Video training data
Raw and edited video: unpublished creator footage, stock and archive libraries, broadcast archives, drone, 4K and specialist footage.
- Measured in
- Minutes or hours, plus resolution, frame rate and subject categories.
- Who buys
- Video generation labs, multimodal model builders and robotics teams.
- Where it comes from
- Creators and production companies, stock libraries, broadcasters, agencies and archives.
- Rights to clear
- Model and location releases, music licenses, commissioning contracts and platform exclusivity.
- Privacy
- Identifiable people need releases; faces of bystanders may need blurring for some buyers.
- Pricing signal
- $1 to $4 per minute reported by Bloomberg (2025); $2 to $4 per short video and $100 to $300 per hour for longer films reported by Reuters (2024).
- Video model builders license footage they cannot scrape: unpublished, high-resolution and with clear rights.
- Bloomberg reported AI companies paying $1 to $4 per minute of footage in January 2025, with 4K, drone and 3D work at the top of the range.
- Most video licenses forbid creating digital replicas of identifiable people and copying a creator's exact scenes.
- Rights to every person, location and piece of music in the footage decide what can be licensed.
What the market pays
Two reports give the clearest public reference points:
- Bloomberg reported that AI companies were paying creators $1 to $4 per minute of footage, typically $1 to $2 for standard unpublished footage and more for 4K, drone or 3D animation. One intermediary, Troveo, said it had paid creators more than $5 million (Bloomberg via The Star).
- Reuters reported Defined.ai paying $2 to $4 per short-form video and $100 to $300 per hour for longer films (Reuters via The Star).
These are reported ranges, not a rate card. Exclusivity, subject matter and metadata can move a deal well outside them.
What buyers look for
- Unpublished footage. Material never posted online is new information for a model; most deals require it.
- High quality. Resolution, stable exposure and minimal compression.
- Subject variety and labels. Descriptions of what is in each clip (actions, objects, camera motion) add value.
- Clean rights. No unlicensed music, logos used deliberately or unreleased people in focus.
Typical license restrictions
Creator deals commonly forbid creating digital replicas of the creator, mimicking exact scenes from their channel, or using the footage in ways that harm their reputation (Bloomberg via The Star). Expect similar clauses whether you are a creator or a production company.
Preparing a video library
Build a manifest with clip IDs, duration, resolution, capture date, subject tags and rights status per clip. Separate fully released footage from footage with open questions, and license the cleared part first.
Questions
How much can I get for my unused footage?
Reported rates have ranged from $1 to $4 per minute, with higher rates for 4K, drone and specialist footage. Your total depends on volume, quality, exclusivity and rights.
Does footage I already posted on YouTube count?
Most buyers want unpublished footage, because published video may already have been collected. Posted footage is worth much less, if anything.
Will an AI company make a digital copy of me?
Reputable deals forbid it. Make sure your license explicitly bans digital replicas and voice or likeness cloning.
Related guides
Related data types
Sources
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