I JUST DROPPED AN UPDATE VIDEO ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS: th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html 🎤 My Cover Songs: th-cam.com/play/PLEMhlPbIQ92MKYSIbTwGkYzvE_qvQHfrR.html&si=orbVrqca4K8hCYNI 🟡 Become your Own Record Label: www.topmusicattorney.com/becomeyourownrecordlabel 🟢 Free Split Sheet Template: www.topmusicattorney.com/splitsheet 📄 Music Contracts Templates: www.topmusicattorney.com/music-contracts 📺 Get Your Music Into Tv/Film/Games: www.topmusicattorney.com/sync 💻 #1 Resource For Artists And Producers: www.topmusicattorney.com ⚖ Hire An Attorney: www.delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 📰 Get My Newsletter: www.topmusicattorney.com/newsletter/ 🎧 Listen To The TMA Podcast On All Streaming: www.topmusicattorney.com/podcast 🟢 Free Stuff: www.topmusicattorney.com/free-stuff
@@TopMusicAttorney do you know or have affilliate links to people like you in other countries providing a service like yours? It seems like a good network to build because, say, American IP and business law is often vastly differently structured in, say Australia, where I live, the UK or EU, to name a few. Building a network of international affilliates could broaden your reach and the reaches of others like you elsewhere in the world. Could even help self label indies internationalise their markets, as well as buiding your brand for internationals wanting enter the US music market, too. Just an idea. You have a law firm and you perform as an artist, I'm guessing you don't get a lot of spare time for other things, but it's a thought worthy of putting up, I guess.
One music hack here is to get the midi file for the song you want so everything is the same but with your own sounds assigned to parts but the arrangement and lyrics can all stay the same.
@@meanguitar A really fun hack to go with your hack: try different chord inversions, and try some different color-note choices (adding an extension like a 7 9 or 11, or making some chords a sus, or whatever. Try grabbing a note and move it up or down by a 5th, see how it changes the feeling. This kind of editing doesn’t change it enough to be classified any differently (it’s still a cover). And you can get some really beautiful effects from just going through and playing around with the notes within the chords.
Whats a sea of chance the music industry is, back in the day (and I know cover were done back them too) you had to be a singer /band and do gigs till people liked and kept coming to your gigs till an A and R guy spotted you and you got push from a record company (or you got diddyed!!!) Now you can make a song and with no help put it out to the world, you just have to compete with he 40,000 songs that get uploaded to spotify daily! and I don't know how many other covers uploaded to youtube..........I don't know which you had a better chance at.
@@sub-jec-tiv Yeah that's the daw equivalent of what I did as a 90s jazz guitarist - substitutions are awesome. But if there's a legal requirement to not touch the chords to be considered a cover then I focus on texture taking out the cheesy general midi and replacing with nutso vst plugins.
Unless you cover an Eagles song. So many people have had strikes and take downs as Don Henley is so protective over Eagles material. To cover an Eagles song has become the kiss of death on youtube.
The Japanese Metal Band Nemophila would record release weekly videos and most were covers. They grew to over 250k subscribers with 1.5m views on many of the videos within 2 years by getting picked up by the algorithm on youtube. This happened during the pandemic and was a way to grow the fans when they could not play live. This grew a big fan base for them to then release 2 original albums AND do a limited US tour. They also toured Japan.
@@dazzhotchkin Just because you make originals, doesn't mean you are not a "hack" when you decide to do a cover. If you are confident enough in your own art you shouldn't have the desire to hack onto another artist's work. Worse is when you profit from it, and continue to do it, just proves a sell out mentality is in their approach. Now, clearly this is art, art carries with it opinion, mine is vehemently against covers and the hacks that do them...that's all.
@@davidmueller9342 Hack means how I posted it, not some third world definition. A hack artist knows they are a hack, how? They are not creating their art from scratch.
I was legit just talking about this today because the two drum covers I did got flagged on YT. Appreciate you for this one because my original stuff is still in the works but I have some covers I can upload.
Please join us on our livestream in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
I'm sorry but it sounds like you should use the word "Structure" as opposed to arrangement. A song has structure such as AAB, ABABCAB, these are just a few. Arrangement means instrument arrangements of the song, meaning where do the guitars come in, how many horns? When do synths come in.
@@Muggfacepublishing what is an arrangement? To me it’s the way one preforms the song. What is the instrumentation, tempo, harmony, even the key. So if I do a cover of She Don’t Use Jelly in a minor key, is that still a cover? By the way Ben Folds Five does a great minor key cover of She Don’t Use Jelly.
@@rstuartcpa She didn't really say anything about changing the melody, chords, rhythms etc. We learned keep the lyrics and the order of the sections identical. The arrangement is generally the way and manner the harmonies are voiced. IMO, that's the most common way arrangement is used by composers.
in music the trade word and legalese is "arrangement", people who "arrange" the music also get a songwriting credit. It goes right with: measure, piano, fortissimo ect.
Musicians use the word arrangement to mean what a producer (old definition) might call ‘orchestration.’ Whereas producers (old definition), A&R, label folks, will use the word arrangement to mean the entire thing including the structure, harmonisation, and the orchestration. Technically her usage is correct, it still might be confusing to musicians who use the word differently from others in the business.
