Cover Songs and Sampling: How to Clear Music Legally

The core distinction that changes everything

There’s one question that determines how complicated your life is going to get: did you re-record the song yourself, or did you lift audio from someone else’s recording?

If you re-recorded it yourself, you have a cover. US copyright law provides a compulsory mechanical license for covers of any song that’s already been commercially distributed. That means you don’t need the original artist’s blessing. You obtain the license, pay the mechanical royalty, and you’re legal. This is the whole reason there are hundreds of cover versions of the same song sitting on streaming platforms.

If you used part of someone’s existing recording, you have a sample. There is no compulsory license for samples. You are clearing two separate rights agreements, each negotiated directly, and either side can refuse entirely. Many do. That’s the situation.

How the mechanical license works for covers

The compulsory mechanical license under US §115 applies once a song has been previously released and distributed commercially. At that point, anyone can record their own version by getting a mechanical license and paying the statutory mechanical royalty rate. The songwriter does not get a veto.

In practice, indie artists get this license one of two ways. The first is through a dedicated service like Easy Song Licensing or Harry Fox Agency (HFA), which handles the paperwork and royalty routing on your behalf. The second is through your distributor’s cover-license add-on. DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and others offer this as an add-on when you upload a cover, and they route the songwriter’s mechanical royalty for you.

Either way, your distributor will ask for confirmation that the license is in place before delivering the cover to DSPs. They will not just take your word for it. Get the license sorted before you submit.

Canada runs a similar system, but through CMRRA (Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency) and CSI rather than §115. The principle is the same; the mechanism and the agency are different. If you’re releasing in Canada, use a service that understands the Canadian regime or clear via CMRRA/CSI directly. The US §115 process does not extend across the border.

The full walkthrough of getting a mechanical license, including which service to use and what your distributor requires, is in the how to legally release a cover guide.

The two exceptions that do require permission

The compulsory mechanical license is narrower than most people assume. Two situations fall outside it, and both require going directly to the publisher.

More on exactly what the compulsory license covers and where it stops is in the do you need permission to cover a song guide.

Sampling: why there is no easy route

Sampling is where artists get into serious legal trouble, usually because they believe there are thresholds that make a sample safe: the “six-second rule,” the “four-bar rule,” the idea that changing the pitch or tempo creates a new work. None of these are law. They are myths.

Using any portion of a recorded track without clearance is infringement. The size of the sample affects how obvious the violation is, not whether it is one. Courts have found infringement on tiny samples. There is no minimum threshold below which sampling is automatically permitted.

To use a sample legally you need to clear two things independently. First, the master recording, typically owned by the record label that released the original. Second, the underlying composition, owned by the publisher or the songwriter. Both are separate negotiations. Both can set any price. Both can refuse.

There is one workaround worth knowing about: interpolation. Instead of using the original recording, you re-record the melody or riff yourself. That sidesteps the master clearance. You still need to clear the composition with the publisher, but clearing one right is significantly easier than clearing two. Many producers use interpolation specifically to avoid master negotiations with labels, which are often the harder clearance to get.

The detailed breakdown of the sample clearance process, including what interpolation actually requires, is in the how to clear a sample guide.

Who gets paid on a cover song

The mechanical license you buy flows money to the original songwriter and their publisher. They earn the mechanical royalty on the composition. They also earn performance royalties when the cover gets played. None of that touches you.

What you own is your recording. The master. You performed it, you recorded it, and the streaming royalties on your version of that recording belong to you, minus your distributor’s fee and whatever splits you have with anyone else on your master. The songwriter earns on the song. You earn on your recording of the song. Two separate streams, both flowing at the same time.

If you recorded the cover with collaborators, make sure your master splits are documented before release. The composition side is handled by the mechanical license. The master side is handled by you and whoever else appears on the recording.

document your recording splits with the free royalty split sheet generator before the cover goes live →

The full picture of who earns what, including how mechanical royalties and master royalties flow separately, is in the who gets paid on a cover song guide.

A note on legal advice

This guide explains the rules as they stand under US and Canadian copyright law, based on verified primary sources. It is not legal advice. Licensing questions that involve real money, catalog risk, or anything with an unclear rights chain are worth a conversation with a music lawyer. The rules here are the framework. A lawyer is the right call for your specific situation.