YouTube upgrades its audio eraser tool to assist producers cope with copyrights

YouTube has released an updated version of its eraser tool, which allows creators to remove copyrighted music from their videos without affecting other audio elements such as dialogue or sound effects. If a video has a copyright issue, there are restrictions on whether it can be viewed or monetized.

Previously, users could mute all audio of a copyrighted clip or delete a copyrighted clip entirely. With the new feature, users can remove only the copyrighted parts without deleting the video. YouTube's Neil Mohan announced the eraser tool in an X message saying, "Good news, creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyrighted music from your video (while keeping the rest of the audio intact)." The post is accompanied by a video that says YouTube has been working on testing an eraser tool for some time, but it wasn't that accurate at removing a copyrighted song. The video also notes that the new tool uses an AI-powered algorithm to detect and remove songs without affecting other audio.

YouTube warns on its support page that sometimes the algorithm may not be able to simply delete a song, or the algorithm may not work if the song is difficult to delete. Users can trim clips, replace songs, or mute songs. Creators can also choose to mute all sound in a claimed clip. Once a video is edited, YouTube removes Content ID claims, which is YouTube's way of identifying the use of copyrighted content in different clips.