Great information and very timely - thank you. I have 3 questions: 1. Does YT count as a streaming platform if you only have it as audio with a thumbnail? 2. Does a live recording of you playing a cover count as a "music video" when you upload it to YT, TikTok, FB, IG, etc (I suspect the answer is yes). 3. What if you're livestreaming a show you play and you're doing covers? Does that need a mechanical license for each cover you do?
So you briefly touched on what I was hoping you’d mention…what is it actually called when you do a cover but change some (not all) of the words? It’s something I’ve been wanting to do and the legal side confuses me so I’ve put it off 😬
@@SouthsideWilly I believe it is an official term. Listen. If your channel is small , I believe , none of these matters, cos no one will give a sh.. about you anyway, lol.
@ haha, true 😂 I keep swinging between thinking that myself, then back to feeling like it would be nice to do it properly. It would be so much easier just to do a straight cover, but I have an idea I can’t let go of 😂
@@extremotionaltrouffasnope size doesn't matter. I've had publishers try to claim MY original songs. I do get blocked for covers, but I claim fair use and they disappear. Happy to let them have the no money I make as I gets subs and views from it.😂
This is why no one wants to bother with any music anymore. The obstacles are so many, but it isn’t worth all of this. I have to take courses in legalese, along with my education of equipment, and all the things involved with production. The more obstacles and hoops to jump through is turning creativity into a nightmare, and no one born with a gift or talent will bother. I thank you for your time and your video it convinced me to stop this wasting of my entire life trying to produce something that no one will ever get to hear.
Thanks very much for clarifying re video cover songs (esp for Psy-Lounge, not posting on behalf of here so logged into personal) on the major social platforms; we do go through the proper steps for being able to do releases "anywhere" but TBH have been a little uncertain re youtube and the video aspects of the covers where we obtained only the licenses for the audio publication. Good to know we remain on solid ground!!!!
When you say arrangement, it sounds like you’re actually talking about the song structure. Arrangement to me (and i assume to most people) mostly refers to instrumentation and things like that
@@SorooshMhs I thought about that a few times while watching this. I would imagine she knows the difference, since she’s a musician. And I’d expect a lawyer to speak more precisely regarding that distinction in order to avoid confusion
Arrangement is the whole thing in fact. The song need to have the same chords and notes. The only things you can change is the tempo, the overall sound of those instruments and sound of the voice. Nobody do that except Karaoke song tracks if it is perfectly done. They want to be sure they can sue you and get the royalties at the end. ;)
@@EarleMonroe Her missuse of te term is actually causing confusion. As a lawyer, she shoulöd know the importance of how to use terms and words correctly.
@@541systamatik541 my comment isn’t negative, i’m just saying this for clarification. And i don’t need to Google this. I’ve been a musician for a decade and half and also every other musician i know, has the same definition of arrangement as i do
Thanks a lot because those are things I always told to my artists as well. About the "arrangement" you also gave the correct indication about. It's not to use a piano instead of a guitar, but it is regarding the structure of the song. In italian language, having the distinction of female/male words etc, just to change the desinence of the word: you need the license. I had this issue for a couple of covers songs I produced with Licia Fox as singer, and the Original Editor have licenced me to produce it. Even the title can't be changed if not authorized. THe Sync in EU it's a bit more differentiated. SABAM (Belgium) told me clearly: no sync permission IF and only IF you are making a videoclip that """visualizes""" the song (I use the terms my Legal Office is using). If you use it to affiliate (also in your video) brands or ADS: Sync license is mandatory. Like for instance: filming a character that's drinking Coca-Cola: Sync mandatory. Just drinking the same but with not visible (or blurred) marquee: it's fine so. Mechanical rights: Yes indeed: if you print CDs or Vinyls or Cassettes with your cover songs: you need MLs. I'm really happy to have watched this video. you were clear, univocal, straight to the point, and clear making clear what an Arrangement is. Thanks.
@@Mullewarp Indeed. The issue was that boht (I and the Legal office) were convinced to have a unique term. Instead of there was a not clear semantic issue. Arrangement for us as musicians is: change the instrument type, the pitch, the rhythm. For the Legal is: changes into the architecture of the song. And TBH in a certain way, the 2 meanings are sometimes overlapping each other.
This si an amazing explanation. Thank you for this!! I spent so much time trying to get this information and didn't post songs to TH-cam because of my fear of a strike. Always wondered how a high school band can post covers and get a million views and not get taken down. You explained it perfectly. Thank you!
fun fact. Before the mass media genres almost everything was a covered composition. Beethoven didn't make any masters, so besides the few performance that he gave everything else is covers. And 99% of musicians graduating after 5-10-15 years of studying music are cover-artists.
You generally had to hand copy stuff from other composers as well. For example, if you wanted a copy of Buxtehude's organ music, you had to walk to Lübeck. Then, you had to ask to copy it. Then, you had to hand copy it, using the provided key in order to understand his tablature in order to write it in a way that you understand it, sometimes adapting the pedal part because you play an instrument with a pedal compass that's too short to play as Buxtehude wrote it.
The word "cover" comes from a time when popular songs were copied accurately to compete with the original version. It actually covered it. In classical music artists and conductors allways have had their own interpretations. That is also the case now with cover in popular music. It's actually not a cover, it is an interpretation or a version.
