How To Get Mechanical License

The Bandzoogle Blog

4 Tips on Getting a Mechanical License for a Cover Song

Justin Ralph

Signing your mechanical licensing, Elvis signing an agreement In December, I recorded a demo of encompass songs for distribution to venues, and also as a stocking stuffer for family unit. Since I technically needed a mechanical license for each of the songs I was recording, I decided to go through the whole procedure of obtaining the licenses. I figured it would be good practice for the future, and might even be interesting.

A mechanical license is basically permission from a publisher to record and distribute a vocal they own the rights to. The process can be a bit intimidating, and I don't call back I was alone in feeling a slight sense of dread at the term whenever information technology came up. Now that I've gone through the procedure, it's definitely not as it terrifying as information technology seemed at first. Here are some lessons I learned:

Figure Out if You Need a Mechanical License. You need a mechanical license if you lot are planning on recording a song whose rights are owned by a publisher. For case, if you are recording "Permit it Be" by the Beatles, yous are going to demand to obtain a mechanical licensing agreement from Sony. If you are recording your ain vocal, or a song that is considered public domain, you wouldn't need to obtain a mechanical license for it. For example, I was recording "Danny Boy" as one of my tracks, and since the song's publishing rights now prevarication in the public domain, I didn't need to get a mechanical license for it.
Begin the Process of Obtaining the Licenses Before You Record. This is an important 1. Some licenses are easier to become than others, and for certain songs it may be well-nigh impossible to obtain the license. I recorded six songs in my day at the studio, and I ended upwards not being able to use ane of the tracks because I couldn't get in touch with the publisher to get the license. If you plan alee and become your licenses before yous head to the studio, you won't end up recording whatever music that you lot afterward find out you can't use.
Internet Enquiry is Your Friend. Luckily, finding out who owns the rights to certain songs, and applying for a license for them is a lot easier with the internet. In Canada, ii companies correspond about of the major music reproduction rights of publishers: the Social club for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC), and the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA). They both have databases on their websites where you can look up specific songs, and who owns the rights to them. You can bank check here for SODRAC's database, and hither for CMRRA'southward. If either SODRAC or CMRRA correspond the publisher of the vocal you are covering, yous will be able to apply for the rights directly through them. Even if they don't, they will listing the publisher for the song, so you can use that data to contact the publisher directly.

In the States, the Harry Fox Bureau is the largest provider of mechanical licensing agreements, and you tin can cheque out their database hither. If they correspond the vocal y'all want to tape, you will likewise be able to apply online through them for the license. Another service you can consider using if you lot live in the States is Limelight. Limelight will take care of the whole process of obtaining your mechanical licenses for you from start to stop, so all you lot have to do is submit the songs you desire to apply to them, the formats you want to distribute them in, and pay them the associated fee for obtaining them. You lot can check out their website here.

[Music Licensing 101: How do I license a cover vocal?]
Savour the Feeling of Signing Your Agreements. In one case your licenses come in the mail, savour the moment of opening them up, unfolding them, and signing each one. Some songs have multiple agreements with publishers, so yous may get to do this a few times in a row.

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