Please note that the below is not official legal advice, it is ONLY for the U.S.A., we are not your lawyers, and you should always contact your attorney before entering into any contract such as a license.

I was reading an article in November’s Spin Magazine called “Faking the Band.”  Apparently, unknown studio musicians are using the notoriety of certain songs to make some money off iTunes and other digital distribution vehicles.  They will take songs that are currently popular, recreate it as close to the original as possible, and then watch the song rise to become one of the top downloaded songs on iTunes.

The article cites Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” as an example this past summer.  Kid Rock refused to allow for digital distribution of his songs (he states: “Thiers [sic] plenty of ways to have big sales without itunes…”), therefore his songs are ripe to be copied in iTunes to unknowing fans.  To the tune of over 100,000 downloads and counting.  Not bad for a days work of replicating a song!

While this sort of deceptive behavior is not something to be proud of, it does highlight the usefulness of cover songs for marketing and/or financial gain.  People search for songs, or a particular song.  Welcome to the digital world.  (See also, Selling Songs vs. Selling Albums)

It is interesting that these actions are more or less legal, so long as certain important steps are taken prior to release of the song.  Any musician is entitled to a compulsory license by law to cover a song.  You have permission, via a compulsory license, as soon as you send the notice to the proper publisher.

The process is handled by CD Baby and Harry Fox.  Note the CD Baby article covers digital as well as physical (CD) licenses. However, you must follow these steps BEFORE you make your recording available for distribution to the public.

http://cdbaby.net/dd?f=8

Here is Harry Fox’s songfile site which allows you to license for limited runs of covers on CDs.

http://www.harryfox.com/public/songfile.jsp