How the music we deliver appears on YouTube, and what to do when something is wrong
When your music is delivered to YouTube it does not show up as a regular video on your own channel. Instead, YouTube turns every track into an Art Track and places it on a Topic channel. This article explains what Art Tracks and Topic channels are, what you can and cannot control, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Your music on YouTube
For an artist or a small label, YouTube can feel chaotic. Your music can turn up in several places at once:
- Videos you upload yourself to your own channel.
- Videos that other people upload and that contain your music.
- The tracks we deliver for you, which YouTube publishes as Art Tracks.
Because of this, there is no single place where all of your music comes together, and it can look as if not everything is being monetised. An Official Artist Channel (OAC) solves much of this. See our article How to get an Official Artist Channel on YouTube.
YouTube Music is YouTube's music streaming service, comparable to Spotify. The tracks we deliver are available on YouTube Music and on the regular YouTube platform.
What is an Art Track?
An Art Track is a version of one of your tracks that YouTube generates automatically. It consists of the sound recording and the cover art of the release. Instead of a video, viewers see a still image of the artwork.
Figure 1. An Art Track shows the cover art instead of a video.
YouTube creates one Art Track for each track we deliver. It recognises each track by its ISRC, the release code (such as the UPC or EAN) and the distributor that delivered it. The goal is that every track on every album is available on YouTube, even if there is no music video for it.
Figure 2. From your release to an Art Track on YouTube.
Your Art Tracks appear in album playlists and in YouTube search results, and on your Topic channel or your OAC.
Art Tracks and music videos
If you upload an official music video of a track that also exists as an Art Track, the music video can take the place of the Art Track. In our experience this happens once the video has been available on YouTube for about five working days.
Are Art Tracks monetised?
Yes. Art Tracks are part of YouTube Music and earn revenue every time they are played, through advertising or through YouTube Premium subscriptions.
What is a Topic channel?
A Topic channel is a channel that YouTube creates automatically for an artist. Its name is always the artist name followed by the word "Topic" in the local language, for example "Artist Name - Topic".
- YouTube creates a Topic channel once an artist has a significant presence on YouTube. Artists with few videos or few views may not have one.
- YouTube's algorithms decide what goes on a Topic channel. This includes your Art Tracks, but it can also include videos from your own channels and videos uploaded by other people.
- You can think of a Topic channel as YouTube's version of an artist profile. It offers far fewer options than artist profiles on other streaming services.
When you get an OAC, the subscribers of your Topic channel are moved to your OAC, and the Topic channel no longer has a subscribe button. Both channels can still appear in YouTube search.
Can I manage my Art Tracks and Topic channel?
No. Even though it is your music, Art Tracks are generated by YouTube from our delivery, and Topic channels are generated by YouTube as well. You cannot edit, delete or rearrange them the way you can with your own uploads and channels.
Question | Answer |
Can I edit the title or artwork of an Art Track? | Not directly. Art Tracks use the metadata and artwork of your release. Corrections go through us. |
Can I turn on comments? | Only with an OAC. Without one, comments on Art Tracks are always switched off. |
Can I remove videos from my Topic channel? | No. YouTube decides automatically what appears on a Topic channel. |
Who can ask YouTube to fix an Art Track? | Only the label or distributor that delivered it. For music we deliver, that is us. |
What if something is wrong?
These are the problems we see most often:
- Your tracks are on another artist's Topic channel. This usually happens when another artist has a similar or identical name.
- Your tracks are on the "Various Artists" Topic channel. This usually happens when the metadata of a release lists several Recording Artist Contributors.
- Your Art Tracks do not appear on your OAC. The Art Tracks are not yet linked to your Official Artist Channel.
How to report a problem
Send an email to support and describe the problem. Please include:
- The ReportingCodes of the affected tracks.
- Links to the affected Art Tracks.
- Links to the Topic channel(s) involved, and to your OAC if you have one.
Channel links must contain the channel ID: a code of letters and numbers that always starts with UC. Links that use the channel name (for example youtube.com/@artistname) are not enough.
Figure 3. A channel link with the channel ID.
To find a channel ID, open the channel on YouTube, go to the About section, select Share channel and then Copy channel ID.
We then submit the correction to YouTube. For step-by-step instructions, see How to fix incorrect Art Track placement on YouTube.
Please do not contact YouTube yourself YouTube only accepts changes to Art Tracks from the label or distributor that delivered them. Contacting YouTube directly will not solve the problem. Contact us instead. |
More information