YouTube

Three YouTube services come up on ONCE, and they are separate:

The access limits on Content ID and OAC took effect July 17, 2026. They exist because both services need manual rights and channel review, claim support, and one-at-a-time processing with YouTube. Nothing is being removed: existing Art Tracks, OACs, and Content ID coverage stay in place, and a release does not need either service to remain on YouTube Music.

Open YouTube Toolkit directly from the header on desktop, or from the menu on a phone. The YouTube Toolkit at beta.once.app/youtube shows OAC requests, channel whitelisting, per-release Content ID status, and YouTube Music links, organized per artist. If you release under more than one name, use the artist tabs at the top.

Official Artist Channel (OAC) requests

New OAC requests are available to ONCE Insiders and approved partners. Existing OACs remain active, and requests already on file can be completed, corrected, and tracked by any account.

Eligibility

YouTube only grants an OAC when all of these are met. Requests that miss one are rejected:

• At least one official music release on YouTube delivered by a distributor or label (three or more recommended)
• Your own channel contains at least one music video with a matching release on your Topic channel (three or more recommended)
• A single artist or band channel that you own and operate, focused on your music
• Full compliance with YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and copyright policies

Straight from YouTube: OAC documentation.

What you need to submit

• Your own channel’s full URL including the 24-character UC… code, not a vanity URL like youtube.com/@artist. Find the ID in YouTube Studio under Settings → Channel → Advanced settings.
• Your artist Topic channel URL, also as a full UC… URL. The request is made for your own channel; YouTube will not process one against a Topic channel, so check you have not swapped them.
• Your Vevo channel ID, if you have one
• The artist’s country as the full country name
• Screenshots of your channel banner, description, and recent uploads

How the process works

Start from a distributed release: open More Tools in the status bar, then YouTube OAC. If you already submitted details for that artist on another release, ONCE reuses them and shows which releases are linked. Accounts without access see the tool greyed out.

The request then moves through Draft → Submitted → In review → Approved or Rejected. Requests are filed with YouTube one at a time, in the order they arrive, and a submitted request’s card shows its position in the queue.

When your request moves to In review, ONCE emails you that it was submitted to YouTube. That is not approval: YouTube decides, its review can take several weeks to a few months, and submitting does not guarantee approval. Nothing more is needed from you. If a request is rejected, the note on the card explains why, and the request unlocks so you can update the details and resubmit. These emails follow your App Alert preference.

Channel whitelisting

When you upload your own music to your own channel, Content ID can claim the video even though the music is yours. That claim is expected and not a strike: it routes the video’s music revenue to you. Whitelisting tells YouTube the channel is yours, so your own uploads stop getting claimed while re-uploads by other people are still protected.

Whitelisting is available whenever Content ID is active, including for standard accounts with coverage from before the partner-only policy.

1. Open the YouTube Toolkit and find Channel whitelisting.
2. Click Request whitelisting and enter your YouTube channel URL.
3. Optionally add the artist name, channel ID, a link to a claimed video, and a note.
4. Submit. The team is notified immediately.

Requests show Requested, In review, Completed, or Rejected, with any note from the team, and are handled one at a time in order, typically within a few business days. Whitelisting is account-wide: once complete, the channel appears under Your whitelisted channels and covers every current and future release.

Content ID per release

The Content ID per release section lists each distributed release with its status (Active, Opted out, or Ineligible), a link to it on YouTube Music when live, and any eligibility notes. A release with non-exclusive samples or loops (for example from a sample pack other artists use) cannot be fingerprinted and shows as Ineligible while staying live everywhere.

Regional availability

YouTube Content ID and Facebook Rights Manager are not available for releases associated with India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, or Turkey, judged from the release’s metadata language and/or the location the account is used from. Matching releases have those two stores removed from the selection automatically; everything else, including YouTube Music, is unaffected. This is a distribution policy and cannot be overridden.

Opting a release out

If you would rather not have your music claimed in other people’s videos (for example, you encourage re-uploads or remixes), click Opt out on the release. Before you do:

• You stop earning royalties when others use that music in their videos
• Re-uploads are no longer claimed automatically
• The release stays live on YouTube Music and every other store
• The change takes a few days on YouTube’s side
• Opting back in requires a redelivery; ask ONCE Support, or start a thread in #help-needed in the ONCE Discord

Common questions

Do I need an OAC before requesting whitelisting? No. They are independent. Whitelisting only matters when Content ID is active.

Does an OAC combine my Art Track with my official music video? No. They stay separate videos. An OAC organizes your artist surfaces under one channel; it does not merge videos or transfer views.