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The law allows anyone to record a song previously made available to the public. In other words, no one can stop you from recording a cover version of a well-know song-you just need to pay for the mechanical right to copy the song. The maximum rate publishers can ask for songs under five minutes. It doesn't matter if you intend to give your version of the song away for free or use it as a promo; the compulsory license must paid for each copy. A copy of a song is a copy, and to avoid an infringement claim, you're supposed to obtain a license. Note that although a mechanical license allows you to record a cover, it does not allow you to make significant changes to the song-a derivative version. What constitutes a derivative version as opposed to a cover version is up in the air, but in general it means you can change the style and the genre to make it your own, but can't change the basic melody or a substantial part of the lyrics. Also, obtaining a mechanical license does not allow you to do anything with the original sound recording of the song. That's a different license, obtained from the sound-recording owner. You must clear cover versions ahead of your release. It's not something you can do after the fact since after the fact you will be in violation of the copyright. To clear a cover song for your album, follow these steps: 1. Determine how you will make your cover song available to the public. You will need to pay a separate license fee for each method you make your song available: Digital download, physical Cd's,ringtones, and interactive streaming. 2. Determine the number of copies you'll make of the cover song. You will need to pay a fee for each copy. 3. Know the royalty fees you'll need to pay. For Cd's, you'll need to pay a royalty for each CD you make whether it's for sale or given away for free. If you make a thousand Cd's of an album containing one cover song that's under five minutes in length, you will need to pay ninety one dollars. One thousand Cd's time 9.1 cents per song. For digital downloads, the rates are the same; however, they're calculated by downloads, not pressings. Plus you'll need to estimate how many you think you'll sell. For example, if you had one cover song under five minutes in length available and you estimate it'll be downloadable three-hundred times through the retailer, the amount you would owe would be $27.30( 300 album downloads time 9.1 cents per song). Additionally, if your cover songs are available as singles, the same rate applies to all downloaded single tracks of the song. 4. Clear the rights yourself or use a service to help you. Try one of the following methods: Contact the publisher of the composition and work out a deal yourself. You can find the publisher's contact information by checking the U.S. Copyright Office online database, searching the internet, or checking the CD booklet if you have the album of the song on hand. You can also check the three PRO's or Harry Fox online databases. Once you have the publishers contact information, you can contact them. Keep in mind publishers are limited by the statutory rate, so that's the maximum they can go. If you get anything under that rat, you've gotten a bargain. Ricky Perry is a freelancer,infopreneur,professional lyricist, and author of The World's Largest & Most Effective Learn How To Rap Tutorial Guide. http://www.learnhowtoorap.com/
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