Can you use AI music in monetized YouTube videos?
Depends
Yes, if your music tool's plan covers it. Suno needs Pro or Premier, AIVA's Standard plan covers YouTube monetization and Pro gives full copyright, and Udio's terms bar posting its music on YouTube. YouTube itself won't monetize mass-produced, template-like AI content. You also have to tick 'AI use' when you upload, because YouTube requires disclosure of AI-generated music.
Last verified 2026-10-18. Our reading of the quoted terms below, not legal advice.
Quick answers
Do you have to label AI music on YouTube?
Yes. YouTube requires you to disclose AI-generated music and AI music that's the main focus of a video, using the 'AI use' setting in YouTube Studio. YouTube says the label alone won't limit your audience or your eligibility to earn money.
Can I use Suno music on YouTube?
On Pro or Premier, yes, including in monetized videos. Free and Basic songs are for personal, non-commercial use.
Can I use Udio music on YouTube?
No. Udio's current terms bar downloading output and posting it to platforms such as YouTube.
Is AI music copyright free for YouTube?
No. Each tool licenses or assigns rights by plan, and in the US, music AI made on its own may have no copyright at all.
Tool by tool
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Suno
AI song generator for full tracks with vocals from a text prompt.
- Free / Basic No
- Pro / Premier Yes
Free/Basic: personal and non-commercial only. Pro/Premier: Suno assigns you its rights in your songs.
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AIVA
AI music generator for songs in 250+ styles, with editing and MIDI export.
- Free (Non-Commercial License) No
- Standard (Limited Commercial License) Depends
- Pro (Full Copyright) Yes
AIVA's free tier is non-commercial with credit to AIVA, and AIVA keeps the copyright; the Pro plan gives you full copyright to monetise. A middle tier licenses monetisation on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram only.
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ElevenLabs Music
ElevenLabs' AI song generator for instrumentals and full songs with vocals.
- Free Depends
- Starter Depends
- Creator / Pro Yes
- Scale / Business Yes
Every plan allows online/offline commercial use except film, TV, radio and Studio Games. Free: no downloads, no streaming distribution, attribution required. Creator and up: streaming distribution permitted, no attribution.
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Mubert
AI music generator for royalty-free tracks from text prompts, plus an API.
- Free / Creator No
- Pro / Business Yes
Commercial use needs a Pro or Business plan; music on Mubert's own domains is licensed for personal use only.
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Soundraw
AI music generator for royalty-free beats, with stems and instrument control.
- Plans per schedule Depends
Soundraw keeps the rights and grants a non-exclusive licence to use generated music according to your plan (plan schedule not reviewed).
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Stable Audio
Stability AI's music and sound-effects generator, on web, in DAWs and by API.
- Free / paid Unknown
Stable Audio's terms page points to Stability AI's Terms of Service. Those terms say you keep ownership of content you submit; we did not find a plan-level output commercial clause on the page we checked.
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Udio
AI music generator for songs from text, with extend, inpaint and remix.
- All plans No
Current terms bar downloading outputs, posting them to streaming/UGC platforms, and any commercial use. Udio and its licensors own the output.
Platform rules
YouTube
AI disclosure: Required for realistic AI-generated or meaningfully altered content, for AI-generated music, and for AI music that's the main focus of a video. You tick 'AI use' in YouTube Studio when you upload. YouTube says the label alone won't limit a video's audience or its eligibility to earn money.
- Mass-produced, template-like AI content is not eligible for monetization (inauthentic content policy).
- Using AI to help tell an original story or visualise your own character is given as an acceptable example.
- Realistic AI-generated or altered content must be disclosed during upload; non-realistic or minor edits don't need it.
- AI-generated music must be disclosed, and so must AI music that's the main focus of a video. It can be fully or partly made with AI.
- Disclosing AI on its own won't limit a video's audience or its eligibility to earn money, according to YouTube.
- Not disclosing can lead to YouTube adding the label itself, removing content or suspending you from the YouTube Partner Program if you keep skipping it.
What the terms say
YouTube
“AI-generated content made with generic or unoriginal templates giving the impression of mass production without adding the creator’s original, authentic insights or perspective”
“Content that expresses your unique creative voice, like using AI to visualize a unique character and narrative you invented”
“We require creators to disclose AI-generated or altered content that seems realistic. Creators can make this disclosure during the upload process.”
“Realistic AI content and meaningful changes require disclosure, while non-realistic or minor edits don’t.”
“Creates music that’s the main focus of the video.”
“AI generated music”
“Note: Disclosing AI content alone won’t limit a video’s audience or impact its eligibility to earn money.”
“Creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information may be subject to manual application of a label, or penalties from YouTube, including removal of content or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program.”
“A user enters a text prompt into an AI music generator and downloads the resulting track.”
Owning an output under a tool's terms isn't the same as holding copyright in it. Can you copyright AI art, music and video? →
Plan your project
Pick what you're making and where you'll sell it. We'll list the tools you can sell from, plan by plan.
Open the plannerRelated questions
Only songs made on Suno Pro or Premier can be used commercially.
Udio's terms bar downloading outputs and posting them on user-generated-content platforms such as YouTube.
AIVA's Limited Commercial License (Standard plan) allows monetizing on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram; the Non-Commercial License does not.
Only on the right plan.
Sources
- Suno terms suno.com
- AIVA terms aiva.ai
- ElevenLabs Music terms elevenlabs.io
- Mubert terms mubert.com
- Soundraw terms soundraw.io
- Stable Audio terms stableaudio.com
- Udio terms udio.com
- YouTube channel monetization policies support.google.com
- Disclosing use of GenAI content support.google.com
- Disclose Gen AI usage for music content support.google.com
- US Copyright Office: Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability copyright.gov
- US Copyright Office: Registration guidance, works containing AI-generated material (88 FR 16190) copyright.gov
- US Copyright Office: Zarya of the Dawn decision letter copyright.gov
- Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. 23-5233 (D.C. Cir.) media.cadc.uscourts.gov
- Supreme Court docket 25-449: Thaler v. Perlmutter (petition denied) supremecourt.gov
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 9 legislation.gov.uk
- UK government: Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence gov.uk
- Council of the EU: Presidency summary of member states' contributions on generative AI and copyright (16710/1/24 REV 1) data.consilium.europa.eu
- Japan Copyright Office: General Understanding on AI and Copyright in Japan (overview) bunka.go.jp
- Beijing Internet Court: Li v. Liu, (2023) Jing 0491 Min Chu No. 11279 (English translation) english.bjinternetcourt.gov.cn
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