@@ronnyskaar3737 the interpretation of a song that you are referring to is different from interpretation of a academic music (be that classical or modern or baroque for that matter). In songs it's heavilly rellying on sound and production. Often it's a tempo change. Originally active or fast or somewhat dancelike music played as a slow sad ballad. Like those many Billie Jeans played by the likes of David Cook an others. But every single interpretation of a sonata written on piano is played on piano with the same timbre. And nobody played the first part of Moonlight Sonata fast like waltz as an interpretation. It makes it a derrivative genre like Fantasy or Interpretation etc. And if it's rewritten for a different instrument sometimes it's called Translation or something else depends on traditions.
Great video! I've asked for explanations to this subject even from Berklee while in school there and absolutely could not get an understandable answer to these questions. Thank you so much for making this!
Of course three nice Covers of Bob Marley : 1. Buffalo Soldier, 2. Slave Driver, 3. Sun is Shining ready to Release and Bassist of Bob Marley is on Bass and on Slave Driver and Sun is Shining his Son Aston Jr. is on Drums and Keys .......
@ Unfortunately, I will mostly likely still be at work, but thank you for the response, and I’ll be continuing to follow you and just crossing my fingers! 😄 Such a great resource!
So is ‘arrangement’ synonymous with ‘song structure’ in music law? Because every time I heard arrangement I am thinking of the instrument chosen and their parts, my previous understanding of the term
Thank you for this! I am left with two big questions: 1. How exactly is the term arrangement defined here? To me, that means the selection of instruments and how the chords are voiced. If I take a song written for a 6 person rock band and translate it to a 40-piece orchestra while keeping the structure and lyrics, to me that is a new arrangement while still being a cover song? 2. Let’s say I take a famous 8- minute rock song, remake it as a 3-minute synth-pop song with totally new lyrics, yet the melody, changes-ups and and chord voicing is all the same… so that despite all the changes, it is still instantly recognizable as the original song. I’ve always thought this still counts as a cover song. What exactly would be the problem with releasing this as a cover, attributing the original writers, letting all songwriting royalties go to the original writers with my version registered simply as a new recording? Then in the description it would say “featuring new arrangement and revised lyrics by X”? I assume the artist would still want the money even though I changed the words? As long as I’m not trying to pass it off as my own original thing, why would they care if I tinker with the arrangement and the lyrics?
So do you need a sync license these days to legally/safely post your own video of your cover song on TH-cam or not? If not, can you reference or link to any documentation that says it's ok to do so? Because this contradicts everything else I've read over the past few months online including advice by Dave from EasySong. You said a cover has to be unchanged with the same exact arrangement (excluding maybe the he/she changes) but that conflicts with some creative license allowing for changes to tempo, key, instrumentation, harmonies, and overall style. This is not to be confused with Interpolation which is more like a band rerecording Staying Alive but rapping over it; to my understanding. You sort of mention Mash-ups for a quick second but never explained it other that saying it didn't qualify as a cover. It would be great to get your legal interpretation/clarification on these points.
Right? I believe your example of "interpolation" is correct, and you still need permission from the copyright holder to legally use it. It's not clear in this video.
I quit purchasing mysic a long time ago preferring to listen to midi files on my synthesizers. What I would pay for is some kind of subscription site that musicians could upload their music that would stream audio and midi, while still letting users change channels and instruments. As opposed to just downloading the whole file.😁🎶🎹🎶🎸🎶Play On
What about people who are on tik tok singing cover songs on their lives for tips and getting money from them? Also, I made a music video to a cover song I did, it’s on TH-cam but I’m not monetized on YT.
Does this information also apply to instrumental musicians that buy sheet music and then play and record it as an ensemble or edit together a multi-track performance of themselves playing a duet or quartet?
When you say “the same arrangement,” I think you mean the order of the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/etc. but what if you change the instruments used? Like if you want to do a metal version of a cartoon theme song, is that still kosher? What if you add a guitar solo or something? Also, what if your singer just sucks and WANTS to keep the melody the same but he’s just so awful that he can’t do it?
That's what i thought too. There are so many "Coversongs" that don't stick to the original arrangement. Are they all not a cover from a legal perspective?
This is a great questions actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Thank you for your video, the information is wonderful. Please, consider using a filter for your microphone. Your sound quality will be much better, in my humble opinion.
Can we explain the music (instrumental) for the cover song? Can the instrumental be significantly different for the cover? Such as changing chords? When does a cover become derivative work? Thanks
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
At what point has a lyric been changed? If a singer changes a he to she or other little modifications to accommodate context is it still a cover. For example: "She grew up in an Indiana town" to "He grew up in an Illinois town" with the same general rhythmic and melodic phrasing. What about accurate lyrics with melodically embellished or modified melodies?
what if the cover is an instrumental? Theres no longer lyrics involved (perhaps as background vocals), but no actual singer. Does this still apply? or is it no longer a cover?
In a drummer that has uploaded drum covers on YT and I got real nervous cuz everyone had "copyright". Thought I was huge trouble. So just want to make sure I can keep doing those w/o worry or should I put the disclaimer stuff. Thx for this. I was very confused on this whole issue.
@TopMusicAttorney I think that your next video should be on Robyn Adele Anderson. She's a great singer who does cover songs in different styles. So for instance, the lyrics are the same, but she'll have a swing cover or a jazz cover. The video could be about the copyright side as well as the business $ide. I'd watch that video. I just bought my cousin VOL 7 compilation of her covers for Christmas. 🎄
I had an issue where I made an aramgement of Silent Night, which is in public domain, and my distributor wouldn't distribute it to Facebook, insta, or tiktok. It really pissed me off. I know plenty of artists doing christmas music and it is distributed fine.
