Reuse & Derivatives
Cover Songs
A cover is your own recording of someone else's song. US law lets you release an audio cover without permission — you just pay the songwriter a statutory mechanical royalty.
Once a song has been released to the public, the §115 compulsory mechanical license lets anyone record and distribute their own audio version without asking permission. You pay the songwriter and publisher a government-set mechanical royalty on every copy and stream, and you own the new recording you made — the original artist's master isn't involved.
Two limits matter. The compulsory license is audio-only, so putting your cover in a video — a lyric video, YouTube, a film — needs a separately negotiated sync license. And it can't change the song's basic melody or fundamental character; rework it that far and it becomes a derivative work you'd need permission for.
A cover is not a derivative work — it's a reproduction of the composition. Notes registers your cover's credits so the original songwriter is paid and your own recording royalties are collected — with no percentage taken.
Good to know
Cover Songs: common questions
- Do I owe the original recording artist anything for a cover?
- No — you make your own recording, so the original master is never used. You owe the songwriter and publisher a mechanical royalty on the composition, collected in the US for streams and downloads via The MLC.
- What's the mechanical rate for a cover?
- For physical copies and permanent downloads it is the statutory rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board — 13.1¢ per copy (or 2.52¢ per minute, whichever is greater) in 2026, adjusted yearly. Interactive streams use the MMA blanket rate.