by Talia Huculak Using Copyright-Protected Material on YouTube In order to use any copyright-protected material in a YouTube video, whether it be music, sound effects, photos, or video clips, a video creator must first obtain permission or a license from the work’s copyright holder. The copyright holder is the person or company who owns the rights of copyright in the work, and will not necessarily be the artist or performer of that work. Permission to use a copyrighted work is required even if: You give the copyright holder credit in your video; You do not intend to make money from.