Putting a cover on an EP?
- Thread starter ItsAFugazzi
- Start date
slashvanyoung
Dopefish lives!
If you don't own the copyright to the image, yes you'll need to sort that out with the one who does.
Edit:
Ahhh... you mean a music cover? Same thing if you're going to sell this!
Edit:
Ahhh... you mean a music cover? Same thing if you're going to sell this!
Norris-wf
Member
You will need the rights alright. Certain companies such as CDBaby have a strict policy on this too and will not accept any cds that have covers without the official rights.
Executioner213
Ultimate Meatbag
I posted something about this a while back and got less answers than this...I wish someone who has done as such could give insight as to how they did it rather than the obvious answers like "ask permission" or "just fuckin google it".
Executioner213
Ultimate Meatbag
I'm pretty sure.. this falls under thing about using samples and stuff. should be okay, if you're self releasing?
What exactly does self releasing mean?
The cover is of Blue Oyster Cults 'Don't Fear The Reaper' & i'd wanna put it as the last song on my bands EP.
I'm pretty sure nothing would happen but I dont wanna take the chance.
is a label releasing this CD?
there was a massive article posted somewhere before about thing on Metalsucks.. i'll try finding it for you.
*edit*
i should probably say this before anyone starts flaming me and ripping me a new one..
I meant to say, i think its "okay" to release the cover.. i'm pretty sure its okay. But i could be wrong..
Torniojaws
They call me Juha
It's been covered a bazillion times, so I'm sure it's just about asking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Don't_Fear)_The_Reaper#Selected_cover_versions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Don't_Fear)_The_Reaper#Selected_cover_versions
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
Are you gonna sell millions of copies? Then fuck copyrights and everything and do what you want. You won't go to jail.
In 2003 me and my old band VALHALLA released Nighbreed album (into a spanish label) which included "In The Navy" by Village People. We sold about 2.000 copies, so nobody cared about us, nobody knew us... but if you are a great artist who sells millions, then they probably will fuck you because $$$lot of money$$$ is involved.
If you release it for free, then you can defend yourself by saying that you don't get a buck for it so you cannot share that no-money with the original label/author/owner.
I've got a parody band with many cover songs and altered lyrics. It is totally free online and has a lot of success, you can listen to songs in TV and important radiostations, and you know what? None of the bands/labels/owners had any problem. I know some day I could have problems, but as I didn't earn money, they cannot ask me for that money.
I hope soon I can open a new thread about copyrights, digital taxes and all that crap and how does it work in Spain. It is a fucking shame.
In 2003 me and my old band VALHALLA released Nighbreed album (into a spanish label) which included "In The Navy" by Village People. We sold about 2.000 copies, so nobody cared about us, nobody knew us... but if you are a great artist who sells millions, then they probably will fuck you because $$$lot of money$$$ is involved.
If you release it for free, then you can defend yourself by saying that you don't get a buck for it so you cannot share that no-money with the original label/author/owner.
I've got a parody band with many cover songs and altered lyrics. It is totally free online and has a lot of success, you can listen to songs in TV and important radiostations, and you know what? None of the bands/labels/owners had any problem. I know some day I could have problems, but as I didn't earn money, they cannot ask me for that money.
I hope soon I can open a new thread about copyrights, digital taxes and all that crap and how does it work in Spain. It is a fucking shame.
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
In your country ther must be a kind of company for managing copyrights.
Ask them.
In Spain is called SGAE (Sociedad General Autores Españoles), which "manage" those things. They steal, yes, they fucking steal.
You have to pay them 10% of the tickets you sell in your gigs, radiostations pay for the songs they play, TV programs and now there is a sepeccial tax for blank CD's, pendrives and all kind of memory storage devices JUST IN CASE you download music. They punish you before you commit the crime, so if I pay that taxes, am I authorized to download music legaly, don't I?.
Then, they deliver all that money to the author and copyright owners or top sellers... but that is another story.
slashvanyoung
Dopefish lives!
Wait, wait, wait... The label the original song was released on has NOTHING to do with this. The label owns the rights to the original recordings but not the songs as a composition. Those rights remain by the creator(s), which are the compositors and the lyricists.
It doesn't matter if you're giving it away for free or charge for it, but technically you can get in a whole lot more trouble if you made money from it. Not necessarily the bands/artists will get on your back but collecting societies, like ASCAP, GEMA or PRS for Music etc., will.
The legal situation is also from country to country (slightly) different and that makes things more complicated.
Technically, even putting up a cover on myspace can get you into trouble, because AFAIK, they don't have a "flat-rate agreement" with collecting societies. YouTube on the other hand does have this...
If you don't alter the composition/lyrics of the original track in any way for your cover, you might don't even have to contact the originators and ask for their permission to release it. But this is dependent on the exact legal situation in your country.
You're from the UK, aren't you? Then you will have to check with your collecting society, which is PRS for music, if you have to ask for the originators permission if you're making a 1:1 cover.
What you WILL have to do anyway if you want to rule out that the collecting society gets on your back, is to register your band and this track at the collecting society. This will make sure the originators (and you) are getting royalties and you're on the safe side. But it will cost money. If you register the EP as a whole than you will also receive royalties yourself if your own tracks are being played.
The whole thing with taking samples is another issue completely...
It doesn't matter if you're giving it away for free or charge for it, but technically you can get in a whole lot more trouble if you made money from it. Not necessarily the bands/artists will get on your back but collecting societies, like ASCAP, GEMA or PRS for Music etc., will.
The legal situation is also from country to country (slightly) different and that makes things more complicated.
Technically, even putting up a cover on myspace can get you into trouble, because AFAIK, they don't have a "flat-rate agreement" with collecting societies. YouTube on the other hand does have this...
If you don't alter the composition/lyrics of the original track in any way for your cover, you might don't even have to contact the originators and ask for their permission to release it. But this is dependent on the exact legal situation in your country.
You're from the UK, aren't you? Then you will have to check with your collecting society, which is PRS for music, if you have to ask for the originators permission if you're making a 1:1 cover.
What you WILL have to do anyway if you want to rule out that the collecting society gets on your back, is to register your band and this track at the collecting society. This will make sure the originators (and you) are getting royalties and you're on the safe side. But it will cost money. If you register the EP as a whole than you will also receive royalties yourself if your own tracks are being played.
The whole thing with taking samples is another issue completely...
slashvanyoung
Dopefish lives!
Yeah, Jevo is right on the money! 
My personal advise would be: keep the cover off the EP and just put it online, for free, as a promotional mean.
My personal advise would be: keep the cover off the EP and just put it online, for free, as a promotional mean.
