There can be many benefits to releasing a cover songas an independent artist but the process of doing so legallycan make things complex. We’ll secure the license for you, and make sure all royalties are paid to the publisher correctly – forever. That no longer seems to be the case, and only Distrokid offers this service at an annual fee of $12 per song. There's a law in the United States that dictates how earnings from cover songs need to be be shared with the original songwriter. Playnetwork : worldwide found … Cover Song Licensing Made Easy World’s only free cover song distribution service, with over 54 digital stores and super fast licensing time Instead of jumping through hoops, I upload to one place & collect my earnings. DistroKid is fantastic at taking the headaches out of putting my music online. For more background about digital distribution, please read my another post: How to Release Your Music on Spotify and Apple Music? We will: A "cover song" is a song that you performed & recorded yourself, but the music was written by someone else. You can look into purchasing a mechanical license for a cover song in the US from The Harry Fox Agency or our partner company, TuneLicensing. We'll automatically deduct the legally-mandated fee (9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time or fractionthereof, whichever is larger) from your earnings and pay it to the original songwriter. In days gone by, both Distrokid and CD Baby offered a cover song licensing service. Can I Upload Songs That Are in the Public Domain? There are two cover song licensing services which let you apply for a license to record a cover song. Important: derivative works, … Each time you upload a song to DistroKid, you'll see a checkbox to specify whether you wrote the song (an "original"), or someone else wrote it (a "cover"). Please note: Securing cover song licenses can take up to 14 business days. CD Baby had this option, but removed it. If you’re releasing onlyto major interactive streaming platforms, then you may not have to secure a license because most of these companies pay HFA or MRI already. If you’re planning to do a cover of a popular song, chances are that … This is a HUGE help, and has saved me untold hours of dealing with legal documents. If you have any cover songs recorded, Distrokid can help you release them. This is totally okay—DistroKid makes it easy and legal to sell cover songs. Distrokid musician vs musician plus / distrokid change record label. Introduce yourself and let them know you are interested in recording a cover of their song. What is a Mechanical License? Log In Sign Up. My Music Contains Sampling from Other Songs. This is because the DistroKid needs to ensure that the songwriters are being paid their share. For example, when your band plays "Smooth Criminal" (written by Michael Jackson). This is a HUGE help, and has saved me untold hours of dealing with legal documents. What happened to CD Baby’s Cover Song Licensing service? Cover song licensing - Distrokid vs Soundrop Pricing - YouTube Can I Contact DistroKid. Please refer to the section for details. Step 2: Get a unique code to distinguish your recording. Jul 31, 2019 - Yes, with some exceptions.Some examples of songs that may be licensed: A song that was released at one point on iTunes and/or Amazon... More information Cover song licensing on Distrokid Table of Contents CD Baby EmuBands DistroKid … The best feature, in my opinion, is the cover song license system. DistroKid will obtain the required compulsory mechanical license for you. How does Distrokid work? There are many benefits to releasing a cover song as an independent artist. On squarespace, sell music to the stats on a complaint with the customer service, and it seems like cdbaby. For future releases, we recommend you secure your mechanical licenses via Easy Song Licensing. These licenses pay 9.1 cents to the songwriter per download (or physical purchase of the album.) Each time you upload a song to DistroKid, you'll see a checkbox to specify whether you wrote the song (an "original"), or someone else wrote it (a "cover"). You don't have to do anything else. Yes, with some exceptions.Some examples of songs that may be licensed: Some examples of songs that may NOT be licensed: DistroKid charges a fee of $12 per year, renewed annually, to manage each cover song for you. You'll get 100% of the rest. Let them know the format you plan to use (CD, tape, video, etc.) Where can I get a license to record a cover song? Including a cover song on your album If you’re planning to release your own version of a song on your next album, you’ll need a mechanical license. The situation: I am releasing an album of 8 songs. The company does this by filing your cover licenses on your behalf and submitting payments to the rights holders for you. This service will cost you $12 a year, plus the royalties will be deducted from your earnings. and the number of copies you intend to make and distribute. You will need an additional license if you choose to physically distribute your cover song. Visit the following websites for more information: Songfile: This cover song licensing service offers mechanical licensing information and tools. For example, if you upload the same cover song twice, you need to select the “Cover Song” option both times, essentially buying two licenses. Sorry, but you still must opt into DistroKid's license anyway. DistroKid is fantastic at taking the headaches out of putting my music online. If you're interested in the details, click here for some light reading (sarcasm). Providing further conversions and you already taken out. DistroKid will then automatically withdraw the legally required amount from your earnings (usually 9.1 cents per sale in the U.S.) and send it to the original songwriter. So if you want to cover an obscure German band (with no US representation) or a hot indie act out of Boston who doesn’t have a publisher, you wouldn’t be able to through HFA. Is That Okay? Distrokid works with over 150 stores, which … HFA represents most publishers (in America), but not all. Not opting covers into DistroKid's cover song licensing program can lead to stores taking down your content--or worse--songwriters taking legal action. This is a very important difference between the PROs and streaming distributors like Distrokid: while Distrokid distributes royalties based on the number of plays, BMI and ASCAP calculate their royalties based on the percentage of plays you got compared to everyone else. Why Am I Required to Purchase My Cover Song License Through DistroKid? Soundrop makes this easy. Distrokid’s add-on service so you be patient, i’ll show up your stem — for indie artists out of profits from tunecore. Why Am I Required to Purchase My Cover Song License Through DistroKid? 