Is it legal to show an album on a Youtube Video?

Im currently working on a channel on Yt which does album reviews and I've gone from just speaking to do it in person on webcam and I am hoping at some point to go for a Yt partnership as I've always been good at bringing people in on good music.

Though I am well aware I can not obtain this privelage while I have videos with the actual album art in them or songs which I would no doubt remove these videos.

But during my webcam videos I wish to just briefly show the album (not songs) but the actual album itself if you don't quite get what I mean here is a link of a video of which I done doing this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNfoKLtJCeE So I was thinking if that is not legal than just about anything you possess and show (even without trying) would be illegal for example your wearing a branded shirt in your video so you can not go for the Yt Program because the design does not specifically belong to you, there is a painting on your wall which you bought, you have a poster in the background ect.

the requirements for the program are the following from Youtube.

To become a YouTube Partner, you must meet these minimum requirements:
•You create original videos suitable for online streaming.
•You own or have express permission to use and monetize all audio and video content that you upload—no exceptions.
•You regularly upload videos that are viewed by thousands of YouTube users, or you publish popular or commercially successful videos in other ways (such as DVDs sold online).

Please note: all uploaded videos are subject to the YouTube Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.

Im confident that I do not breach any of the following with the video that I had posted above ^
But I feel that I am better off grabbing more opinions than just my own.

So fello Q/A'ers is this legal?

Well if you have tried contacting them and aren't playing the actual content only promoting albums then you could try the asking for forgiveness tactic.

• write an email saying "can I do X, please tell me if it's an issue, I intend to start on Y date" ... Thus they know
• continue on as stated, if they ask resend the email with the date.

BUT ensure your not crossing copyright directly with a lawyer first ... If you know one the cheapest way is to clarify it over lunch or a drink or two.

IANAL but the album cover should fall under fair use guidelines. Specifically, it does not infringe upon the copyright holder's abilities (in fact you can easily argue the opposite). Indeed, your usage would be a "fair and reasonable criticism".

That said, while fair use is an affirmative defense against a copyright infringement suit, it does not prevent YouTube from taking these videos down or the copyright holder from bringing a suit, should they wish.

Just today our YouTube partnership application got approved. Before you get started showing ads, you have to agree to their terms. They are very particular about any kind of "borrowed" content be it music, images, a 5 sec clip of 3rd party video, lyrics of a song written by someone else even if you give attribution. The content should be solely created by you or you should have 100% rights for the content.

Bottom line is -

If you think your content may be
violating YouTube's content, it is.

As for your specific case, in my opinion, it may not qualify for partnership program but as others suggested you can always ask them. (expect a delayed response though). All the best!

Wait, so you're asking to show a physical copy of the album and it's subsequent artwork in your Youtube videos? Of course you're allowed to do that, you're not reproducing the CD or its artwork and I would honestly be surprised if you were violating any kind of law or infringing upon anyone's copyright.