As a music distribution company, you may get artists wanting to release a cover song online. However there are things they will need to consider when wanting to record their version of another artist’s song. We recommend reading through this article first to get a better understanding of what your clients will need to release a cover.
What is a cover song?
A cover is an artist’s own version of someone else’s song. This can include the lyrics, melody or both. The cover can be true to the original or your own interpretation, bringing new life to an older song.
What is needed to release a cover song?
Ideally, because the artist is re-recording another artist’s song, they would have proof of permission to do so. However, most artist’s won’t be able to get direct permission, so we recommend obtaining a cover license.
What is a cover licence?
Every song has 2 types of copyright attached to it. The first is the master copyright, also referred to as the sound recording. This is usually owned by the person or company who financed the recording of the track, so if an independent artist records their own version of a song, then the master copyright is likely owned by them.
The second type of copyright is the publishing or composition copyright. This is what protects the lyrics, melody, notes, rhythm and harmonies. When you cover someone else’s song, as you have not written it yourself you are therefore using someone else’s publishing copyright. A cover licence is needed to ensure an artist has permission from the original owner of the publishing copyright to distribute their own version of the track.
Who pays for the cover license?
Streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer will pay the cover licence fee to the original publishing copyright owner. This means that artists don’t need to obtain a cover licence if they choose to distribute to streaming platforms only.
However, if an artist wants to also include download platforms like iTunes and Amazon, they will be required to obtain and present cover licence. This licence will allow them to have their cover song downloaded a certain number of times. Once the download limit is reached, the license will need to be renewed.
Where can I get a cover license?
We recommend obtaining cover licenses from our preferred partners at Affordable Song Licensing. Affordable Song Licensing is an artist-operated cover song licensing agency that has the lowest fees online. For more information on licensing, you can visit their website here.