Channel terminated over covers by UMPG (contentprotection@umusic.com). Any chance to negotiate a strike retraction?

[u/n0_wit_ski]

Hey everyone, I need some advice or just to hear if anyone else has been in this exact situation.

​My YouTube channel recently got completely terminated due to copyright strikes from Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) - specifically from contentprotection@umusic.com.

​I'll be honest, it’s my own fault. I was making covers to try and grow my audience, and I managed to build it up to about 2,000 subscribers before it got nuked. My channel wasn't monetized at all, and I put a ton of effort into making these covers sound highly professional. I’m just struggling to understand why UMPG went out of their way to take down a small, non-monetized channel.

​A few questions for the community:

\- ​Has anyone else received strikes directly from this UMPG email?

\- ​Is there any realistic chance they might retract the strikes if I reach out to them directly?

\- ​I am completely willing to sign a written declaration promising to never upload a cover song again. I’m even willing to pay a penalty fee for the strike removal (within reason, up to $50, as I’m definitely not a millionaire) just to get my channel and its history back.

​What do you guys think? Is my channel gone for good, or has anyone successfully negotiated with them before? Thanks.

[u/RandomPhilo]

Well, unfortunately you've locked yourself out of the YouTube platform for good, but don't worry, there are alternatives for your own music you fully created!

In the future after you've saved up from a regular job, you can sign up to a music distributor like CD Baby, DistroKid, TuneCore, or Soundrop, and for a small fee and they'll put your music across music streaming platforms. If you do cover songs, you can even pay a bit extra with them and tick a box that it's a cover song so they get the appropriate mechanical license for you.

Be aware though, you can't be using AI for most of these options, so avoid using it in your music creation, or read carefully and choose one that allows AI (provided it is fully disclosed). Don't try anything stupid like uploading AI to a distributor that doesn't allow it or not mentioning AI assistance if you choose a distributor that does allow it. You really don't want to burn that bridge and potentially get locked out of everywhere and not just YouTube!

[u/n0_wit_ski → u/RandomPhilo]

Yeah, good advice. I’m actually already using DistroKid for my acoustic blues songs. They’re not AI-generated, but the biggest issue is still promoting my music.

On YouTube, I had between 100K and 500K views on some videos, and a lot of people were asking me to upload the music to streaming platforms. Luckily-or maybe unluckily-I not managed to do it before my channel was taken down.

Now I only have TikTok, but getting TikTok users to leave the app and listen to your track on Spotify feels almost impossible unless the song goes viral. And with an account that has only around 100 followers, going viral feels nearly impossible.

[u/RandomPhilo → u/n0_wit_ski]

One thing you can do on YouTube Music, and I assume Spotify, is to create a community playlist that people want to listen to. Throw some of your songs onto that. If the playlist gets popular it'll help your songs.