Higgie Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) Hi guys, my new band have recorded an EP recently, and we’ve just put our first single on Soundcloud. With it being a cover/mashup, does anyone have any idea what the score is with licensing/permission? You can check out the track here if you are interested: Thanks! Edited February 14, 2018 by Higgie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceebass Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Apologies in advance; I don't have any knowledge of the licensing situation. Great cover though man, the arrangement is super nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 When we looked at having a cover on one of our albums we contacted the writer, who advised that permission from them isn`t required - Guns N Roses didn`t ask his permission for a cover of his they released . However I think it needs to be registered with PRS so that the writers get their share. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribbetingfrog Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 If you use services such as distrokid they put the music on several outlets, including iTunes and sort licensing for you. I think there is an annual fee for licenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 19 minutes ago, Ceebass said: Apologies in advance; I don't have any knowledge of the licensing situation. Great cover though man, the arrangement is super nice! Thanks very much man Glad you enjoyed it! 2 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: When we looked at having a cover on one of our albums we contacted the writer, who advised that permission from them isn`t required - Guns N Roses didn`t ask his permission for a cover of his they released . However I think it needs to be registered with PRS so that the writers get their share. Thanks for the info Lozz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 3 minutes ago, ribbetingfrog said: If you use services such as distrokid they put the music on several outlets, including iTunes and sort licensing for you. I think there is an annual fee for licenses. Yeah we were looking at distrokid and CDBaby. Thanks for your help mate. Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 If it’s just for a single (one track only) and you use CD Baby, they will handle the licensing application for you. Have a look in their FAQ all the details are there. However be aware that your application can be rejected depending on the owners of the rights to the song - writers, publishers and anyone else who has in interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, BigRedX said: If it’s just for a single (one track only) and you use CD Baby, they will handle the licensing application for you. Have a look in their FAQ all the details are there. However be aware that your application can be rejected depending on the owners of the rights to the song - writers, publishers and anyone else who has in interest. Thanks very much, that’s good to know. Will relay the info to the rest of the band ps if anyone wants to head over and like ‘The Goodbye Look’ on Facebook i’d be eternally grateful 😘 Edited February 14, 2018 by Higgie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Ok so it seems CD Baby won’t sort it as it’s a ‘medley’ and not a straight up cover. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Get in touch with PRS/MCPS for the appropriate licence. That’s assuming you are in the UK. Otherwise you’ll need your national PRO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Don't forget PPL too. They do the performing rights. They can also issue the IRSC number (each released song/version of a song has a unique number for cataloguing). My band went with Ditto Music who seem to do a great job for 19 quid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Steve Browning said: Don't forget PPL too. They do the performing rights. They can also issue the IRSC number (each released song/version of a song has a unique number for cataloguing). My band went with Ditto Music who seem to do a great job for 19 quid. PPL is yet another organisation you probably want to join, but completely separate and different to PRS/MCPS, As Steve Browning says, if you want an ISRC for your track which makes getting performance royalties much easier, then you will need to join. However there is absolutely no reason to pay for your ISRC. Join the PPL as a record company member as well as a musician member (they are separate applications so complete both), which cost nothing and you can generate as many ISRC as you need for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 As a general observation, getting the appropriate permissions for a cover song release these days is a lot harder than it used to be - especially since digital downloads don't have a finite quantity. In the past with vinyl or CD you simply told the MCPS how many copies you were pressing, what the retail price was and what proportion of the songs were covers to originals and they worked you out a price based on those figures. You paid and they issued a licence which allowed you to get your records or CDs manufactured. It was as quick as it could be given that everything took about 28 days by post. The rights holders of the song(s) you were covering were rarely bothered as they were getting their share of all the Mechanicals up front irrespective of how many copies actually sold. These days of digital downloads sales numbers are open-ended. You might sell 1 download to your mum. You might sell 10,000,000 all over the world. That means the Mechanicals have to be recorded individually for every sale and only come in as and when a download is actually sold. Also the rights holders can be a lot more precious about how the songs are used. They might also be worried that a cover may detract from sales or the "original" version. My experience of trying to get covers cleared and licensed for digital distribution, has been that on the whole it's simply not worth the time and expense required to get the permissions. At the moment, my 80s synth band have been toying with the idea of re-releasing our two cassette EPs along with some other demo recordings as a digital album. However one of the tracks in a cover. Trying to get permission to include it, has so far proved to be hard work. We'll probably end up having to leave it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 To repeat Ceebass' comment, I cannot add anything to the licencing debate, but I really enjoyed the track (or should that be tracks?). Two of my favourite songs mixed together. Good stuff! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 (edited) Some more observations that the OP might want to take not of... I'm assuming that both songs in this mash-up are covers? I'm familiar with Superstition, but not the other song. If that is the case, it may make it trickier to get the licences since not only will you have to get (and pay for) a licence for each song if any of the rights holders don't like how you've combined them, they might not allow to use their song in this way. Also I would recommend that for the moment you set your SoundCloud link for this track to private and get this thread moved to Off-Topic where it is not visible to Internet Search Engines. If any of the rights holders for these songs are a bit "iffy" about granting you a licence, the fact that you have essentially released the song before the fact might just make them say "no". Which brings me the crux of the matter... What do you hope to achieve with this track? Because you aren't likely to make any money off it. In fact it's probably going to cost you a lot more to put this out legally than you are ever likely to receive back in streaming or download sales. Cover versions rarely make the artists cover them any money unless they are massive hits. Edited February 15, 2018 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 Thanks for all the info... very useful to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Have to say it Higgie - that is a beast of a track. If any amatuer band deserved to make money from a cover, thats would be it, despite whether reality says otherwise Superb musicianship from everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 27 minutes ago, fleabag said: Have to say it Higgie - that is a beast of a track. If any amatuer band deserved to make money from a cover, thats would be it, despite whether reality says otherwise Superb musicianship from everyone Wow! That is very nice of you to say. Thanks pal ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmjos Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Nice work fella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joxotic5 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 That's a great cover, really enjoyed listening, will give your facebook page a like too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Great interpretation of that classic Stevie wonder song. No idea of the licensing but if you send me a cpoy when its released i will give it airplay on my notstrictlyjazz radio program up here in Birmingham. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 Thanks guys. Very much appreciated. Glad you all like it! Thanks jazzyvee, that would be awesome. We’ll be in touch once everything is sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 (edited) Ok so little update, the tune is available, but we're not selling it - It's a free download. You can check out the rest of the EP here: http://www.thegoodbyelook.com and you can purchase it from bandcamp (name your price) Edited March 6, 2018 by Higgie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 6 minutes ago, Higgie said: Ok so little update, the tune is available, but we're not selling it - It's a free download. You can check out the rest of the EP here: http://www.thegoodbyelook.com and you can purchase it from bandcamp (name your price) I hate to be a party pooper, but even though you are not selling the track you are still on dodgy ground having this track available on Bandcamp. Part of the terms and conditions you agreed to when uploading your recordings to Bandcamp (you did read all the terms and conditions didn't you?) is that you own all the relevant rights to the recordings. So unless you have obtained the appropriate PRS/MCPS licence for these covers you are in breach of your Bandcamp agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Point noted - We've removed it until we can acquire everything needed! Feel free to take a listen to the rest of the EP, if you feel so inclined! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.