Two Silo Complex
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1/14/2016 1:42:06 PM
What is a mechanical license for covers ?
In case any of you are interested in doing covers here is the facts straight from Harry FOX
https://www.harryfox.com/license_music/what_mechanical_royalty_rates.html
Statutory Royalty Rates
HFA offers statutory rate licensing for physical permanent digital downloads, limited downloads, interactive streaming, and ringtones.
The statutory mechanical royalty rate for physical formats (CDs, cassettes, LPs) and permanent digital downloads is:
9.10¢ per copy for songs 5 minutes or less, or
1.75¢ per minute or fraction thereof, per copy for songs over 5 minutes.
To view rate charts https://www.harryfox.com/find_out/rate_charts.html
The statutory mechanical royalty rate for ringtones is 24¢ per copy.
The rates for interactive streams and limited downloads are determined by a number of factors including service offering type, licensee type, service revenue, recorded content expense, and applicable performance royalty expense.
Licenses issued after March 1, 2009 are subject to interest for late payments of 1.5% a month, or 18% a year.
These rates will remain in effect until the next schedule of mechanical licensing rates is determined.
Historical Royalty Rates
For the period 01/01/06 to 12/31/079.1¢ for songs 5 Minutes or lessor1.75¢ per minute or fraction thereof for songs over 5 Minutes
https://www.harryfox.com/license_music/what_is_mechanical_license.html
How do I Get a Mechanical License?
I am an individual or organization (e.g., school, church, small record label) that:
Distributes less than 2,500 units of a physical or digital format (i.e., permanent digital downloads, ringtones).
Needs to license up to 10,000 interactive streams.
You can get a license using Songfile.
Do I Need a License to Use Music in My YouTube Video?
Yes, but... A video with music contains three copyrights: the video images, the sound recording, and the underlying song composition (music publishing rights). In a video where you are performing a cover song, you might control the copyrights to the video images and sound recording but don’t control the music publishing copyrights. To use the song composition, you need to negotiate a synchronization license directly with the music publisher.
However, many music publishers have entered into license agreements with YouTube permitting the use of the songs they control in exchange for a percentage of any advertising revenues (although in some cases the publisher may set a policy that a particular song is blocked from use). As a result, in most cases, YouTube has already obtained an agreement with the music publisher. To determine whether or not a publisher is participating in an agreement with YouTube, please contact the publisher directly. Publisher contact information may be found at ASCAP or BMI.
A mechanical license grants the rights to reproduce and distribute copyrighted musical compositions (songs) on CDs, records, tapes, ringtones, permanent digital downloads, interactive streams and other digital configurations supporting various business models, including locker-based music services and bundled music offerings. If you want to record and distribute a song that you don’t own or control, or if your business requires the distribution of music that was written by others, you need to obtain a mechanical license. A mechanical license doesn’t include the use of a song in a video. That use requires a synchronization license which you will need to obtain by contacting the publisher(s) directly.
HFA issues mechanical licenses for reproductions of musical compositions (songs) embodied in sound recordings that are manufactured and distributed in the U.S only. However, a foreign licensee of digital reproductions can obtain mechanical licenses from HFA in order to distribute those digital reproductions in the U.S., regardless of the country in which the computer server transmitting the digital reproductions is located.
HFA does not issue mechanical licenses for physical products that are manufactured outside of the U.S. These types of products require an import license in order to be distributed in U.S. territories.
If you are manufacturing and distributing copies of a song that you do not own or control, you need to obtain a mechanical license. This is required by the U.S. Copyright Act, regardless of whether or not you are selling the copies that you make.
Under the U.S. Copyright Act, the right to use copyrighted, non-dramatic musical works in the making of sound recordings, including CDs, records, tapes, ringtones, permanent digital downloads, and other digital formats (e.g., interactive streams) for distribution to the public for private use is the exclusive right of the copyright owner. However, the Act provides that once a copyright owner has recorded and distributed such a work to the U.S. public or permitted another to do so, a compulsory mechanical license is available to anyone else that wants to record and distribute the work upon obtaining a proper license and subsequently paying royalties at the statutory "compulsory" rate as set forth in Section 115 of the Act and the related regulations. In other words, if the song has already been recorded and commercially released, you can record and distribute it as long as you obtain a license and pay royalties.
You don’t need a mechanical license if you are recording and distributing a song you wrote yourself (and you haven’t assigned the publishing to another party), or if the song is in the public domain. If you are not sure if the song you are looking to license is in the public domain, you can search for the song on:
www.pdinfo.com
www.pdmusic.org
here are additional resources
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/how-to-legally-secure-the-mechanical-licenses-for-your-cover-songs/
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