Question: would the mechanical license available through distrokid cover interpolation? And does the same rules apply for worship songs as far as arrangement?
What about people who are on tik tok singing cover songs on their lives for tips and getting money from them? Also, I am in a cover band and we play song live at Venues , is this allowed?
Thanks for Distro Kid info, I do have them aquire Mechanicals for me as I like to tryt and monetize most of what I post with a few exceptions...... What about though this though....... you can't post straight audio on youtube so the conversion uses the Album cover embedded in the meta data and its just static for the duration so its only a "VIDEO" in Format technically just so that the Audio can be played ..... Can that be posted thru my Distributor (DK) WITHOUT a M.L. and still be monetized for streaming royalties.... Its really only a "VIDEO" if there is frame to frame motion in the video. [ I know this is a stretch but maybe could be addressed in a Updated negotiation at some point......... i elect you to do it ....... PLEASE!!!..... Looking forward to your answer if you actually do answer............... OH Yeah, i stumbed across you and thought now here is an informative and usefull subscription...... and so pretty too .....BONUS 😉 I ask this because the yearly cost of the mechanical that DK charges adds up and ide love to cancel those recurring charges. ALSO thinking of dumping DK for the free JUMPSTR service but its alot less "Disrtibuted" with respect to how many platforms i get distributed to. AND My SEO is great right now with the first page links are ALL me on various different platforms and i dont want to lose that. i worked hard to get search optimized to that
Thank you so much for sharing. It's really informative. What category do those songs that we cover but also make changes on the arrangement fall under?
Excellent video! One question, what if you do an instrumental version, same music and arrangements with no lyrics. Is that considered a cover? (for example a piano instrumental version of a song)
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
my questions is this, Are the vamps and fills at the end of a song considered a part of the arrangement? Have I rearranged the song if I omit , mispronounce or add what I feel ?
This is a great questions actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney that's 9:pm EST. I'll try. I am setting up for the 12th as i am having my 64th birthday on a school night.. I am so happy Instagram's algorithm suggested your site. My Hollands Opus of 40 plus years in finally underway. All my former students will be surprised.
The duration of a song was mentioned in the video so I’m wondering if a change in tempo resulting in a shorter version of the covered song is acceptable to qualify for the digital streaming license?
What about creative interpretation adding new guitar solos or improvisational sections. or for example Brian Adams version of wonderwall ? I was to do that but kept lyrical consistency of the arrangement, versus chorus ext. but played with tempo and harmonic components, am I still ok to upload these videos, what would I need to do for those covers?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise if you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Does doing a remix (as long as the arrangement is the same) of an electronic song (without vocals) go under the same agreement? Can I do my own version of for example a Tiesto song?
@@orlock20 how is it a "remix" when you produce every single sound from scratch? It kinda sounds like an "instrumental cover" type of thing, but I'm really curious to find out how publishers/labels actually treat such cases.
@@orlock20 what is the difference if I follow the same principle? I make my own drums, bass sound, synths etc but the melody and the arrangement stays the same.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney I would gladly join the livestream. Sadly it is in the middle of the night from where I live. :( I will for sure watch the livestream afterwards during the day.
Hi, so Ditto music/Spotify just rejected my cover song because the original was 5:19 and my song was 5:40 because it had 20 secs of ambience at the end, other than that it was very faithful to the original.
Very interesting explained. If I understand that correctly, it's still a cover if you sing the song as it is, but in a different genre (e.g. the original is a Rock song, and you're singing it as Country version) as long as the text and melody order is the same.
Would you consider a breakdown video of the details of the band you mentioned that you negotiated the sale of their cover song catalog? Were all the cover songs true and full recreations in every detail, with no modifications? Were they only audio files? What are the splits with the copyright holders/songwriters?
To be clear, trimming a song down for time by removing that last verse and chorus that simply repeats the previous ones, and everything else remains the same, including style/genre, is enough to disqualify it as a cover song? Also, when talking about "arrangement," does arrangement include instrumentation too? IE: making a 'cover' of a pop song using only tubas for instrumentation? I have heard that rights holders/songwriters split the revenue. How often do they claim 100%? Lastly, what about instrumental versions, are they technically covers or not?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
The sync license thing is all well and good until you do a cover of a Bryan Adams song. I have a mechanical license for Summer of 69 (obviously not a sync license), uploaded the song + video to TH-cam and got a full blown nuclear copyright strike from UMG, this was this year. Then the same happened to a 40 second clip of another Bryan Adams song I uploaded to TikTok. So that bloke just doesn't give a toss, he's going savage on people. I had it confirmed by UMG that this was actual Bryan Adams decision to do this. And tbh, the fact that an individual artist is able and allowed to do this makes a mockery of the entire process. Because, what are we meant to do?? Where's the list of every artist who does and doesn't do this? It's not a binary thing and that means it's dangerous again to do covers and put them on TH-cam, all it takes is for you to cover a song from an artist who hates covers (and you had no idea who) and you could have your entire channel deleted. And there's more, I've seen Bryan Adams hand out passes or put specific indie artists onto a white list, so even with these there is grey areas, it's an absolute mess.
