Su Kim attended Towson University, graduated in 2021 with a double major in public relations and advertising, and is now a social media manager.  Su’s social media presence is relatable as they dabble across many different platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, created their own blog, and their YouTube channel “Superspective.”  Su is in many ways the typical YouTuber who posts for fun, not as a business, posts infrequently, their channel is not monetized, most videos are viewed by fewer than two hundred viewers, but some videos have gained traction.  They simply decided to start posting to YouTube because it looked like something fun to do. 

As of May 31, 2022, Su’s YouTube channel had almost 2,400 subscribers. Su’s content is typically “talk to camera” videos, where Su speaks candidly about different things going on in their life or various topics that interest them, mixed with humor or comedy skits.   

We asked Su about their thoughts on DMCA, copyright law, and YouTube’s policies.  They discussed how dealing with these issues can be discouraging to content creators who are trying to express themselves and be creative but have to be extremely cautious when it comes to not breaking any of the rules.  Su chooses not to do music covers or reaction videos to avoid issues with copyright. So many articles written about YouTubers and copyright law focus on claims of widespread copyright infringement. Su presents the other side of the issue – a YouTuber who is unfamiliar with copyright law and so cautious about not violating any rules and laws that they may limit their creativity and the types of videos they film and post.  

Su indicated that when they use music in their videos they use music in the public domain or music recorded by their friends. YouTubers can properly use a few types of music in their YouTube videos, including:

• Music licensed directly from the composer

• Music licensed from a business

• Music in the public domain or with limited or reduced copyright protection

One way to properly use copyrighted music is to obtain the proper licenses so that a YouTuber has adequate permission to use someone else’s work.  A YouTuber would need a synchronization license to play the audio recording that is copyrighted by someone else in their own video.   Then there are businesses such as Epidemic Sound, Artlist, and AudioJungle that sell licenses to use music royalty-free in videos.  See What music do Youtubers use? Discover their Secret.  Finally, music can be in the public domain when the copyright for the song expires, which takes a long time.  The music’s creator can also limit or reduce the copyright restrictions on the music through a Creative Commons designation.  Some  artists derive more joy from seeing others use their work than making money so they will designate their music as Creative Commons.  For YouTubers that want to add some music to their videos without infringing on copyright, using tracks that belong to the public domain could be a good solution.  The website Legis Music, Public Domain Background Music [Full Guide] - Legis Music, provides an extensive list of where people can find public domain music and even explains public domain, CCO, and other legal concepts in layman’s terms that are easy to understand.  The website FreePD has a collection of songs and sound effects that have Creative Commons Zero and Public Domain designations.