YouTube updates 'Erase Song' tool to remove copyrighted music

Announced earlier this week and now underway, the updated version of 'Erase Song' is available to creators. This option was previously available in beta but not for all users and as YouTube said in a video, its performance was not good. The updated version of the tool uses AI to remove songs from videos but does not remove creator dialogue or other sounds.

YouTube briefly explains:

Delete a claimed song while preserving other sounds like speech, or mute all sounds.

This feature is explained further on the support page, where YouTube says this option appears on videos with copyright claims related to audio only. In addition to just removing songs, this tool can also mute all audio in specific parts of the video affected by copyright claims.

Removing a specific portion of audio from a finished video is no easy task, and YouTube admits that it may not work in all cases, saying:

This edit may not work if the song is difficult to delete. If this tool doesn't successfully remove claims on a video, you can try other editing options, such as muting all audio in claimed segments own or truncate claimed segments.

This tool may also not work if the video has more than 100,000 views and YouTube says processing times 'may vary', implying that it may take some time to complete.

'Erase Song' will launch on YouTube Studio on desktop and mobile devices 'in the coming weeks'.