Yes! DistroKid makes it easy to distribute your cover songs. We’ll handle everything on your behalf, including sending payments to songwriters and taking care of all the extra legal requirements.
Note: For more information about uploading arrangements of works in the public domain, please check out the FAQ article here.
The song you’re covering must meet these copyright requirements (this is a legal thing, not a DistroKid thing):
✅ The song you’re covering has already been released in the United States
✅ Your song does not contain samples and is not a remix
❌ Your song can’t contain audio you don’t own (from TV, movies, social media, video games, other songs, etc).
❌ Your song does not fundamentally alter the original lyrics, melody, or title.
✅ Genre changes and embellishments are totally okay (and encouraged)!
✅Some more examples of songs that CAN be licensed:
- A song that was released at one point on iTunes and/or Amazon MP3.
- A song that appeared on a limited pressing of vinyl, which you can purchase at a record store in the United States
- A song that was made available as a promotional music download on the artist’s website
There are also a few restrictions to know about:
❌ Sampling is probably not okay
Sampling is when you use the actual recording of another artist's performance. For example, if you use the 1971 recording of Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" as your drum track. That's generally not allowed, unless you have permission from the original artist.
❌ Remixes are probably not okay
A remix of another artist's music is not the same thing as a cover. A cover is if you played the song yourself. On the other hand, a remix requires the permission of the original artist and is a totally different thing.
❌Some other examples of songs that CAN’T be licensed:
- A song that was used in a film score, but itself was never released separately from the soundtrack
- A song that appeared in a video game, but itself was never released separately from the game soundtrack
- A song that was released as part of a CD compilation, but only in some country that was not the United States
- An old traditional song that is now in the public domain
- Medleys, mashups, etc.
Fees
DistroKid charges a fee of $1 per month (paid annually, so $12 billed to your cc) to manage this cover song for you. We will:
Automated payments to songwriters
DistroKid will automatically deduct the legally-mandated fee of 9.1¢ per song sold in the U.S. from your earnings and send it to HFA, who sends it to the original songwriter. You'll get 100% of the rest.
DistroKid will secure a license on your behalf via third-party vendor
DistroKid compulsory mechanical licenses are secured by the Harry Fox Agency ("HFA"). Per U.S. copyright law, cover song licenses only provide legal coverage if the original song has already been released in the US, and the main elements of the original song (original lyrics, melody and title) remain fundamentally unaltered within the new sound recording. Genre changes and embellishments are totally okay and encouraged. Language changes are probably not okay. If you're not sure if your cover is allowed or not, please see the Harry Fox Agency's FAQ (here) and make sure to only upload covers that can be covered by compulsory mechanical licenses. These rules are a copyright thing, not a DistroKid thing (or HFA thing) and affect all distributors and licensors. Releases containing cover songs will not be available for sale in India, Pakistan, Mexico, or Canada.
You must purchase a DistroKid cover license each and every time you upload a cover song to DistroKid. For example, if you upload the same cover song twice, you need to select the “Cover Song” option both times, essentially buying two licenses. That’s how our system knows to deduct the songwriter’s share of earnings from your earnings (for both uploads of that song, in this example). Furthermore, DistroKid licenses apply only to content directly distributed by DistroKid, and cannot be used for any purposes outside of DistroKid.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your song would be covered under the compulsory mechanical license.
We are not lawyers and can't help with legal advice. Please note that U.S. copyright law does not permit derivative works such as original-language translations of copyrighted lyrics. Under U.S. copyright law, cover (aka "compulsory") licenses only provide coverage if the main elements of the song, original lyrics & melody, remain fundamentally unaltered within the new sound recording. This is a copyright thing and affects all distributors, not just DistroKid.
Please don't include the original artist's name in the track title. For example,
GOOD TRACK TITLE
Enter Sandman
BAD TRACK TITLE
Enter Sandman (originally performed by Metallica)
Enter Sandman by Metallica
For more information about purchasing cover song licenses through DistroKid, please see this article.
Please note: Securing cover song licenses can take up to 14 business days. Releases with cover songs will be submitted as soon as the license is approved by our third-party licensing service.
Check out this quick video for more information!
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