Mechanical license
Also known as Mechanical royalty, Mechanicals, Compulsory license
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Short answer
A mechanical license is permission to reproduce and distribute a musical composition in an audio recording, whether as a CD, vinyl record, download or interactive stream. The royalties it generates, called mechanicals, are owed to the song's writers and publishers. In the United States, Section 115 of the Copyright Act makes the license compulsory once a song has been released, at rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board.
The compulsory license
In the United States, once a song has been distributed to the public in recordings with the owner's permission, anyone may record and distribute their own version of it without asking, provided they serve the required notice and pay the statutory rate. This compulsory mechanical license, first introduced by the Copyright Act of 1909, is now codified in Section 115 of the Copyright Act.[1] It is why cover versions do not require the songwriter's consent — though they may not fundamentally change the melody or character of the work.
Statutory rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Board in multi-year proceedings known as the Phonorecords proceedings.
Physical copies and downloads
For physical products and permanent downloads, the record label or distributor normally obtains the license and pays mechanicals to the publisher, either directly or through an agent such as the Harry Fox Agency, at a per-copy rate.[2]
Interactive streaming
Since the Music Modernization Act of 2018, digital services in the United States obtain a single blanket mechanical license covering all eligible works and pay the resulting mechanicals to the Mechanical Licensing Collective, which matches usage to works and pays publishers and self-administered songwriters.[3] Outside the United States, mechanical rights in streams are generally licensed by national collecting societies.
Questions
Do I need permission to release a cover song?
In the United States you do not need the songwriter's permission to release an audio cover of a previously released song, but you do need a mechanical license — the compulsory license under Section 115 — and must pay mechanical royalties.
Who pays mechanical royalties on streams?
In the United States, interactive streaming services pay them to the Mechanical Licensing Collective under the blanket license, and the MLC pays publishers and self-administered songwriters.
Does a mechanical license cover using a song in a video?
No. Pairing music with video requires a synchronization license.
References
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. “17 U.S. Code § 115 — Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords.”
- Harry Fox Agency. “The Harry Fox Agency.”
- U.S. Copyright Office. “The Music Modernization Act.”