How to find copyright permissions for samples and covers
If you’re planning to cover someone else’s music or use it in your own tracks, you’ll need to get permission to avoid any copyright headaches.
Making music doesn’t just mean composing your own song completely from scratch. Covering someone else’s track, or sampling another piece of music, can be a really fun and creative way to make music. But, how do you do this without treading on toes and violating copyright law? Even if this isn’t your intention, it can be difficult to track down the correct copyright owners and obtain the necessary permissions to ensure everything is above board.
That’s why we’ve put together this quick guide to simplify the process and let you know how to obtain the correct licenses and permissions.
Why is it important to obtain permission?
If you use copyrighted material without permission, you can run into a whole heap of issues. It can range from a copyright strike on YouTube, all the way up to a full-blown lawsuit. You risk your content being taken down from platforms, and even being slapped with a fine.
All this is why it’s critical to stay on the right side of copyright law. Even if you didn’t mean to, infringing someone else’s copyright can result in a damaged reputation and also means your work disappearing from platforms that your audience follow you on. Never a great look.
Sorting out the correct licensing also means that everyone involved is fairly compensated for their work – which includes you!
Types of copyrights you should know about
There are a couple of copyrights you need to know about in order to legally use samples or cover other people’s music.
For songs, there are two key copyrights to consider; the master rights and the compositional rights.
- Master rights – refers to the sound recording of a track, and often belongs to the artist or their label.
- Compositional rights – refers to the composition of a song, including the melody, lyrics and chord progression.
When you sample someone else’s song, you’ll need permission pertaining to both the copyrights above.
If you cover a song, you will need to get your hands on a mechanical license. This license proves that you have the rights and permissions necessary to distribute your cover of someone else’s music.
Don’t forget that if a musical work is in the public domain, you do not need to obtain any copyright permissions or licenses. Public domain works are not covered by copyright either because the copyrights have expired, the owner relinquished their rights, or the work was never eligible for copyright in the first place.
Obtaining copyright permissions for samples
How do you go about getting both the master rights and compositional rights cleared for a sample you’d like to use?
You will need to get in touch with the rights holders, and there are a few ways you can find them if you’re unsure how to do this.
PROs
Performing rights organisations (PROs) are a great place to start, such as: ASCAP, SESAC (USA), PRS for Music (UK), SOCAN (Canada), and APRA AMCOS (Australia). These are great starting points to identify songwriters and publishers of a composition.
Use their vast online databases to:
- Search for the song title and identify the copyright owner(s)
- Find the publisher’s name and sometimes their contact details
Tools and databases
- Songfile – Ideal for obtaining mechanical licences for cover songs in the US
- Songdex database – A massive registry of song rights, great for researching both cover and sample licensing opportunities
- AllMusic – Lists detailed song credits such as composers, producers, and labels
How do you contact rights holders?
Once you’ve found the information you need by using one of the sites or tools above, what’s next?
Here’s how you can get in touch with the relevant copyright holders:
- Look up the publisher’s website and search for a licensing contact or form
- Contact the record label for sample clearance if you’re using part of an existing recording
- Use tools like LinkedIn or Songtrust to identify contacts if you can’t find direct emails
- For a more hands-off approach, consider a music clearance service such as:
- Tracklib – Pre-cleared samples
- Easy Song Licensing – Cover song licensing
Samples and covers with RouteNote
If you’re using RouteNote to upload releases that contain either samples or covers, there are some rules to follow.
Samples
If you’re releasing a track through RouteNote that includes samples, you’ll need to prove you have the rights to use them. This means providing documentation showing you either created the sample yourself or have permission to use it commercially – such as a license, lease, or written agreement.
To submit this, email our moderation team with any evidence and be sure to include your RouteNote username and the UPC for your release. If your release was sent back during moderation, make sure you hit the ‘send to moderation’ button after sending your email, so your release can be reviewed again.
For artists looking for safe-to-use sounds, RouteNote also offers a royalty-free sample library through RouteNote Create, making it easy to find high-quality samples without the hassle of clearance.
Covers
You can distribute cover songs through RouteNote to Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, TIDAL, iHeartRadio, Nuuday, Anghami, KKBOX, and JioSaavn without needing a mechanical licence. However, your version must be clearly identifiable as a cover, not a soundalike.
A soundalike is a recording designed to closely imitate the original version. These are not accepted by stores such as Amazon, Pandora, and iTunes, and may be rejected during moderation.
If you do not have a mechanical licence and want to release your cover through RouteNote, you’ll need to exclude these territories from your release:
- United States
- Canada
- Mexico
- India
- Pakistan
To distribute worldwide and/or sell physical copies, you must obtain a mechanical licence. RouteNote recommends Affordable Song Licensing, which charges a small fee (typically $12 per song, plus royalties) and covers both digital and physical sales in the US.
Summing up
Using samples or creating covers can be an amazing way to explore your creativity, pay tribute to your favourite artists, or experiment with new sounds. But it’s essential to make sure you’re doing it legally and ethically. Taking the time to clear the rights not only protects you from takedowns or legal action but also ensures that all creators are properly credited and compensated.
Whether you’re distributing through RouteNote or another platform, make sure you understand the rules, get the necessary permissions, and keep hold of your documentation. Once that’s sorted, you’re free to focus on what matters most – making great music.