Music Publishing and Copyright: Cover Songs - TuneCore

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3 Copyright Law and similar laws in other countries. If you would like to learn more about the United States Copyright Law, please go to: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci Only the owner of the song has the right to reproduce or make copies of his or her song. The owner also has the right to grant permission to others to reproduce or make copies of his or her song. So, before you can record and make copies of someone else’s song, you need to get permission from the owner. You get that permission by getting a license, just like you get permission to drive by obtaining a driver’s license. This license is called a mechanical license. By getting this mechanical license from the songwriter or from a music publishing company acting on behalf of the songwriter, you will then have permission to record, reproduce or make copies of the song. publishing companies A word about music publishing companies and the ownership of songs - The songwriter is the owner of the song. But most songwriters do not look after the rights to their songs. Issuing licenses for the use of a song, collecting the royalties, accounting, etc. is a lot of work. This kind of work is called administration. In most cases, songwriters have music publishing companies do this administration for them. But in many cases, the songwriter sells the song to the music publisher. In this case, of course, the music publisher is the owner of the song and the rights that go with it. But whether the music publishing company owns the song or administers the rights to the song on behalf of the songwriter, the music publishing company will issue the mechanical license. To sum up : getting a mechanical license gives you permission to reproduce (copy) the song. Of course, in using TuneCore, the song is being reproduced digitally, but it’s the same principle : every time someone downloads the song, a copy is made.
who gets paid For every copy sold, the songwriter or publisher must be paid. The amount required to be paid for the sale of each copy of a “composition” is called the mechanical royalty. The royalty rate is established by the Copyright Royalty Board of the Library Of Congress; a government agency empowered by Congress to determine the royalty rate. The royalty rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board is called the “statutory rate.” Statutory is a fancy legal word meaning required by law. So, the rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board is the statutory mechanical royalty rate. The current statutory mechanical royalty rate that must be paid to the song owner or publisher is 9.1 cents ($.091) per copy. When you record a cover song, every time that recording sells, you owe the songwriter or publisher 9.1 cents. All mechanical licenses will specify this rate. Sometimes the rate is specified in pennies; otherwise the license will specify the “statutory rate.” In some cases, you can negotiate with the songwriter or publisher for a lower rate, but unless you can demonstrate that you will have enormous sales, the likelihood of getting a lower rate is slim. Finally, the rate does not remain static or permanent. In fact, as I write this in February 2008, the Copyright Royalty Board is considering a change in the statutory rate. compulsory licenses A word about the “Compulsory License.” You may have heard of something called a “compulsory license.” The U. S. Copyright Law allows you to get a “compulsory license” in lieu of getting a mechanical license directly from the publisher or songwriter. But this method is a lot more work. Using this method entails specific requirements for notifying the song owner and stringent requirements for accounting. And you will still pay the full statutory mechanical royalty rate. It is not recommended that you try this method. The best and easiest way to get a mechanical license is from the songwriter or the publisher directly. 4
Page 2 and 3: 1 THE BASICS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
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Page 8 and 9: 7 BE YOUR OWN RECORD LABEL BY TUNEC

Music Publishing and Copyright: Cover Songs - TuneCore

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