Q: Hello!Is it legal to use the LYRICS ONLY of a song in a YouTube video? As in, a cappella only my own voice?

A: If you are seeking to use the captions from a YouTube video as your own lyrics, this may be considered copyright infringement if you are not using the captions for a different purpose, such as for education or commentary purposes in Fair Use.

Captions to a YouTube video are justified for educational purposes as Fair Use. However, if you seek to then adopt those captions as your own lyrics, unless it is plainly for a different purpose of which the words were written, it may be considered copying the original elements of that work.

If you are seeking to simply make a recording or sing another artist's work, who has written the lyrics and/or melody, then this would be considered a 'cover' and you would own the copyright of a second copyright, which is simply the sound recording or publishing of your acapella performance. Any royalties derived from your cover would be due to yourself, however any royalties derived from the lyrics would remain with the original artist of the pop song.

Consider our post where we compare the master rights of the lyrics and melody of the song 'Hallelujah' composed by Leonard Cohen, to the cover of the same lyrics and/or melody by Jeff Buckley:

https://posts.gle/FdnNLZ

A: Singing the lyrics of a copyrighted song in your YouTube video can still be a legal issue. Even if you’re not using the original instrumental or recording, the lyrics themselves are protected by copyright. This means the copyright owner has control over how the lyrics are reproduced, including in a video where you sing them a cappella.

YouTube’s Content ID system might not always catch this right away, but that doesn’t mean it’s allowed. If the copyright holder finds your video and decides to file a claim, they can take it down, demonetize it, or even strike your channel. Some artists and labels are stricter than others, so you might get away with it sometimes, but it’s a risk.

If you want to be safe, you could look into covers of songs where the lyrics are allowed under a license, or stick to songs in the public domain. You could also check YouTube’s policies and see if the song’s rights holder allows covers without issue. While many creators do sing lyrics without immediate consequences, it's good to know that copyright law technically still applies.