Yes, but rarely from uploading mixes: YouTube's Content ID matches the recordings in a mix, and the rights holders usually claim the video and either run ads and keep the money or block it. DJs earn through the YouTube Partner Program with videos they own the rights to, such as tutorials, gear explainers and their own productions, and put their mixes on a licensed service like Mixcloud instead.
What happens when you upload a mix
Every upload is scanned by Content ID, which compares it with a database of files that copyright owners have submitted. A match puts a claim on the video, and the owner chooses what happens to it:
- Block it, so it can't be watched.
- Monetise it, by running ads on it. YouTube says the owner is "sometimes sharing revenue with the uploader", which is the owner's choice, not yours.
- Track it, and watch its viewing figures.
The owner can choose differently by country, so a mix can play with ads in one country and be blocked in another. Every released record in a DJ mix is a possible match, so a mix of other people's music usually ends up earning for the labels and publishers, or not playing at all.
YouTube's page on claims lists what you can do about one: leave it, Erase song (mute the claimed song or all the audio), Trim out segment, Replace song with a track from the YouTube Audio Library, or Dispute the claim. It also describes sharing revenue with a music publisher, but its cover songs page explains that this is for cover songs you perform yourself, once the publisher who owns the composition claims them. A mix of the original recordings isn't a cover.
Dispute a claim only if you hold the rights to everything in the video. A claim on its own usually doesn't affect your channel, but a dispute without a valid reason can lead the owner to send a removal request, and that brings a copyright strike. A strike takes the video down. It expires after 90 days if you complete Copyright School, and with three active strikes your account and its channels are subject to termination.
Even a mix that stays up can stop a channel being monetised. YouTube's channel monetization policies list "collections of songs from different artists (even if you have their permission)" among the kinds of reused content that can't earn, and reviewers judge the channel as a whole, looking at its main theme, its most-watched and newest videos and its descriptions. A channel made mostly of mixes is the kind of channel that rule describes.
Join the YouTube Partner Program
Earning on YouTube runs through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). There are two levels, and both need you to follow the channel monetization policies, live in a country where YPP is available, have no active Community Guidelines strikes, turn on 2-Step Verification on your Google Account and have advanced features access on YouTube.
| Level | What you need | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Fan funding and Shopping | 500 subscribers and 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, plus either 3,000 watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days | Channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Jewels and gifts, and Shopping |
| Ad revenue | 1,000 subscribers, plus either 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days | A share of ad revenue and of YouTube Premium revenue, as well as the above |
Watch time on Shorts in the Shorts feed doesn't count towards the watch hours. The first level, which YouTube calls the expanded YouTube Partner Program, is open only in listed countries; the US and UK are among them. Below the thresholds, YouTube can still show ads on your videos, but you get no share of that money.
To apply:
- Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture and select YouTube Studio.
- In the left menu, click Earn.
- Select Apply Now, then click Start to review and accept the Base terms.
- Click Start to set up an AdSense for YouTube account, or link an active one you already have.
The Get Reviewed step then shows In Progress, and YouTube says a decision usually takes about a month. YouTube has announced updated YPP terms from 1 February 2027; members need to accept them in YouTube Studio by 31 January 2027 to keep full monetisation.
Videos a DJ can monetise
The videos that can earn are the ones whose sound and pictures you own or have licensed. For a DJ, that means:
- Tutorials. Teaching a technique, such as beatmatching, transitions or a software setup. Any recording you don't own can be matched and claimed, so demonstrate with tracks you have the rights to or with music from the YouTube Audio Library.
- Gear and software explainers. Setting up a controller, comparing two mixers, or walking through a feature, with your voice carrying the video.
- Your own productions, edits and remixes you have cleared. A track you wrote and released yourself is yours to monetise; an unofficial remix of someone else's song isn't.
- Performances with music you own or have licensed, including tracks from the YouTube Audio Library.
Before you apply, open Content in YouTube Studio, click the filter bar and choose Claims, per YouTube's claims page, to see which of your videos carry claims. Reviewers judge the whole channel, so deal with those before you apply.
Where to put your mixes instead
Upload recorded mixes to Mixcloud, which says it is licensed with labels and publishers and lets mixes stay up within its Featured Artist Rules; SoundCloud asks for permission from the rights holder of every track. The SoundCloud vs Mixcloud comparison sets out both services' rules. For live sets, Twitch's opt-in DJ Program and Mixcloud Live let you stream DJ sets, while YouTube scans live streams too and can interrupt or end one that plays other people's music; the livestreaming guide covers each platform and the setup.
A channel can link to both. Put the mix on Mixcloud and the tutorial or behind-the-scenes video on YouTube, where it can earn. For the music itself, see the best DJ pools.
How this page is made
Every rule and threshold on this page comes from YouTube's own help pages, read on 13 October 2026 and linked where they are used. YouTube changes its programme terms, so check the linked pages before you apply. There are no earnings figures here, because none could be sourced for DJ channels. We haven't run a monetised DJ channel for this page. The methodology explains how the site works.