@@therealajnelson Yea I've heard about that too, I think I heard something about Guns N Roses doing the same but I can't remember now. Which is exactly the problem. I lost all respect for Bryan Adams after that, he was once an up and comer, sure he wrote all his own stuff but I'm sure if you look hard enough you'll find him doing covers. To just shit all over people who are basically paying homage to his work is scummy at worst, ignorant at best. I can't pretend to have any kind of influence over his sales but some big cover songs do reignite the sales and awareness of the originals, that's the beauty of the cover song ecosystem which he'd kill off if everyone did what he's doing.
@@WhotheHellknowsAnyway you can bet these jokers will get upset in their final years when no-one remembers who they were because their fan base died out 🤣
I understand why you didn't get into TH-cam Content ID, because it's basically HOPING that you can do whatever you want because a lot of copyright holders will allow it (in exchange for...). As a lawyer you want to focus on what's certain. Makes sense But I'd love to hear about your thoughts on Content ID, and (if you know) how channels like "There I ruined it" get away with making videos that include material from several artists where there's no way to share monetization with every applicable party. Another LEGAL question - once you put a song on TH-cam the proper way (through a distributer) - can people legally use clips of your cover in shorts? I'd love to hear you thoughts on shorts.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Question: Great video! But it was a little lyric-centric. In your dark pop example, surely you’re changing the tempo and the key, maybe some interval progressions. How is that different than lyrical changes?
Question: Would an acoustic version of an electric song be considered a different arrangement? Something that uses open chords instead of power chords (5-6 note “fuller” chords vs 2-3 note power chords, for example)?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
Thank you for the insight! I’d have a couple of questions: I submitted a bunch of cover songs to Easy Song and they gave me the streaming license for all of them (minus one where I changed the lyrics) even if I changed the arrangement/structure quite a bit, including a few chord sequences. Am I in the right spot or did Easy Song make a mistake? Second: if I change lyrics, Easy Song offers something like “Special license” (not sure if that’s the right name) which costs a lot more than a simple one. And that’s for streaming. What about sync license for those?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise if you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
This really makes me wonder about the hoops Weird Al has had to jump through over the years. Mostly regarding not his direct parodies but the "polka" mashups, each almost entirely consisting of partial excerpts from a dozen recognizable hits, performed in an over the top, zany polka/klezmer style with smatterings of other styles thrown in (like the Ice Ice Baby part of Polka Your Eyes Out, done in barber shop quartet style). I'm sure he's not the only one to throw in popular ear worms for their mash ups (DJ Earworm) or include "homages" in parts of their songs (Dragonforce guitar solos with Nintendo music melodies) or mix non-music industry samples into music (MelodySheep) as a regular part of their musical style. I wonder how many of them hammer out the details beforehand and how many just create first and just quietly wait for any licencing challenges to fall upon them later.
Question: How does this apply to parodies? I have a famous song I cover that does not change any of the original lyrics, but adds some comedic commentary dispersed throughout. (It actually changes the structure slightly but cutting the last chorus short to just get to the end.)
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
Can I add another twist... What if I made a cover and only play it at live events like a large festival.... BUT! Those events stream a video of my performance of my whole set and those songs are now on TH-cam, do you think that will be a problem. Also consider I am not streaming or making videos of these versions just using them for live events to complete my set. If I remember right I would only technically have to pay a performance royalties per instance I use the song. My concern is that eventually somebody in audience or one of the promoters might like that version of song and put out a video of they took of the live performance and then eventually labels/publishers would come after me. Thoughts?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
Very helpful information but what if I've made changes to the songs composition and/or arrangement? The line between what is a cover and what is not can get messy fast. So what if I do change Him to Her or I do a mashup and stitch more than one song together? Or play music from one song but sing lyrics from another? What would I need to do to be compliant with the law?
How would a "mash up " ( lyrics from a well known song ie : Smoke on the water and beat or instrumentation from another ie: Kashmir )be classified whether on Yt or other platforms . My intention is to use them for tutorial purposes for improving vocals . Thank you for any guidance or suggestions .
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
Hi there. I do fully synth-based song arrangements, not to be confused with covers. I can do this freely right ? It’s basically de facto my own composition, inspired by the original source material, but an otherwise its own original piece. Example: instead of a vocal track in the original I play the melody on the synth with all the extra elements and sometimes/often rearrange, expand, modify the original where it becomes my very own original piece.
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
It's a little confusing to use "arrangement" when talking about the order of verses and choruses. I think of "arrangement" as being the instrumentation used, vs. "structure" which is the organization of verses. When you said you have to keep the same arrangement, I thought, "oh shit...I'm supposed to get a brass quartet and string section now?"
How are people able to create "play along" songs on TH-cam? Like when you use an existing song, but you might remove the guitar solo and put your own into it, or you play your own drum part while the song is playing in the background? For me those get removed within seconds of uploading, but there are tons of those all over TH-cam.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
I did a cover of a T-Rex song on my other TH-cam channel. It’s just the audio. I got a copyright claim from TH-cam, which I was kind of expecting, only it absolutely was not the song’s owner. I suspect someone else did a cover and copyrighted it and they put the claim in. I’ve heard others talk about this on TH-cam.
@@DavidRavenMoonI create music for children's media and people have the cajones to copyright traditional music... They can't get the money from it, though.
@@TopMusicAttorney this is not a pressing legal issue (yet), but I have a growing channel that might need some good legal consultation in the near future.
First! Thank you for doing your thing on both fronts! So.....What about contrafactum ? Would it be considered a parody legally? I recently rewrote all the lyrics to a hit 80's song, thinking that it was a parody but my lyrics are neither poking fun at the original song or the band itself. Could this also be considered as derivative? I use same melody, arrangement and song structure. The chords of which are basic and there's no riffing to speak of in the original.
