After a release goes live, many artists find their songs on YouTube without having uploaded anything: each song plays over the cover art, under a channel called "Artist Name - Topic". These are Art Tracks and a topic channel. Both are created by YouTube, not by you.
What each one is
| Art Track | Topic channel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A YouTube version of one track: the recording with the cover art | A channel titled "Artist Name - Topic", marked "auto-generated by YouTube" |
| Who creates it | YouTube, automatically, from the release a label or distributor delivers | YouTube, automatically |
| Where it appears | Album playlists and search results | YouTube search and the artist's collections |
Why the same song can appear twice
YouTube creates one Art Track for each unique combination of ISRC, release identifier (such as the UPC) and delivering partner. A song released as a single and again on an album has the same ISRC but two UPCs, so it gets two Art Tracks. That is expected, not a duplicate upload.
Why comments are off
Comments can appear on an Art Track only if the artist has an Official Artist Channel with comments allowed. Without one, comments on the artist's Art Tracks are off. The channel owner can remove individual comments once they are on.
What to do with the topic channel
YouTube's advice to artists with a topic channel is to set up an Official Artist Channel. Once it exists, subscribers to the topic channel move to it, and the topic channel stays searchable without a subscribe button. Our guide to the Official Artist Channel lists the requirements and who requests it.
With Mazufa
Releasing with Mazufa is free: no upload fee, no subscription and no per-release fee, with the revenue share set out in your written agreement. Eligible releases are delivered to YouTube with their ISRCs and UPC, which is what YouTube uses to build your Art Tracks. Apply at mazufa.com/apply.
Sources
- YouTube Help, Topic channels — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7636475
- YouTube Help, Art Tracks — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6007071
On the limits of this guide. It restates YouTube's published help pages on the date of this guide; YouTube can change how these features work.