If I hired a musician/band to cover a song (for arguments sake let's say it's Satisfaction by The Stones), can I then use the cover version in a film if I credit the writers? I've tried googling and keep finding conflicting answers. What I have found is that once a song is played or performed in the public space, a cover artist can obtain a mechanical license to perform the song for 10 cents. Am I completely off my rocker?
If anyone knows how it really works and can provide me with a link to the relevant information, I'd really appreciate it. TIA
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two licenses - sync goes to the copyright owner(s) and 'master use' goes to the owner of the recording (could be a record company). always a good idea to have a formal agreement.
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I think I'm saying the same thing as Joel Irwin but I think you'll need
1) the rights to cover it from the original rights holder in order to produce a cover of it (the band who covers it ONLY has the rights to cover it, not the right the choose how it is distributed once it is covered) - if the cover is already done then scratch this and only do #2 and #3
2) the rights to put it in your film from the original rights holder,
3) THEN you have to get permission from the cover artists to use THEIR cover.
I'm not sure what resources you may need to confirm this, but consulting a lawyer is definitely worth it.
There's some great advice here. Thanks Joel and Kaye for answering this Q.
I agree with you both. A formal agreement in writing is ALWAYS needed.
I’ve seen a movie recently (not sure but think it was Black Widow) had a song cover in it. I don’t know the ins and outs but I don’t see why you can’t use it. Perhaps look at how they credit songs in films usually I think it’s
written by...
Originally performed by...
Performed by...