Legality of releasing covers?

[JeffTD]

Someone here has got to know, but I couldn't find anything when I searched.

My band is incredibly and groundbreakingly original in that we have a pop-punk cover of a rap/hiphop song that was huge hit this past year, and we're trying to figure out how to go about releasing the recorded version. The goal isn't to make money off it, but just have people hear it since it goes over really well at shows.

I was thinking that instead of releasing it on iTunes with the rest of the album later this year, we could just put it on the MySpace or offer it as a free download for people who bought the album, so we wouldn't be profiting directly from it.

What do I need to do in order to cross our T's and dot our I's, from a legal standpoint? I know that we're so small a band it probably would go unnoticed even if we put it up for sale on iTunes, but I'd really like to do this as legitimately as possible.

 

[ahjteam]

see the dio tribute thread, there is a lot of stuff on this.

 

[SimonTaddio_Qc]

If I remember correctly, you must obtain a license for that songs, wich will cost you some money.
The license things are quite complex, and I believe that NOT all the songs in the universe are available to cover and use commercially.
Wich song is it that you'd like to get a license for?

If you're not planning to release it on an actual CD, maybe you could get the DIGITAL license

Mechanical Licensing
(licensing of copyrighted musical compositions for use on CDs, records, tapes, and certain digital configurations)
Digital Licensing
(licensing of copyrighted musical compositions in digital configurations, including but not limited to, full downloads, limited-use downloads, on-demand streaming and CD burning.)

 

[SocialNumb]

Not legal advice, sorry.

My friend Michael from Dead When I Found Her has started doing covers. Giving them away for free.
http://dwifh.com/home/

He is signed and tells me: "for free, no
so long as it's not connected to make any money, you're fine"

Hope that helps.

 

[K Odell]

Check out www.harryfox.com for some info.

 

[JeffTD]

^^ was just on there - looks like its $25 bucks if we want to have it stream on MySpace, and $85 if we want to release it to sell on iTunes. Will probably go the first route and give the mp3 away to people who buy our album.

 

[SocialNumb]

^That would be connected to making money. Wouldn't it? Sure sounds like it.

I've talked to Michael a little bit further. If profit is involved then it's illegal. At least from my understanding.

To stay safe you need to get rid of the "buy my album and get this". Just give it away now or after with out the "weight".

Can't use it as a obvious promotion to buy.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

What song is it?

 

[JeffTD]

^That would be connected to making money. Wouldn't it? Sure sounds like it.

I've talked to Michael a little bit further. If profit is involved then it's illegal. At least from my understanding.

To stay safe you need to get rid of the "buy my album and get this". Just give it away now or after with out the "weight".

Can't use it as a obvious promotion to buy.

Yeah I just realized this, critical thinking skills deactivated this morning haha.

Free download for all it will be, then!

What song is it?

Not gonna say until it's released - you'll have to wait and see! (aka czech your PM's )

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Hahah...I see what you did there...

 

[Mat Laperle]

A band I know used this site : http://limelight.rightsflow.com/

 

[HeadCrusher]

Let it be that "The death of auto-tune"-thing please, haha.

 

[SocialNumb]

Let it be that "The death of auto-tune"-thing please, haha.

That would be interesting, I think.

 

[slashvanyoung]

It feels like I'm writing my gazillion and 1st post on the subject, but anyway: It doesn't matter at all if there is profit involved. Otherwise the whole Dio tribute wouldn't be such a headache from that point of view.

Generally, you're allowed to cover ANY song without having to ask the writers for permission IF there won't be substantial changes to the song (melodies, lyrics). If that's the case, you simply need a mechanical license and you HAVE to pay royalties to the owner(s) of the copyright.

There are two ways you can do that: A) Contact the publisher of the song directly, asking for a license and royalty fees. If you say, you won't create any revenue from the cover, they might offer you a reduced royalty rate, compared to the statutory one.

Or - and this is way less hassle - you can use an agency service like Harry Fox' Songfile or RightsFlow's Limelight to have the issue you the license and manage the royalty payments.

If you're going to substantially alter the original, you'll have to get the copyright owners' permission to do so or they might sue you.

Mind you, it could very well be that no one will ever notice or care if you're publishing a cover without a license and royalty payments. Bands do that on Myspace all the time, but if you're band suddenly gathers some interest you could get into quite a bit of trouble so I wouldn't recommend taking that risk.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Oh and btw: The licenses are location-bound EVEN for downloads.

 

[AD Chaos]

What about using classical harmonies/melodic themes within your own compositions?

I've always been very curious about that!

 

[Russtopher]

Interesting that this has just come up; my bandmate and I wasted a few hours at work the other day researching the exact same thing.

What we both discovered on our own, then confirmed with each other, is that you need to license the use of the song, no matter what - doesn't matter if you're giving it away for free.

One thing that confused me (and still does) is that if you're offering it for digital download, how do you license based on downloads? There's no way to accurately determine that, especially if it's a free download.

 

[SimonTaddio_Qc]

What about using classical harmonies/melodic themes within your own compositions?

I've always been very curious about that!

Most of classical music is now out of copyright.
Copyright is valid for 50 years after the owner's death, I think.
Mozart has been dead since a lot longer than that

Most folk tunes falls in the public domain for the same reasons too.

One thing that confused me (and still does) is that if you're offering it for digital download, how do you license based on downloads? There's no way to accurately determine that, especially if it's a free download.

I think there's a specific license for that (Digital license)

 

[Line666]

Most of classical music is now out of copyright.
Copyright is valid for 50 years after the owner's death, I think.
Mozart has been dead since a lot longer than that

Most folk tunes falls in the public domain for the same reasons too.

Pretty sure it's 70 in most countries and varies depending on the artform quite a lot, but yeah, this is the general idea, classical compositions are out of the jurisdiction of copyright due to their age.