If I mute a copyrighted song in a YouTube video and "save as" will I lose the URL?

Question

We have a video up online for which we bought a license for the song, but the period of time for which we paid is over. I wanted to mute the video. YouTube even provides the option to remove the song. The problem is, it is not letting me save that, rather I have to "save as", it says:

You can't save these changes to this video because it has received too many views. You may save changes into a new video by using Save As.

What does this mean?

We will again buy a license for the song, but does it mean I can not mute is for a certain amount of time?

I don't want to "save as" and lose all the views.

The other option seems to be making the video private in the meanwhile, but that implies that from wherever it's linked, they will get a "broken" link.

• Am I understanding this problem correctly?
• Is there any alternative?
• If I "save as" can a later resume the original video if I again buy the license?

Answer 1

What does [the video received too many views] mean?

There are restrictions on views and video length for YouTube's enhancement and editing features.

Am I understanding this problem correctly?

If you "save as", you make a new video while preserving the current video as-is. The new one won't have any views.

Is there any alternative?

Getting a license for perpetual use (or at least a "valid until you stop paying" one) is something you generally want to do for online stuff, links breaking is never a good user experience. There are also plenty of sources which have music available for free.

If I "save as" can a later resume the original video if I again buy the license?

As before: Save as makes a new copy while leaving the current one intact. So yes, you can make it public again after you pay again.