how to get permission to record a cover song

If the publisher doesn’t hold rights to license the music, they will let you know. CONTACT THE PUBLISHER! He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. In most cases, you will need permission to make a cover song. You can still do research to check (you could ask the artist, if they're alive, or the publisher for instance), but it's safest not to assume something is in the public domain just because you can't find something saying otherwise - copyright is applied automatically in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and elsewhere, and does not have to be registered or listed anywhere to be enforceable. Follow us and get more. If the label doesn’t list a publisher and only lists a copyright owner, contact the copyright owner. The royalty rules are different based on the medium (live or recorded), but you never need an artist's permission to cover a song. To license a cover version, first find out the composers and publishers of your cover tune. YouTube will simply pay royalties to the publisher from revenue generated from the ads displayed on your videos. If this is your case, then you can opt for royalty-free music. From Whom Do I Need To Get Permission to Record and Release a Cover Song? a live version and studio cut) you will need to obtain two separate mechanical licenses. For example, if you want to cover a work Songtrust currently administers, you can email us directly to obtain a mechanical license instead of going through a 3rd party service like the Harry Fox Agency. It's usually listed in the album credits in the original (or cover) version of a song. Table of ContentsA Brief Intro … If you record a cover arrangement of ANY KIND, you need to 1. ask permission to use AND/OR 2. be granted a license to use it from the songwriter or the publisher (or both). In most cases, you can acquire this license from your local mechanical licensing agency, such as The Harry Fox Agency in the US. Is it illegal? When making a video, most of us love adding music to perfect it. Do an online search for “mechanical license for music” to locate some. When to get permission. First steps – find the composer and publisher. But if you want to use a song owned by a record label, you must get ready to consult with the copyright holder. THE 4-STEP PROCESS: GETTING PERMISSION TO RECORD A COVER SONG Contact copyright owner with intent to record Copyright owner issues license Pay license fee (Statutory Rate) Record & release song! Using this service will cost $16 per track. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/8a\/Get-Rights-to-Cover-a-Song-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Get-Rights-to-Cover-a-Song-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/8a\/Get-Rights-to-Cover-a-Song-Step-1.jpg\/aid6878068-v4-728px-Get-Rights-to-Cover-a-Song-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"