Clear Cover Songs and Get a Mechanical License - By: Daren Cari

It’s not that complicated to take care of the legalities needed to record a cover song on a commercial album. The simple truth is, if you record a cover song on an album, you first need to cite the original artists as the writers of the song. This can be done in the liner notes. Once this is done, there are only a few other legalities needed to be allowed to legally sell the album. First you need a license from the copyright holder. This will be in the form of a mechanical or compulsory license. Then you have to pay the copyright owner to sell your cover versions of his or her songs. If this sounds complicated, let Limelight work out the details for you online. Clearing a cover song doesn’t have to be as complicated as you think.

Artists sometimes get confused because song owners and their clearing houses often negotiate a mechanical license on the same terms and the same rate as a compulsory license. A mechanical license then becomes nothing more than a license with preset terms. People are free to negotiate the rates but nobody has much incentive to deviate from the compulsory rate. It can become difficult to find the clearing house that will give you the mechanical license to a song in this case. The bottom line is, in if you want to honor copyright, you need to purchase a ‘mechanical license.’ It is based on the number of copies you think you will sell and the length of your version of the song.

The entire process is quite easy because Limelight knows the simple structure that is already in place to guarantee that people follow the rules to obtain their license. The copyright laws have been set up to organize a compulsory license for phonorecords and Limelight can take care of everything. This is a license that the song owner grants to people who pay the statutory rate of 9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute, whichever is greater. Limelight can help you with all your license questions here online. Here you can learn about royalties, mechanical licensing, and the easiest way to handle your cover songs. It doesn’t have to be that complicated! Let Limelight help you today!

About the Author

To clear a cover song now and get a mechanical license please visit Clear Cover Songs Now!

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Daren-Cari/87166

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