Evidence Gathering for DMCA Takedowns — A Composer’s Guide

What a takedown actually requires

A DMCA takedown notice must satisfy six statutory requirements:

1. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
2. Identification of the infringing material with enough detail for the platform to locate it.
3. A statement of good faith belief that the use is unauthorised.
4. A statement of accuracy under penalty of perjury.
5. Contact information for the complainant.
6. A physical or electronic signature.

Each requirement maps to a piece of evidence. If any one is missing or weak, the takedown fails — and the platform is not obligated to act.

The evidence checklist

For identifying the work

• ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) — 12 characters. Most platforms accept this as primary identification.
• Composer + Title + Release Date — fallback if ISRC is not available.
• A link to the original release — your Bandcamp page, your store page, your SoundCloud.
• A snapshot (PDF, screenshot) of the work being hosted at your URL.

For locating the infringing material

• Exact URL of the infringing content. Not the search URL, not the channel URL, not the playlist URL.
• The timestamp at which the infringement occurs (for video content).
• Title and uploader handle as cross-checks.
• A screenshot of the infringing content so it can be verified offline.

For the good-faith statement

• A simple declaration that you own the work or are authorised to act on behalf of the owner.
• Reference to evidence linking the work to your authorship.

For the accuracy statement

• The standard text published in the platform’s form is sufficient. (You don’t have to draft it from scratch.)

For the contact information

• Name, address, email, phone — typical contact card.
• If you’re acting on behalf of an authorised agent (a publisher, a manager, a distributor), state their name and your relationship to them.

For signature

• Most platforms accept a typed full name as the signature block.

Common failure modes

• Wrong URL. Pasted a search URL instead of the video URL.
• Wrong work identified. Identified a track that doesn’t match the fingerprint the infringer is using.
• Missing timestamp. For a video that uses a sample, the platform may not know where the infringement is without a timestamp.
• Missing original file. Without the original, the platform may reject the claim.
• Counter-notice chaos. The infringer counter-notices and you didn’t respond.

How to make this easy

Tools like LicenseTrack keep the evidence tied to each match (URL, timestamp, evidence file, cross-references), so when you’re ready to file, the form is mostly pre-filled. The platform-specific fields (the work description, the contact info) are the only manual parts.

Internal links

• See how LicenseTrack covers YouTube.
• Read about the repeat-infringer playbook.
• Catch every match on TikTok.