When you say you cant change the arrangement, i take it your saying dont change the structure, like verse and chorus sections and not add sections, but does that include tempo, or making the bass line more simple/complicated or harmanizing the melody or does it need to be identical to the original
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
I am a member of an FaceBook group that records songs and posts on the group site for entertainment purposes, not monetary. Most of us know we cannot do songs by The Eagles. They often time result in strikes. Some people have been temporarily banned. Some of us have had strikes, apparently most havenʻt. I generally us the original arrangement. Sometimes someone will ask about copyright issues. I have been doing this since 2022 and have had one strike on each of two songs. What should we do to protect ourselves doing this for fun?
Can you confirm that a still screen (a title screen) on you tube and/or a lyric only video is not classed as a synch rights issue? Or is you tube essentially considered a video format from the start?
13:27 You keep saying to "keep the same arrangement/keep the same lyrics," but I'm still a tad confused on that. Do I have to keep the same chord progression and melody, or just the same words in their original order?
Arrangement is synonymous with "structure" in this context and applies both the music and lyrics. Like verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus-2, chorus 2, bridge, solo, etc.. you can't "rearrange" the sections of the song to be different from the original.
@RobKMusic Okay. I understand. One more question, though: can I abridge by cutting off, for example, a chorus that repeats to fade on the original? Like, can I do it and then end the song, or do I have to repeat it as many times as they did on the recording? It wouldn't be changing the lyrics, the arrangement of the lyrics, nor the meaning of the lyrics - it would just not include the ongoing repetition at the end. Thx for all your guys' help! Y'all rock!! 🤘🤙
Abridgement is most likely considered a change, is my bet, but I'm just a watcher not a lawyer. In all these matters and, I think @topmusicattorney would aggree, always err on the side of caution. Always. The labels' lawyers can beat up your lawyers anyday, and they'll eat you alive for dessert. I know people that this has happened to.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney I'll try. My schedule usually doesn't allow me to catch the live streams, so I have to catch up with segments; but that means I'm never there for live Q&A. ☹️
Can you do a video about the KISS Pophouse deal? What it means? Does KISS members still own anything? Can they get it back? If a fan buys music or merch will the members of the band get the proceeds or does the Pophouse company get everything? How does it work when a band sells their rights, logo, makeup, everything to one company? Two members are still very involved in a project with Pophouse though. It would be great to hear your take on all this.
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
There are "cover songs" that have changed a few words...the full elements of the song are there, but a few lyrics changed. Sound of Silence by Disturbed or Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder...so are they "cover songs" or something else?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
When you talk about arrangement, I get that the lyrics have to be the same, the verse has to be in the same spot in the song, the chorus and bridge have to be in the same spot, but what if there's a guitar solo? I get that you'd want it to be in the same spot in the song but does it have to be a note for note rendition of the solo in the original version, or is this where you get to put your own spin on the song?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
Q: So with Spotify / Distrokid, Are people making money on cover songs through them? Great specifics on youtube claiming copyright and adsense / monitization. Just curious if people can bang out a cover song each month using that digital license and make a few bucks.
So you answered my question in the last part in terms of distributors that require you or want you to tic a box that says it's a cover song so they can sell you a license or make you go get one. My other question is this. Do we have to deselect the option of iTunes and Amazon music downloads when submitting a song to a distributor that is a cover song? And only make it on the streaming platform. I know you said direct to person or customer. But does that count for the iTunes and Amazon download?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
You're going real fast which makes it hard to digest. Simple question, can I perform a song on video as a cover and post it. No money no sales involved just a performance.
It amazes me that any artist would want to stop someone from making a cover of their songs. There is a massive benefit to the original artist every time someone does a cover version. Personally, I’d be absolutely thrilled if someone did a cover of one of my songs!
I think you should mention that a cover song is tried and true as a definite hit. So anyone who’s up-and-coming has not made a hit yet would only benefit from doing cover song.
Do you know how many professionals I have asked these same questions and gotten totally different answers from everyone? Awesome! Thanks so much! Here's another question. How about if you put your cover song into an independent movie that has other music in it, and that movie is shown in places other than streaming, i.e. film festivals?
what if your youtube channel isn't monetised? I put some videos up of a band playing some covers and they got blocked. Each video had two or more separate songs. Another was a video of some dancing, obviously with music in the background. Again, blocked, at least in some regions.
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
What about an instrumental "cover" of a song. Same arrangement as original, but replacing lyrics with just instrumental melodies instead of vocal lines?
First question that sticks out to me: if structure has to remain the same, what's the situation with posting smaller sections of a full cover song (e.g. just first verse/chorus as shorts/reels?). Because it sounds like someone would get in trouble for making a cut down cover... but that's functionally identical to producing the full cover, then using an excerpt for promo... right? Or is "re-ordering" the actual problem here?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST? If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Yeah, I've never seen gender swapping the singer as an issue, although I have noticed even some bigger artists don't do it when they do a cover. Thanks for the video! It did clear up a couple of things I had been wondering about.
I was curious about his one as well. I am always surprised when the words aren't changed, but now it makes sense. I suppose it pays respect to the songwriter, which I can appreciate, but to make it a legal issue seems juvenile.
