YouTube Shorts music: the 90-second rule and a generated bed option
YouTube says most songs cover up to 90 seconds of a 3-minute Short, some only 60 or 30. A Sume Music Router bed costs $0.125; check rights in Studio.
YouTube's Help page says Shorts can run up to three minutes, and that on standard channels most songs can be used for up to 90 seconds of a 3-minute Short, with some tracks limited to 60 or 30 seconds (read 2026-10-03). If your Short is longer than the song allows, you can lay down a generated bed instead. Sume's Music Router makes one at a fixed $0.125 per generation. Sume cannot tell you how YouTube will treat the result, so check the rights status in YouTube Studio.
What YouTube says
The same page says the Audio Library is royalty-free and brings no Content ID claims, and that a Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim is blocked globally. Those are YouTube's statements, and its page is the source for them.
| Topic | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Shorts length | Up to three minutes |
| Songs on standard channels | Most up to 90 seconds of a 3-minute Short; some 60 or 30 seconds |
| Audio Library | Royalty-free, no Content ID claims |
| Over one minute with a Content ID claim | Blocked globally |
| Sume Music Router | Fixed $0.125 per generation; prompt 1 to 5,000 characters |
Making a bed that matches the length
Music Router has no duration fields, so say in the prompt how long and what mood, then trim to the Short's length when you mix. Use Timeline with soundtrack, a fade_out_seconds of up to 10 and duck_db so the bed drops under the voice. See Music Router for the models.
Sources
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Written by Sume