Yes, bands generally do have to pay to cover songs, but for most situations the payment is small and the process is routine. Federal copyright law gives you an automatic right to record and release a cover of any song that’s already been commercially released, as long as you pay a set royalty. For 2026, that rate is 13.1 cents per copy for songs five minutes or shorter.1Federal Register. Cost of Living Adjustment to Royalty Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords Live performances and online videos follow different rules, and some are handled for you.
Recording and Releasing a Cover
If you’re putting a cover on a CD, pressing vinyl, selling downloads, or uploading to streaming services, you need a mechanical license. The good news is that you don’t have to ask the songwriter’s permission. Under 17 U.S.C. § 115, once a song has been distributed to the public with the copyright owner’s authorization, anyone else can record and distribute their own version by following a set process and paying the statutory royalty.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 115 – Scope of Exclusive Rights in Nondramatic Musical Works: Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords This is called a compulsory mechanical license, and the copyright holder can’t say no.
What It Costs in 2026
The statutory rate for 2026 is 13.1 cents per song per copy, or 2.52 cents per minute of playing time (or fraction of a minute) for songs longer than five minutes, whichever is larger.1Federal Register. Cost of Living Adjustment to Royalty Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords It applies to every physical copy and every permanent digital download. The rate adjusts each year for inflation.
To put real numbers on it: pressing 500 CDs with two covers on them costs about $131 in mechanical royalties. Not nothing, but not the kind of cost that stops a release.
How to Actually Get the License
For digital distribution, the Music Modernization Act set up a blanket licensing system administered by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, and streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music pay mechanical royalties into that system.3U.S. Copyright Office. The Music Modernization Act If you release your cover through a digital distributor such as DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby, the platform’s blanket license generally covers you, though many distributors will require you to obtain a mechanical license separately or through a licensing service before they’ll accept a cover.
For CDs, vinyl, and physical copies, the Harry Fox Agency’s Songfile platform lets you search the song, choose the format and number of copies, and pay the statutory rate directly.4Harry Fox Agency. Harry Fox Agency – The Easy Way to License Cover Songs Services like Easy Song Licensing and Loudr do the same. You’ll need the song title, the songwriter or publisher information, and your copy count. If you can’t identify the publisher, the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC databases let you search by title or writer.
Playing Covers at Live Shows
This is where most bands catch a break: playing a cover live at a venue almost never requires you to pay anything yourself. The public performance license needed for live music is held by the venue, not the band. Bars, restaurants, clubs, and music venues buy blanket licenses from the Performing Rights Organizations — ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC — that cover whatever songs get performed on their stages.5ASCAP. About ASCAP Licensing for Bars, Restaurants and Music Venues
Your job is to make sure the venue is actually licensed before you play. Established venues almost always are. House shows, pop-ups, and private parties are a different story. If the venue hasn’t paid, the venue owner is the one primarily on the hook, but bands playing unlicensed rooms can still get pulled into the trouble.
Posting Cover Videos Online
Video is where the licensing picture gets genuinely messy. Pairing music with visuals requires a synchronization license, and unlike the mechanical license, there’s no compulsory sync license. You have to negotiate directly with the copyright holder, who can refuse or charge whatever they want.
In practice, the major platforms have partial arrangements that keep most cover videos online. ASCAP has confirmed that YouTube, Facebook, Instagram Live, and Twitch are licensed for public performances of songs in the PRO catalogs.6ASCAP. ASCAP Music Licensing FAQs YouTube’s Content ID often identifies the underlying composition and routes ad revenue to the rights holder rather than taking the video down. That’s a platform policy, not a legal right, and the copyright holder can still request removal.
Millions of cover videos live in this gray zone because rights holders generally prefer the revenue share to enforcement. If you’re monetizing covers as a serious income stream, the safer route is negotiating sync licenses directly or using a service that handles sync clearance.
When the Compulsory License Doesn’t Apply
A few situations fall outside the automatic licensing scheme, and knowing them matters because assuming otherwise is how bands end up needing lawyers.
Songs That Haven’t Been Released
The compulsory license only kicks in after the song has been distributed to the public with the copyright owner’s authorization.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 115 – Scope of Exclusive Rights in Nondramatic Musical Works: Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords A song someone has only performed live but never released isn’t fair game. You’d have to get direct permission, and the songwriter can refuse.
Heavy Rearrangements
You can rearrange a song to fit your style — speed it up, slow it down, reharmonize it, adapt it for different instruments. What you can’t do under the compulsory license is change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the song.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 115 – Scope of Exclusive Rights in Nondramatic Musical Works: Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords There’s no bright-line test. A working rule: if someone who knows the original can still recognize the melody you’re singing, you’re probably within the license. Rewrite the melody, dramatically alter the lyrics, or transform the song into what functions as a new composition, and you’ve likely created a derivative work, which requires direct permission from the copyright holder.7Legal Information Institute. Derivative Work
Sampling Is Not Covering
Covering means you record the song yourself from scratch. Sampling means you use a piece of someone else’s actual recording. The compulsory license does not apply to samples. You need permission from both the owner of the composition and the owner of the sound recording, and either can refuse or charge a fee, an ongoing royalty, or both.
Public Domain Songs
Songs in the public domain are free to cover with no license and no royalty. Compositions published before 1928 are in the public domain. Songs published between 1928 and 2002 follow varying rules depending on publication date and whether copyright was renewed. One trap to watch: even when a composition is public domain, a specific recording of it may still be under copyright. You can record your own version freely, but you can’t just reuse someone else’s recording.
What Happens If You Skip the License
Copyright infringement penalties are the same for cover songs as for any other kind, and the numbers are the reason bands take licensing seriously. Statutory damages run from $750 to $30,000 per work at the court’s discretion. If the court finds the infringement was willful, damages can go up to $150,000 per work.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 504 – Remedies for Infringement: Damages and Profits Courts can also order you to stop distributing or performing the work,9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 502 – Remedies for Infringement: Injunctions and can award the copyright holder’s attorney’s fees and court costs, which often exceed the damages themselves.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 505 – Remedies for Infringement: Costs and Attorneys Fees Streaming platforms and YouTube also flag and remove unlicensed content automatically, and repeat violations can get channels terminated.
A mechanical license for a single song runs a few dollars through any of the major services. The lawsuit runs more than most bands will ever earn. That’s the whole calculation.