I think most artists do it on purpose. For example to show that they are down with same-sex relationships (in fact they may be queer themselves, as artists/musicians have a slightly higher queer representation).
What about videos where you teach how to play a song (on an instrument)? Also, does it make a difference if you show the musical notes (or guitar tab)?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
What a great information! Thank you so much. Quick question. How will this whole thing work for a tribute band that plays many songs from a specific band catalog as close as they were written? Playing their songs live and using videos from shows on YT and social media to promote the tribute band, what type of licenses applies? Thanks!
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Hey. What happens if I translate a song but essentially use the same arrangement? What if I translate, keep the same arrangement and change the genre? Still a cover?
META has been blocking my covers recently. They hadn't been doing so previously. Oddly enough, they allowed a Journey cover and then just a few weeks later, blocked a different Journey cover, stating it was flagged as being copyrighted. I assumed they dropped their sync licensing, but now I am even more curious. Even odder is that the earlier Journey cover is still online. It hasn't been taken down.
I am a jazz musician and have some instrumental arrangements of a Beyoncé tune that I mashed up with one of my own compositions which kinda has a similar vibe. I did the same for a Nirvana tune with a South African tune of mine. How would this work if I want to release these tunes?
Ok, but if I use a backing track of a song that has no guitars and put my own recorded guitar on there instead? It seems like many people get strikes for that? I really don't get it, why would the artists don't want the exposure? I would guess the artist in question would be discovered by more people if they'd allow this?
I JUST DROPPED AN UPDATE VIDEO ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS: th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
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Thank you. I always love your videos 🤘🤘
If you're looking for your glasses...they're on top of your head 🤭🤗
@@TopMusicAttorney do you know or have affilliate links to people like you in other countries providing a service like yours? It seems like a good network to build because, say, American IP and business law is often vastly differently structured in, say Australia, where I live, the UK or EU, to name a few.
Building a network of international affilliates could broaden your reach and the reaches of others like you elsewhere in the world. Could even help self label indies internationalise their markets, as well as buiding your brand for internationals wanting enter the US music market, too.
Just an idea. You have a law firm and you perform as an artist, I'm guessing you don't get a lot of spare time for other things, but it's a thought worthy of putting up, I guess.
Just found your channel, great info. About to check out your cover songs
@@crunchysteve Great question! Please email my assistant so she can help: clientcare@DelgadoEntertainmentLaw.com
What do you mean, if you do a cover song on TH-cam and universal audio will claim 100% and that's okay?
This could be your most valuable clip cause every musician needs to be able to do covers.
One music hack here is to get the midi file for the song you want so everything is the same but with your own sounds assigned to parts but the arrangement and lyrics can all stay the same.
@@meanguitar I never thought about that
@@meanguitar A really fun hack to go with your hack: try different chord inversions, and try some different color-note choices (adding an extension like a 7 9 or 11, or making some chords a sus, or whatever. Try grabbing a note and move it up or down by a 5th, see how it changes the feeling. This kind of editing doesn’t change it enough to be classified any differently (it’s still a cover). And you can get some really beautiful effects from just going through and playing around with the notes within the chords.
Whats a sea of chance the music industry is, back in the day (and I know cover were done back them too) you had to be a singer /band and do gigs till people liked and kept coming to your gigs till an A and R guy spotted you and you got push from a record company (or you got diddyed!!!) Now you can make a song and with no help put it out to the world, you just have to compete with he 40,000 songs that get uploaded to spotify daily! and I don't know how many other covers uploaded to youtube..........I don't know which you had a better chance at.
@@sub-jec-tiv Yeah that's the daw equivalent of what I did as a 90s jazz guitarist - substitutions are awesome. But if there's a legal requirement to not touch the chords to be considered a cover then I focus on texture taking out the cheesy general midi and replacing with nutso vst plugins.
Hello. I'm an attorney and I represent Metallica. Lars heard that you used the band's name in this video and he wants 25%
@@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj Hello, I’m Lars’ drum teacher. Can you please ask him to show up. I haven’t seen him in 40 years.
Good thing she didn't mention Don Henley or the Eagles!
Hello, I'm Lar's drumsticks. Please tell him to beat the drums with the same enthusiasm as he beats his meat.
Lol
@@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj 😏👍👀🤔😁😆
Unless you cover an Eagles song. So many people have had strikes and take downs as Don Henley is so protective over Eagles material. To cover an Eagles song has become the kiss of death on youtube.
Good, the hacks need to be put in place.
@@sword-and-shield Found Don Henley
@@TrystanGreyvein 🤣🤣😂😂
He has the legal team from The Garden of Allah 😈
Ozzy is a monster. Sharon will find you. Not kidding
The Japanese Metal Band Nemophila would record release weekly videos and most were covers. They grew to over 250k subscribers with 1.5m views on many of the videos within 2 years by getting picked up by the algorithm on youtube. This happened during the pandemic and was a way to grow the fans when they could not play live. This grew a big fan base for them to then release 2 original albums AND do a limited US tour. They also toured Japan.
Just proves had worthless the consumers are, that some hack cover band can dominate. Its no wonder everyone wants to be a hack instead of an artist.
Nemophila a "hack cover band", haha good one. Have you listened to their original stuff?
@@dazzhotchkin Just because you make originals, doesn't mean you are not a "hack" when you decide to do a cover. If you are confident enough in your own art you shouldn't have the desire to hack onto another artist's work. Worse is when you profit from it, and continue to do it, just proves a sell out mentality is in their approach. Now, clearly this is art, art carries with it opinion, mine is vehemently against covers and the hacks that do them...that's all.
