What is User-Generated Content (UGC)?
The term UGC can apply to any content published to an online service which has been directly uploaded by a regular user. However, for our purposes this term is usually used in reference to services which use content recognition systems (sometimes referred to as “Content ID”) to identify copyrighted material contained in user uploads of audio and video.
Kudos supplies reference files and metadata to these services so that your music can be recognised and your rights as the copyright-holder can be asserted. This allows us to monetise or otherwise monitor and control the use of your music on these services on your behalf.
YouTube, SoundCloud and Dubset/MixBank are examples of services which handle user-generated content.
When Should I Enable/Disable UGC for a Track?
UGC should always be enabled if you are the primary rights-holder for the sound recording. This generally means that your label has the exclusive right to license this recording to a third-party.
You should therefore disable UGC if any of the following apply:
- the copyright for the sound recording is in the public domain
- you have licensed the track from another rights-holder on a non-exclusive basis
- you have allowed the track to be made available elsewhere on a free-to-use basis (i.e. the track has been licensed for use in a royalty-free music library distributed with some video/audio software).
- the audio may be unsuitable for audio-fingerprinting for content recognition. (i.e use of third-party / public domain samples, generic or non-musical content etc.)
Note that disabling UGC will not prevent your music being uploaded to YouTube or other UGC services, it simply means your label will not be registered as the rights-holder for controlling any associated user content.
Our system uses this flag to asses the track’s eligibility for a range of digital services. It should therefore be enabled wherever you hold the appropriate rights in order to maximise the available revenue streams for your release. In the unlikely event that you need to “opt-out” your release from a particular UGC service this is best achieved by adding a specific rule on the rights tab.
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