How to Find Creative Commons Videos on YouTube (and Credit Them Correctly)
Looking for videos you are actually allowed to reuse? YouTube has a built-in answer: Creative Commons. Creators who choose this license allow everyone to reuse their work — as long as they give credit. Here is how to find these videos, how to check the license and how to credit the creator correctly.
What is Creative Commons on YouTube?
Creative Commons (CC) is a set of free, standard licenses that let creators share their work on their own terms. On YouTube, creators can choose between two licenses when they upload:
- Standard YouTube License — the default. Other people may watch the video on YouTube, but not reuse it.
- Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY) — anyone may reuse, remix and share the video, even commercially, as long as they credit the creator.
So when a video uses CC BY, the creator has already given permission for reuse with credit.
How to find Creative Commons videos
On a computer:
- Search YouTube for what you need, for example "history lecture" or "nature sounds".
- Click Filters at the top of the results.
- Under Features, choose Creative Commons.
The results now only show videos published under CC BY. The filter is also available on the mobile website; in the app, the options can vary by version.
How to check the license of a video
Don't rely on a title like "free to use". Check the license itself:
- Open the video and expand the description (click …more).
- Scroll to the bottom. A Creative Commons video shows a line such as "License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)".
- If it doesn't say that, assume the video uses the standard license.
Also read the description for extra conditions. Some creators ask for a specific credit text or a link to their channel.
Watch out for content inside the video
A creator can only license what they own. A CC video may still contain parts owned by someone else — a film clip, a logo, a photo, or background audio from another source. If a part of the video clearly comes from elsewhere, that part isn't covered by the creator's license. When in doubt, ask the creator.
How to credit the creator
A good credit answers four questions, often remembered as TASL:
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Title | "Intro to Volcanoes" |
| Author | Jane Example (channel: Jane Explains) |
| Source | link to the YouTube video |
| License | CC BY, with a link to the license |
Put together, a credit can look like this:
"Intro to Volcanoes" by Jane Example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=…), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Put the credit where people will see it: in your video description, show notes, the end of your presentation, or the page where the audio is used. If you changed the original (cut it, mixed it, added commentary), say so — for example "edited from the original".
Other sources of reusable videos
- Public-domain archives such as the Internet Archive and many national libraries.
- Government and space agencies, which often publish material that is free to reuse in their country (check each site's terms).
- Creators' own websites, where some offer free downloads with clear usage rules.
Converting Creative Commons videos to MP3
Because CC BY allows reuse, converting a Creative Commons video to audio — for a podcast segment, a presentation or listening offline — is exactly the kind of use the creator agreed to. Paste the link into YT to MP3, download the MP3, and don't forget the credit.
Quick recap
- Use Filters → Features → Creative Commons in YouTube search.
- Check the license line at the bottom of the description.
- Watch out for third-party content inside the video.
- Credit Title, Author, Source and License wherever you use it.
