If you need to remove the original audio from a video you’ve already uploaded — or one you’re about to — here’s the reliable way to do it.
Option 1: Remove Audio From an Already-Uploaded Video
- Go to YouTube Studio and open the video from the Content tab.
- Click Editor in the left menu.
- Select the Audio tool.
- Use the volume slider for the original track and drag it down to mute the existing audio, or replace it with a track from YouTube’s royalty-free audio library.
- Save changes — YouTube will reprocess the video with the new audio settings.
Option 2: Remove Audio Before Uploading
For more control, mute or delete the audio track in a video editor before uploading — free tools like CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or even VLC’s basic conversion features can strip audio from a video file entirely.
Should You Actually Remove the Audio?
Worth considering before you do: removing all audio (including any spoken narration) can make instructional or tutorial content harder to follow, and it removes the option for viewers who rely on audio to understand your video. If your goal is just to remove background music (for copyright reasons, for example) rather than all sound, YouTube Studio’s Audio tool also lets you mute only the detected music track while keeping spoken dialogue intact, when YouTube’s Content ID system can isolate it.
Related: See how to add text to a video and how long YouTube takes to process a video.
FAQ
Can I remove audio without re-uploading a video?
Yes, YouTube Studio’s built-in Editor lets you mute or replace audio on an already-published video.
Will removing audio hurt accessibility?
Yes, if it removes spoken narration — consider muting only background music if that’s your actual goal.