YouTube has updated its “Replace Song” function in YouTube Studio, with new AI-based recommendations for potential replacements for tracks you may not be licensed to use, while it’s also announced a new test of its “Hype” program, which is designed to help in amplifying smaller creators.
First off, on “Replace Song”. In July last year, YouTube added a range of new audio editing options in YouTube Studio, in order to help creators address copystrikes, and keep their uploads active in the app.
As you can see, now, when a copyright violation is enacted for the audio in your clip, you can remove that audio, or replace it easily, helping creators keep their clips active, as opposed to binary takedowns.
YouTube’s now updating this with new AI recommendations of alternative music tracks that you can use to replace problematic audio in your clips.
As you can see in this example, the new process will highlight 10 relevant, useable tracks that you can replace infringing audio with.
As per YouTube:
“This update also lets you select the same song multiple times, and perform “Song Erase” within one edit sequence. The changes aim to give you more power over your audio edits, and make it easier to deal with copyright issues.”
That could make it much easier, and faster, to resolve potential problems impacting your uploads, while keeping your content active.
On another front, YouTube has also launched a new Hype experiment in Turkey, as it works to build interest in the new option.
Hype, which YouTube first announced in September, enables viewers to allocate “hype points” to videos from emerging channels, which can then help those clips get more reach based on that interest.
So essentially, Hype is like upvotes for clips, with users allocated a certain amount of Hype per week. And now, YouTube’s also experimenting with an option to purchase additional Hype points, in order to recommend more clips.
“While the feature is still in a very limited beta, there’s now the option to pay to Hype for eligible creators in Turkey, in addition to three free of charge Hypes per week. On eligible videos, viewers who choose to pay to Hype can give even more points to a single video, giving it a better chance to make it to the leaderboard.”
That could enable more opportunity for creators, though it could also be abused, with people paying to hype their own, or their friends’ videos, in order get more exposure for that content. Which could erode broader trust and engagement with the Hype leaderboard display, though this would be what YouTube’s looking to test with this new, limited experiment.
YouTube says that the option to pay for additional Hype points will only be available to a small number of creators in Turkey during the testing phase.
Finally, YouTube’s also added a new Roblox Shorts effect, which enables you to digitally try on different Roblox heads.
YouTube also launched a Sims effect last week, leaning into gaming fandom in the app.
So there’s that.