YouTube opens public videos for short remixes – with one exception

Photo: Nicole Gary

YouTube opens all public videos in the YouTube Shorts remixing platform – with one exception.

YouTube says the videos on the platform have been selected for remixing by default. If creators do not want their videos to be remixed, they must opt ​​out of YouTube Studio. Only music videos uploaded by YouTube’s music partners do not qualify for remixing on YouTube Shorts by default.

YouTube Shorts content cannot be remixed. This means that if you start creating YouTube Shorts, you agree to be remixed by others. This works differently from the way TikTok handles remixes. TikTok allows users to prevent others from sampling videos on an individual basis in TikTok’s video privacy settings. You can also set default permissions for videos in the app’s basic privacy settings.

At this point, TikTok gives users more control over remixes than the competing platform offered by YouTube Shorts.

Short filmmakers who want to limit the use of their content don’t really have a way to do so. They can delete the original short video, which will remove the audio, but it will also delete other short videos that take a sample of that audio. Remixed shorts are more likely to disappear if the creator of the original content deletes his video. So the question arises, why remix something and risk the work being deleted without permission?

Automatically selecting YouTube videos throughout the life of the platform may not be such a good move. The lack of detailed control over who can make remixes and how those remixes can be used feels like a flaw on YouTube’s part. If you want to start creating your own YouTube Shorts remixes, here’s how it works.

How to create remixes on YouTube Shorts

1. Get started by tapping “Create” in the Shorts app.
2. Then tap “Crop” from the remix options.
3. You can test a segment of a video from one to five seconds from each eligible video or YouTube Shorts.

How to restrict YouTube videos from short video remixes

Don’t want your YouTube videos to qualify for a remix? Here are the steps you need to take to quit.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu, click “Content”.
3. Click the title or thumbnail of the video.
4. Scroll down and click “Show more”.
5. Find the option titled “Shorts Sempling” and turn it off.
6. Select “Save”.

YouTube says you can also change group preferences for sampling shorts on a computer. Once a video has been removed from the remix pool, no remixes can be made with its audio.