Someone Stole Your Music: Evidence, Takedowns, and Claims
If someone uses your music without permission, preserve the page, URL, account, dates, files, credits, agreements, registrations, and communications before contacting them. Identify whether the dispute concerns the composition, recording, name, metadata, or an authorized use. Then use the platform's correct rights process or qualified legal advice. A takedown notice is a sworn legal claim, not a customer-support shortcut.
Lead visual
Rights live in lanes
01
Composition
writers, publishers, PROs
02
Master
artist, label, recording owner
03
License
use, territory, term, fee
Rights · Copyright
Rights clearance map
Decision
Know who owns what before the song, cover, sample, or claim goes public.
Evidence
Writers, publishers, master owners, licenses, notices, registrations, and takedown proof.
Risk
A missing clearance or ownership record can block monetization or create a dispute after traction starts.
Good outcome
A defensible rights trail before money, platforms, or third parties are involved.
Key takeaways
- Preserve the allegedly infringing material and your ownership chain before sending a claim.
- Separate composition, recording, metadata, trademark, contract, and platform disputes.
- Use the platform route that matches the right and content; Content ID and DMCA are not interchangeable.
- A notice and counter-notice contain legally significant statements and deadlines.
- Match platform action, negotiation, the CCB, or court to the evidence, territory, remedy, and value.
What should you preserve before reporting stolen music?
Infringement evidence file
Five records before contact
- 01
Record 1
Location
Save the full URL, service, account, title, identifiers, upload date, discovery date, territory, and current status.
- 02
Record 2
Match
Capture the full page and media, identify matching timestamps, and retain the original files without editing them.
- 03
Record 3
Rights
Collect composition and master ownership, assignments, licences, samples, splits, registrations, and enforcement authority.
- 04
Record 4
History
Preserve session files, exports, delivery receipts, release identifiers, publication records, credits, and earlier communications.
- 05
Record 5
Impact
Record available activity, commercial use, statements, customer confusion, costs, and ongoing harm without inventing damages.
Do not send a rights claim from incomplete ownership assumptions
A collaborator, sample owner, publisher, label, licensee, or authorized platform partner may control part of the use. Confirm the right and your authority before making sworn statements.
Which enforcement route fits the dispute?
| Use this route when | Check before acting | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform correction | The issue is artist mapping, credits, metadata, impersonation, or a duplicate delivery | Distributor ownership, artist IDs, identifiers, credits, and the platform's correction process |
| Content ID dispute | An automated YouTube claim conflicts with your ownership, licence, or authorized use | Claimant, policy, asset, territory, licence, dispute stage, and escalation consequences |
| DMCA notice | Material on a U.S.-covered service infringes a copyright you own or can enforce | Section 512 fields, fair use or other authorization, designated agent, accuracy, and counter-notice risk |
| Negotiation | A business use may be resolved through licence, credit, payment, withdrawal, or preservation terms | Authority, admissions, deadlines, settlement scope, confidentiality, and legal advice |
| CCB or court | The evidence, defendant, territory, value, and remedy justify a formal claim | Registration, limitation periods, jurisdiction, service, opt-out, fees, damages, injunction, and counsel |
What does a valid U.S. DMCA notice require?
The Copyright Office lists six core elements: a signature; identification of the copyrighted work; identification and location of the material to remove; contact information; a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the owner, agent, or law; and a statement that the information is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the sender is authorized.
Send the notice through the service's published route or designated agent. The statute requires expeditious action for safe-harbour treatment but does not promise a universal one-to-ten-day response. A counter-notice can start the 10-to-14-business-day restoration window, so monitor the case and obtain legal advice before that deadline controls the next move.
When is the Copyright Claims Board relevant?
The CCB handles eligible U.S. copyright claims up to $30,000 total through a voluntary remote process. The current fees are $40 when filing and $60 if the opt-out period ends and a respondent remains. The respondent can opt out, and the CCB generally cannot issue an injunction. A claimant must have registered the work or submitted a completed registration application.
Which primary sources govern U.S. online copyright claims?
Frequently asked questions
Can I file a DMCA notice without registering my copyright?+
A section 512 takedown notice does not itself require a registration certificate, but you must own or be authorized to enforce the claimed right and satisfy the notice requirements. Registration affects litigation and remedies for U.S. works. Confirm the work, claimant, ownership chain, licence scope, and allegedly infringing material before signing a good-faith and accuracy statement.
What evidence should I save when music is copied?+
Preserve the complete URL, account, upload and discovery dates, page and media captures, the matching timestamps, available view or stream counts, credits, identifiers, distributor records, session files, exports, agreements, licences, registrations, and communications. Keep original files and a dated log of who collected each item. Screenshots are useful records, but no single screenshot or ISRC automatically proves authorship or ownership.
What happens after a DMCA counter-notice?+
For the U.S. section 512 process, the Copyright Office says an online service provider generally must restore access after no fewer than 10 and no more than 14 business days following a compliant counter-notice, unless the original sender notifies it of a filed court action. That creates a legal decision point. Get qualified advice quickly rather than sending unsupported repeat notices.
Can the Copyright Claims Board handle stolen music?+
The CCB is a voluntary U.S. forum for certain copyright disputes seeking no more than $30,000 total. A claimant needs a registration or completed application, pays a $40 first filing fee and a $60 second fee if the case proceeds, and the respondent may opt out. The CCB cannot issue a normal injunction. Review eligibility, jurisdiction, service, remedies, and evidence before filing.
Can I recover royalties from an unauthorized upload?+
Recovery is not automatic. A platform, distributor, label, administrator, court, or settlement may address funds depending on the rights, agreement, territory, timing, evidence, and remedy available. Do not promise redirection from a takedown alone. Preserve the unauthorized release identifiers and statements, notify the correct rights partner, and obtain legal advice when the amount or ongoing use is material.
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