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What I’m taking away from this is that perhaps we need a new type of license to authorize a cover to be speculatively placed on the commercial licensing marketplace.
Who would create that “new kind of license?” It’s not likely to be created by statute or by the invention of publishers and the PROS. The rights holders are in the drivers seat on this one.
In theory, if there were a high-profile lawsuit in which the Supreme Court rendered a decision on this specific issue under Title 17 sec 106, things could change.
You may wonder why it’s OK to sell cover songs with a mechanical license and/or have them performed on the radio etc., but not sync licensed.
There are many factors involved including, but not limited to, maintaining the integrity of the original work and not diminishing the licensing value of the original work.
When it comes to sync licensing, I think the basic protocol and courtesy of approaching the rights holder first is well established.
Clearly the US Copyright Office recommends the “better safe than sorry approach.” http://www.copyright.gov/circs/m10.pdf
_Michael
FWIW – my original post here from 2012 in response to
“Anyone here have any experience in placing cover songs?”
was
“You can put covers on musicsupervisor.com. I have some but never a placement…”.
I’ve since removed those tracks, but musicsupervisor.com must have given the ok to upload them at one time, or I never would have. I see at About Music Supervisor (http://www.musicsupervisor.com/about/) it reads: “Also we have great covers”.
“Also we have great covers”.
Maybe the artists sought permission from the rights holders prior to uploading.
Or…maybe they’re taking the “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” approach.
Perhaps Gael will chime in.
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