply to both official music videos and — in what YouTube claims is a first for any platform — relevant user-generated content. The credits are displayed when users click ‘Show More’ on a video description box, and will also include a link to the artists’ official YouTube page and any corresponding official music videos, if available.

YouTube notes that it has been able to furnish ‘Music In This Video’ by harnessing the technology behind its Content ID system, which helps copyright owners manage infringements. And the company vows that this is only the beginning, explaining that, “Through our industry partnerships, we will expand the scope and quality of data to ensure all creators are credited as completely and accurately as possible.”

“Songwriters are the heart and the soul of songs, so it’s wonderful seeing them get the credit they deserve,” Elton John said of the move in a statement. “There is so much more we can do to establish a better situation for music creators, and this is great step forward.”