Performing or recording a cover of your favourite song is one of the best ways to pay tribute to another artist and perhaps gain fans. Understanding the copyright laws that apply to cover songs is essential to avoiding legal issues. Whether you are releasing a cover on an album, performing it live, or posting it online, you need to consider specific permissions and licences.
Live Occasions
If you are performing someone else’s song live (for example, in a pub, club, or concert hall), you typically do not need permission for each cover song. This is because venues are usually charged for blanket performance licences by performing rights organisations (PROs) such as PRS, ASCAP, BMI, and others. These licences allow any song from the PRO’s catalogue to be performed on-site (by DJs, live bands, etc.). As a result, the pub’s music licence covers your cover band’s performance of a Beatles song there. The songwriters will get their performance royalties through the PRO. The key takeaway is that, as a performer, you are not required to personally clear live cover songs unless you are organising a large event yourself. But you should confirm that the venue or event has the proper PRO licence.
Publishing and Recording Covers (Mechanical Licences)
If you want to record a cover song and release it (on CD, vinyl, digital download, or streaming), you need to get what’s called a mechanical licence for the composition. You have been given permission by the song’s publisher or copyright holder to distribute and reproduce their composition. The good news is that this is easy in many countries; cover songs are typically allowed as long as the required royalties are paid. Once a song has been released by the original artist, anyone else can legally cover it as long as they obtain a mechanical licence and pay the required royalty (the U.S. has a set statutory rate per copy). Some services can help facilitate this licence. You can usually get a mechanical licence from the publisher or the local rights society (MCPS in the UK, for example), even though neither the UK nor Europe have a comparable mandatory system. Many digital distributors will ask if your song is original or a cover, and if it is, they will help ensure that you pay the mechanical royalties to the original songwriters.
Important: you are not allowed to use the original artist’s sound recording, but you are allowed to record and distribute the composition using a mechanical licence for a cover. In other words, you need to record the song on your own. Any part of the original recording could be used for sampling, which requires separate permission from the record label.
Covers on social media and YouTube
Posting a video of yourself performing a cover song (like a guitar-vocal cover on YouTube) technically involves an additional right known as the synchronisation (sync) right because you are combining music and video. Theoretically, you need the publisher’s approval for a sync licence in order to post a cover video legally. However, in practice, websites such as YouTube often allow cover videos to stay live and simply use Content ID to pay the song’s copyright holders for any ad revenue. As long as you give the original creators credit and don’t make money off of the cover, most music publishers allow cover videos as free advertising. (Ensure that the original songwriters are acknowledged in your video description.)
If your cover becomes well-known or you plan to profit significantly from it (especially outside of YouTube’s system), you should consider getting express consent. However, millions of cover videos usually exist under this “tolerated” arrangement, with the original rights holders only getting paid for their advertisements.
Creative Cover Changes (Parodies and Arrangements)
Since you are only interpreting the song and not claiming ownership, you typically only need the mechanical licence if you perform a cover with your own special twist (such as a different arrangement or genre adaptation). Even if you release your original arrangement, the original songwriters still need to get paid their due royalties. Even if your arrangement is extremely original, you may even have a new copyright in the written arrangement itself. However, this does not give you any rights over the original melody or lyrics; it only matters if someone else wants to perform your specific arrangement.
If you make substantial changes to the lyrics (for instance, for a parody or humorous effect), the legal situation becomes complicated. In the US, a parody may be deemed fair use, though this is not always the case, even though most other countries do not have an explicit parody exception. The safest way to alter lyrics or meaning is to request permission from the original copyright owner. (Notably, parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic always obtained permission before performing parodies in order to avoid disputes, even though he might be covered by U.S. fair use.)
Covering songs is a long-standing tradition in the music industry. By following these legal guidelines, you can share your version of popular songs in a confident and legal way while also honouring the original artists and showcasing your own talent.
Solicitor advocate Michael Coyle has a master’s degree in copyright law. formerly taught at Guildford School of Music (ACM) and Solent University.
Michael.Coyle@lawdit.co.uk is his email.
