Do You Need Permission to Cover a Song?
For an audio-only cover released on streaming platforms, no. US law provides a compulsory mechanical license that lets you re-record and release any commercially distributed song without the songwriter's permission, as long as you get the license and pay the royalty. Two things are not covered: putting the cover in a video, and changing the lyrics or fundamental character of the song. Both of those require direct permission.
Key takeaways
- No permission needed from the original artist or songwriter for an audio-only cover. The compulsory mechanical license under US §115 is a right, not a request.
- You still need to get the license and pay the mechanical royalty. The compulsory part means they can't say no. It doesn't mean it's free.
- Putting a cover in a video is a sync use. Sync licenses are not compulsory. The publisher can refuse.
- Changing the lyrics or fundamental character of the song falls outside the compulsory license. That needs direct permission from the publisher.
- Canada uses CMRRA/CSI rather than §115, but the principle is the same: the compulsory route is for audio, not video, and not lyric changes.
- Content ID claims on YouTube happen separately from mechanical licensing. A properly licensed cover can still have its video claimed.
The compulsory license: what it means for you
The answer most artists get to this question is vague enough to be useless. So here’s the plain version.
Under US copyright law, specifically §115 of the Copyright Act, once a song has been commercially released and distributed, anyone can record their own version of it. This is called a compulsory mechanical license because it is a right you have by law. The songwriter cannot block you. The label cannot block you. The original artist has no veto. You do not ask. You get the license, pay the royalty, and release your cover.
“Compulsory” means the license is mandatory for the rights holder to grant. They may not like your version. They may not want you covering their song. None of that matters legally for an audio release. The law compels them to allow it in exchange for the royalty.
Compulsory means they can’t say no. It doesn’t mean free. You still get the license and pay the royalty.
What you pay is the statutory mechanical royalty rate, which is set by the Copyright Royalty Board and adjusts periodically. The rate applies per copy or per stream, depending on the format. Services like Easy Song Licensing calculate it and handle the payment routing to the original songwriter. Your distributor’s cover add-on does the same inside their workflow.
The full process for getting the license, choosing between a licensing service and your distributor, and what happens in Canada where §115 doesn’t apply, is in the how to legally release a cover guide, which is part of this cover songs and sampling cluster.
When the compulsory license does not apply
The compulsory mechanical license is narrower than it sounds. There are two specific situations that fall outside it, and both require going directly to the publisher for permission. The publisher can refuse both.
These two situations require direct permission
Video and sync use. Any time your cover accompanies a visual, whether a music video, a YouTube upload, a TikTok, or a sync placement in film or TV, that is a sync license. Sync licenses are not compulsory under any jurisdiction. The publisher sets the terms and can refuse. A mechanical license for streaming does not cover this.
Changing the lyrics or fundamental character. The compulsory license requires that you “not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the song.” That language comes directly from §115. A translation into another language, a parody with rewritten lyrics, a rework that substantially alters the structure or meaning of the original all require the publisher’s direct consent. The compulsory license does not extend to them.
YouTube: where audio licenses and video reality diverge
This is the confusion that trips up the most people. An audio mechanical license, properly obtained, covers your cover on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms. It does not cover YouTube in the way most artists assume.
A YouTube upload is a video, even if the visual is just a static image or waveform. That makes it a sync use. For a proper sync license you would need to negotiate with the publisher separately, and they can say no.
In practice, most cover artists post to YouTube without a formal sync license and accept what happens through Content ID. The original publisher’s Content ID system will likely claim the video, and depending on the publisher’s policy, they may monetize it (routing ad revenue to themselves), restrict it in certain countries, or in rare cases take it down. What you get is visibility; what they get is the money. That’s not a clean legal situation, but it’s the practical reality of how most YouTube covers work.
If you want to monetize your own YouTube cover, or if you’re covering a song from a publisher who aggressively takes videos down, you need to negotiate directly. There is no automatic path.
What about covers in Canada?
The compulsory mechanical license under §115 is US law. Canada has a parallel system for mechanical licensing through CMRRA (Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency) and CSI, but it operates through different processes than the US compulsory mechanism.
The practical result for Canadian artists or anyone distributing to Canada is the same in spirit: you can release a cover of a commercially distributed song by clearing the mechanical through the appropriate body. The specific agency, process, and rates differ from the US. Licensing services that cover both territories handle this automatically. If you’re using a US-only service, confirm whether Canadian distribution is covered.
Documenting your recording before release
Once the mechanical license is in place, your cover is a new master recording that you own. If you recorded it with collaborators, those master splits should be documented before you release. The composition royalty flows to the original songwriter via the mechanical license. Your recording royalty flows to whoever owns the master, which is you and anyone else who co-owns that recording.
document your recording splits with the free royalty split sheet generator
For the full breakdown of who earns what when a cover streams, see who gets paid on a cover song.
Frequently asked questions
Can you cover a song without permission?+
For an audio release, yes. The compulsory mechanical license under US §115 gives you the right to cover any previously released, commercially distributed song without asking the songwriter. You must obtain the license and pay the statutory mechanical royalty. What you cannot do without direct permission: put the cover in a video (sync use), change the lyrics, or substantially alter the fundamental character of the song.
Do you need permission to cover a song on YouTube?+
An audio-only mechanical license does not cover YouTube. Uploading any video, even just the cover song over a static image, is a sync use. Sync licenses are not compulsory. The publisher can refuse or name a price. In practice many creators proceed and accept that Content ID will claim the video, routing any ad revenue to the original rights holder. Whether that's acceptable is a judgment call, but it's not the same as having a proper sync license.
Do you need permission to cover a song on TikTok?+
TikTok has licensing agreements with major publishers and some independents that allow many covers on the platform. Whether a specific song is covered depends on whether the publisher has a deal with TikTok. For original releases delivered through your distributor, the mechanical license rules still apply; TikTok's own in-app cover features operate under different arrangements than distributing a professionally released cover track.
Can you change the words of a song in a cover?+
No, not under the compulsory mechanical license. The compulsory license requires you to keep the basic melody and fundamental character of the song. Changing the lyrics, translating the song, writing a parody version with different words, or substantially reworking the song goes outside the license. You'd need direct permission from the publisher for any of those.
Is a song in the public domain free to cover without any license?+
Works in the public domain can be covered and recorded freely, but the underlying composition is what determines public domain status, and the rules are complicated, especially for older recordings. A composition may be public domain while a specific recording of it is not. A 1923 pop song's melody may be free to use, but you can't sample the 1923 recording. When in doubt about public domain status, verify against the Copyright Office records or get a legal opinion.
Get better release strategy in your inbox
Release planning checklists, royalty explainers, and artist strategy notes from Velveteen. No daily noise.
Was this useful? Send a signal or flag a correction.
Keep reading
Pillar guide
Covers & sampling guide
The core distinction: a cover is covered by a compulsory mechanical license, a sample needs two direct clearances that can be refused. What you can do freely and what you can't.
Related guide
Release a cover legally
The mechanical license that lets you release an audio cover: how to get it through a service or distributor add-on, and why distributors won't deliver a cover without proof.
Related guide
How to clear a sample
Why sampling has no compulsory route: clearing the master and the composition directly, both refusable, and interpolation as the way to avoid the master clearance.
Free tool · no signup
Settle your splits before release day
Drop in your collaborators and their shares and get a plain-language split sheet that separates master from publishing and flags the gaps before the song earns anything.