9. This is especially true in the streaming realm where the license required to clear a cover is different than that of physical distribution. That’s how our system knows to deduct the songwriter’s share of earnings from your earnings (for both uploads of that song, in this example). But there is a bit of hassle to sometimes get the copyright and legal issues processed. Releases with cover songs will be submitted as soon as the license is approved by our third-party licensing service. Take a look at this article for more details on music licensing and copyright. My Music Contains Sampling from Other Songs. But please note that U.S. copyright law does not permit derivative works such as original-language translations of copyrighted lyrics. While releasing your cover song with DistroKid, you’ll have to file the cover license with them only. Except when distrokid cover songs you through them is about what streaming growth ambition but it will expand globally. And four years, contracts and even fan of the distrokid change album art time and its job’the day, the lyric-syncing process for you go, hmmm as well as publisher/label so it’s material to streaming services. Both Landr and Soundrop (listed in the middle part of the article) offer cover song licensing for a one-off fee. Cover Song Licensing: $12 per cover song/year If you’re a musician trying to build a career off of recording other people’s songs, DistroKid can help you do it. Do I Have to Purchase a Cover License Through DistroKid If I Already Have a License From Another Agency? And if you already have a license to distribute the cover song? A song that appeared on a limited pressing of vinyl, which you can purchase at a record store in the United States, A song that was made available as a promotional music download on the artist’s website, A song that was used in a film score, but itself was never released separately from the soundtrack, A song that appeared in a video game, but itself was never released separately from the game soundtrack, A song that was released as part of a CD compilation, but only in some country that was not the United States, An old traditional song that is now in the public domain, Pay the original songwriter(s) every month, Keep up-to-date on copyright laws affecting your music. Cover song licenses. For example if I recorded my own cover of blink 182s "what's my age again" and credit the original authors in the Metadata, do I need to buy a mechanical license to release it exclusively on Spotify If you plan on distributing a cover song with TuneCore, you will need to obtain a mechanical license from the original copyright holder before you release your song digitally. Of these, 6 are previously released original singles and 2 are unreleased covers. I read somewhere Spotify pays for covers. Is That Okay? I will go straight into these distributors. Therefore, you will have to go to one of the external services they suggest to license cover tracks. CD Baby no longer licenses cover songs directly, but we'll continue to support and pay mechanical royalties for all tracks that were previously licensed through our cover song licensing service. We have NO upfront or annual fee for distributing original music, and you can license covers (FOREVER) for a one-time fee of $9.99 per song. You always keep 85% of your net digital revenue and are free to release as much music as you want without worrying about the rising or repeating costs of keeping your catalog available online. It costs $12 per year, per cover song for Distrokid to manage cover songs for you. The reason is because we have no way of confirming that the original songwriter is getting paid their legally-required share--unless we're the ones paying them. Just click the box on our upload form specifying that it's a cover song, and for a small fee ($12 per cover song, renewed annually, as of this writing). Creating a cover version of your favourite song is … DistroKid will then automatically withdraw the legally required amount from your earnings (usually 9.1 cents per sale in the U.S.) and send it to the original songwriter. For more information about uploading arrangements of works in the public domain, please check out the FAQ article here.Please don't include the original artist's name in the track title. Provide your … Just click the box on our upload form specifying that it's a cover song, and for a small fee ($12 per cover song, renewed annually, as of this writing). A mechanical license for cover songs gives you the right to reproduce and distribute a copyrighted song on a permanent digital download. Ask them to reply to you with the fees that will be charged and to forward you a copy of any standard mechanical license agreement they use. Furthermore, DistroKid licenses apply only to content directly distributed by DistroKid, and cannot be used for any purposes outside of DistroKid. Is it necessary to get licenses to release cover songs if I plan to only release them on Spotify? Since not everyone reports … They won’t accept a license from other companies. Under U.S. copyright law, cover (aka "compulsory") licenses only provide coverage if the main elements of the song, original lyrics & melody, remain fundamentally unaltered within the new sound recording. Definitely secure a license if you’re releasing a cover song as a digital download. Automatically deduct the legally-mandated fee of 9.1¢ per song sold in the U.S. from your earnings and pay it to the original songwriter. Can I Contact DistroKid? If you release a cover, remix or a song that uses samples, it's likely you will need to purchase a license before releasing your music to avoid any possible legal action from the original copyright holders. * *The mechanical license provided by Royalty Solutions only covers digital downloads. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Using this service will cost $16 per track. Due to some … Press J to jump to the feed. This option used to be built into both CD Baby and DistroKid, so there was no contest. Is That Okay? We are not lawyers and can't help with legal advice. $12 per cover song license Distrokid will take care of getting you the license so that you can distribute a song that isn’t yours. It is your responsibility to ensure that your song would be covered under the compulsory mechanical license. Can I release these … For more information about purchasing cover song licenses through DistroKid, please see this article. Releases with cover songs will be submitted as soon as the license is approved by our third-party licensing … The good news is that DistroKid makes easy to upload covers, such that you never have to think about it. Thankfully there are services out there that can take care of the hassle for you. Instead of jumping through hoops, I upload to one place & collect my earnings. For example, GOOD TRACK TITLE Enter Sandman  BAD TRACK TITLE Enter Sandman (originally performed by Metallica)Enter Sandman by MetallicaFor more information about purchasing cover song licenses through DistroKid, please see this article. The best feature, in my opinion, is the cover song license system. A song that was released at one point on iTunes and/or Amazon MP3. There's a law in t... Full article… My Music Contains Sampling from Other Songs. User account menu • I pay the monthly fee for distrokid to license/distribute two cover songs on spotify. You'll get 100% of the rest. And nobody wants that. In these cases, being a popular artist with the hottest new song is an advantage. However, in recent years CD Baby removed thei… This is a copyright thing and affects all distributors, not just DistroKid. DistroKid takes care of your cover song licensing fee for $12 per song yearly. You must purchase a DistroKid cover license each and every time you upload a cover song to DistroKid. 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