For musicians and creators, do not worry, your YouTube channel will not be affected if you upload my backing track. This is an important part of my backing tracks policy.
How to better understand what you can and cannot do with my tracks and how to credit me
You can use my backing tracks on YouTube, Facebook, SoundCloud and Vimeo without worrying. On some platforms like YouTube, you might or might not receive a copyright claim. If you receive one, nothing will change to your channel. Simply part of the revenue that comes from the ads that YouTube puts anyway, will go to my record label. When the copyright claim comes from RouteNote or Labelworx, don’t worry, it’s me. If it comes from a different distributor and the track has a different title, please contact me ASAP at nickneblo@gmail.com. That means that someone has stolen and re-released my track and they’re trying to make money out of stolen material.
However, if you are a YouTube creator that can monetise and you receive a copyright claim, you should be able to have the shared revenue option, which means we both collect something from the ads. If you wish to keep the entire monetisation, just contact me at my email address and we’ll work something out.
You can use them for live performances and teaching purposes, I’d be more than happy. When you use my backing track on YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, etc, please don’t put Nick Neblo in the title. Do not write collaboration or featuring, please. You can simply put the link to my backing track in the video description ‘Backing track by Nick Neblo + link’ and you can also add an end screen (YouTube feature). On YouTube you can use this tag #nickneblobacking at the end of your description.
When you use Instagram, you could credit me ‘Backing Track by Nick Neblo’ embedded in the video. Instagram does not support external links. If you can’t do that, simply put @nickneblo or #nickneblo as tag.
On TikTok you can use my tracks without being blocked, so long as the track does not exceed one minute. However, if you use tracks from famous artists, they might block you even if you use two seconds. That is because they have different contracts. Keep my track under 59 seconds and you’ll be fine.
Please contact me first if you use platforms not mentioned above. Use my email address (I apologise if I don’t reply immediately) or leave a comment below my YouTube video. I’ll answer as soon as I see it.
Can I release an official track using your backing track, CAN I BUY A LICENCE?
You cannot simply take the track and re-release it. All my material is registered, released, original and sound recording copyrighted.
It is possible to buy a licence to have my sound recording on Spotify, Deezer, iTunes and so on. A licence will allow to earn your full revenue from sales. You will not need to share your income with me.
However a licence does not allow you to use my track on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram content ID system. The sound recording is already there and you simply cannot try to monetise my YouTube channel. It would be identical and recognised as the same track. You’d also be monetising other people who have used my track on YouTube or other platforms. Shazam might not be be able to distinguish which track is which if the sound is the same though.
Anyway, a licence will allow you to have the music on the most important stores. Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, iTunes, YouTube Music, Tidal and so on, so it’s worth considering t it. For more information about licences, do contact me at nickneblo@gmail.com.
If you are unsure how copyright works, please read this article. Remember you need an official release though a record label and/or distributor to have your music on all stores. It’s different from YouTube or Facebook where you can upload it yourself. For info about licencing contact me at my email address.
Should I stream youR backing tracks, buy them or download them illegally?
You can stream my tracks from YouTube, you can find them on Spotify. You can also buy Mp3s 320 on all stores, and high quality lossless uncompressed *.wav or *.flac files on BandCamp. Click here to check my BandCamp catalogue.
This is up to you. I know many people download illegally. It goes without saying that creating a professional studio quality backing track requires hard work and it is time-consuming. I record each guitar twice to give you wide real stereo-imaging. At times there are more than 6 rhythm guitars. The bass guitar is always played, I don’t use simulators, it takes more time but it sounds more natural.
I record until I reach a perfect take and I mix and master everything with a good level of accuracy. This is to give you a high quality track, and, the sound of real instruments. Working with professionals and having recorded for over 20 years, I have learnt a lot and in my small studio I every year produce different artists.
SERVICES I CAN PROVIDE
I can do the arrangement for musicians, just the recording, just the mix and master and I can also publish officially their music. For recording in my studio you obviously need to be nearby, so please contact me at nickneblo@gmail.com.
