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Anyone here done this? I’ve started looking into the licensing aspect and it’s a bit daunting.

This would be digital download (Bandcamp) and streaming. Since I’m not expecting we’ll make jack shit on this I’d like to avoid spending a lot, but want to do this the right way.

My band released a cover through Distrokid, (ending up on Spotify) and it was all done automatically. Cost about $30, I think. Not massively expensive.
I've also released covers on band camp, and obviously they don't charge anything. I think in the UK you only pay royalties from sales, whereas in the US you pay a mechanical. Could be wrong.
Anyway, not too daunting.

The song was a cover of Iron and Wine's Upward Over The Mountain, in case you're wondering. We totalled it, respectfully.

In the US, it's not really that hard.

For physical copies, license your quantity of production through the Harry Fox Agency. You'll pay the statutory royalty of roughly 9 cents per copy.

For all the major streaming services (Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, etc etc) these mechanical royalties take care of themselves (or, more accurately, the service themselves are on the hook to account those royalties and disburse them accordingly). You'll get paid less per stream for cover songs, but the accounting is all done "behind the curtain."

There are other, unique custom situations (video synchronization in many cases) that can sometimes get more complex, but for most things, it really is just as simple as above.

FrankRay wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:42 pm

My band released a cover through Distrokid, (ending up on Spotify) and it was all done automatically. Cost about $30, I think. Not massively expensive.
I've also released covers on band camp, and obviously they don't charge anything. I think in the UK you only pay royalties from sales, whereas in the US you pay a mechanical. Could be wrong.
Anyway, not too daunting.

The song was a cover of Iron and Wine's Upward Over The Mountain, in case you're wondering. We totalled it, respectfully.

Thanks. Still trying to determine if it’s worth trying to sell or if Spotify would be sufficient.

It’s a one-off collaboration, so kind of a weird thing to try to promote since we have no plans to make it an actual project.