License your own work
Short answer: as the maker, you decide the rules. Want as many people as possible to use your work? Pick CC BY, so every use comes with your name. Want to earn from businesses? Allow free personal use and sell commercial licenses. Whatever you pick, write it down in one clear place and keep your original files as proof.
Start with your goal
Free content can be a great way to grow as an artist, photographer or type designer. Every video, blog or app that uses your work, with your name in the credits, brings new people to you. Before you choose a license, decide what matters most:
- Reach: as many uses as possible, everywhere.
- Credit: your name on every use.
- Income: businesses pay you, hobby users do not.
- Control: you decide who uses it, and how.
Which license fits which goal
| Your goal | Good choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum reach | CC0 | No rules at all, so nobody hesitates. You get no guaranteed credit. |
| Reach with credit | CC BY 4.0 | Anyone may use it, even commercially, but they must name you. |
| Free for hobby, paid for business | CC BY-NC + a paid commercial license | Hobby creators use it for free, businesses buy a license from you. |
| Free, but ad money to you | Free license + Content ID | Creators may use it, but YouTube ad money on those videos goes to you. Say this very clearly. |
| Full control | All rights reserved, license on request | People must ask you first. |
Avoid ND for music if you want video makers to use it: under CC 4.0, syncing music to video counts as a change, so ND music cannot be used as background music. Avoid SA if you want businesses to use your work: they would have to share their own result under the same license.
Two things to know before you start. A Creative Commons license cannot be taken back for people who already got your work under it. And if you are a member of a collecting society, such as Buma/Stemra in the Netherlands, check their rules first: some societies limit which free licenses you may use for your registered works.
How to put your license online
- Pick one license per work, or one for your whole collection.
- Write it next to every download: “Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Credit: Title by Your Name (your site)”.
- Give a ready-made credit line people can copy. The easier it is, the more often you get credit.
- Answer the questions creators always have: monetized videos allowed? Content ID? Client work? Credit required?
- Keep old versions of your license text if you ever change it, with the date.
Content ID and free music
If you register free music in Content ID, for example through your distributor, creators who use your track get claims. That surprises and frustrates people, and it can hurt your name. If you do it, say it loud and clear on your download page, and offer a way to whitelist channels. If your goal is reach, it is usually better not to register your free tracks, or to register only the versions you sell.
Protect your own work
- Keep your original project files, raw photos and dated drafts. They prove you are the maker.
- Put your name and license in the file metadata (ID3 tags for music, EXIF or IPTC for photos).
- Search now and then for your own work with a reverse image search or audio recognition app.
- If someone uses your work without following your license, start with a friendly message. Most people fix it right away.
- For serious cases, send a takedown request to the platform.
Get found on NonCopyrighted
NonCopyrighted is built to connect makers of free content with the creators who need it. We show your license in plain words, so creators use your work with confidence, and credit you correctly. List your work for free. We check every listing by hand. You get your own page, a clear license card and click statistics in My listing.
Good to know. This guide is general information, written in plain words. It is not legal advice, and the law differs per country. When a lot is at stake, ask a lawyer. Last checked: September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.