A service like mixing and mastering (provided the tracks are well recorded) can be done over the internet, as well as the distribution service.
Musicians that distribute my music through me, won’t pay any annual fee, I would only keep the first €50 you earn and then it will be all yours, no annual fee or initial fee like most distributors.
If you need professional mix and master because you like the way my tracks sound (bear in mind that I do not always spend ages mixing and mastering backing track). When it comes to music for radio quality, I spend more time and give you today’s standard quality. Check this production for example: The Crown, it has been mastered up to standard.
I can also provide a good mix and master service if you have properly recorded your tracks. For this service, do contact me at nickneblo@gmail.com. Remember, recording well is crucial, you can improve the quality with good mix and master, but you won’t transform a bad recording into something special.
To know more about home recording, have a look at this page https://nickneblo.com/tips-and-tricks-for-musicians/. There you can find tips and tricks on how to do a decent job without spending too much money on equipment. Of course, experience is key, so if you can be advised by a professional it would be best.
Just remember that any software or plug-in that illegally downloads from YouTube gives you a worthless file. Even if the illegal website or programme saves it as mp3s 320kbps, the effective quality comes from an AAC 128kbps. Therefore, the quality of your so called ‘Mp3 320’ might be worse than a 128 Mp3 file ripped from a CD. This means you lose all the frequencies below 35-40hz and above 16khz. If I were you, I’d go for the 320 on stores or the uncompressed (so you do not need to convert the file). Uncompressed versions can be found only on my BandCamp catalogue.
What can happen if YOU release one of MY tracks without legal permission?
My tracks are officially released and the sound recording is copyrighted. If someone takes one of them and releases it again, adding some sounds, vocals or as they are (it doesn’t matter if they mention my name or credit me), two things can happen:
1. If you or your record label go through a professional distributor, e.g. RouteNote, they will scan all the tracks in the market and see that my track is registered and already released. As a consequence, they will not allow you to sell it. The same will happen if you take any track, famous or not and release it as yours. You will have some consequences, depending on each copyright holder’s policy. If your have zero budget and can’t play any instrument, there are libraries of free tracks somewhere. Though they are limited and you can’t have personalised tracks.
2. If you or your record label go through unprofessional distributors, e.g. Believe Music, Tunecore, Distrokid, they usually don’t check and therefore release it anyway. Technically, you can re-release Despacito under a different name through these distributors. That’s their level, however if they find you, they’ll ban you.
If you choose to release it anyway and you don’t care about copyright. They will send a copyright claim to my YouTube channel to claim monetisation or block my video. At that point, I will have to counterclaim, lose monetisation and go through a lengthy process. I will file DMCA takedowns everywhere (which means they will take down your track if you stole it). The distributor will then ask you to provide proof of ownership of my backing track. If you fail to do so, depending on the distributor, you will face consequences.
How some multinational distributors overuse the YouTube content ID claim system
Between 2018 and 2022 I have received over 100 claims from unprofessional distributors. All those claims appeared on videos which had more than 100.000 views. Most of the time, this happened because some people released a track taking my instrumental music without permission. Some might have done it in good faith, not knowing how copyright works. The distributor saw an opportunity to make money on videos with many views. In the end both distributor and artist got DMCA takedowns and warnings or consequences. It’s pointless to try to steal registered music.
I register my tracks prior to their release, Therefore I always hold proof of ownership and no distributor can prove the contrary.
Other options to release music inspired by my backing tracks
Do you want to release a track without buying a licence? Use my track as inspiration, copyright does not apply to chord progressions as mentioned in this article.
However, if you sound identical to my track, I might receive a notice and it’ll be the same problem again. It has to be different enough. The best choice is to take the chords I have used and make a totally different arrangement, your own style. I believe coming up with your own sound is much more creative and rewarding.
I wish all musicians good luck, success and a lot of fun!
IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEO I TRY TO EXPLAIN HOW COPYRIGHT WORKS AND RELATED ISSUES