@@sword-and-shieldhack means different. Different is important. There's 184 countries that could change a song that many ways.
@@davidmueller9342 Hack means how I posted it, not some third world definition. A hack artist knows they are a hack, how? They are not creating their art from scratch.
I was legit just talking about this today because the two drum covers I did got flagged on YT.
Appreciate you for this one because my original stuff is still in the works but I have some covers I can upload.
Yeah you just have to see covers as a promotional expense. You do a bunch of work for free so that other people can find you
Please join us on our livestream in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
I'm sorry but it sounds like you should use the word "Structure" as opposed to arrangement. A song has structure such as AAB, ABABCAB, these are just a few. Arrangement means instrument arrangements of the song, meaning where do the guitars come in, how many horns? When do synths come in.
I was thinking the same thing. Everything else is solid knowledge (as far as I klow), but that part confuses things a little bit
@@Muggfacepublishing what is an arrangement? To me it’s the way one preforms the song. What is the instrumentation, tempo, harmony, even the key.
So if I do a cover of She Don’t Use Jelly in a minor key, is that still a cover? By the way Ben Folds Five does a great minor key cover of She Don’t Use Jelly.
@@rstuartcpa She didn't really say anything about changing the melody, chords, rhythms etc. We learned keep the lyrics and the order of the sections identical. The arrangement is generally the way and manner the harmonies are voiced. IMO, that's the most common way arrangement is used by composers.
in music the trade word and legalese is "arrangement", people who "arrange" the music also get a songwriting credit. It goes right with: measure, piano, fortissimo ect.
Musicians use the word arrangement to mean what a producer (old definition) might call ‘orchestration.’ Whereas producers (old definition), A&R, label folks, will use the word arrangement to mean the entire thing including the structure, harmonisation, and the orchestration. Technically her usage is correct, it still might be confusing to musicians who use the word differently from others in the business.
Great information and very timely - thank you. I have 3 questions: 1. Does YT count as a streaming platform if you only have it as audio with a thumbnail? 2. Does a live recording of you playing a cover count as a "music video" when you upload it to YT, TikTok, FB, IG, etc (I suspect the answer is yes). 3. What if you're livestreaming a show you play and you're doing covers? Does that need a mechanical license for each cover you do?
So you briefly touched on what I was hoping you’d mention…what is it actually called when you do a cover but change some (not all) of the words? It’s something I’ve been wanting to do and the legal side confuses me so I’ve put it off 😬
It is called a remake, not cover.
@ is that an official term though? Because when I try to look up the rules for a remake of a song, I’m just getting info on covers 😭
@@SouthsideWilly I believe it is an official term. Listen. If your channel is small , I believe , none of these matters, cos no one will give a sh.. about you anyway, lol.
@ haha, true 😂 I keep swinging between thinking that myself, then back to feeling like it would be nice to do it properly. It would be so much easier just to do a straight cover, but I have an idea I can’t let go of 😂
@@extremotionaltrouffasnope size doesn't matter. I've had publishers try to claim MY original songs. I do get blocked for covers, but I claim fair use and they disappear. Happy to let them have the no money I make as I gets subs and views from it.😂
This is why no one wants to bother with any music anymore. The obstacles are so many, but it isn’t worth all of this. I have to take courses in legalese, along with my education of equipment, and all the things involved with production. The more obstacles and hoops to jump through is turning creativity into a nightmare, and no one born with a gift or talent will bother. I thank you for your time and your video it convinced me to stop this wasting of my entire life trying to produce something that no one will ever get to hear.
Thanks very much for clarifying re video cover songs (esp for Psy-Lounge, not posting on behalf of here so logged into personal) on the major social platforms; we do go through the proper steps for being able to do releases "anywhere" but TBH have been a little uncertain re youtube and the video aspects of the covers where we obtained only the licenses for the audio publication. Good to know we remain on solid ground!!!!
You're welcome! Join us on the livestream we're doing tonight, we have a great community in the live chat. Tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST!
When you say arrangement, it sounds like you’re actually talking about the song structure. Arrangement to me (and i assume to most people) mostly refers to instrumentation and things like that
@@SorooshMhs I thought about that a few times while watching this. I would imagine she knows the difference, since she’s a musician. And I’d expect a lawyer to speak more precisely regarding that distinction in order to avoid confusion
Arrangement is the whole thing in fact. The song need to have the same chords and notes. The only things you can change is the tempo, the overall sound of those instruments and sound of the voice. Nobody do that except Karaoke song tracks if it is perfectly done. They want to be sure they can sue you and get the royalties at the end. ;)
@@EarleMonroe Her missuse of te term is actually causing confusion. As a lawyer, she shoulöd know the importance of how to use terms and words correctly.
Or you guys could use a search engine to read about it before you start commenting negatively.
@@541systamatik541 my comment isn’t negative, i’m just saying this for clarification. And i don’t need to Google this. I’ve been a musician for a decade and half and also every other musician i know, has the same definition of arrangement as i do
Thanks a lot because those are things I always told to my artists as well. About the "arrangement" you also gave the correct indication about. It's not to use a piano instead of a guitar, but it is regarding the structure of the song. In italian language, having the distinction of female/male words etc, just to change the desinence of the word: you need the license. I had this issue for a couple of covers songs I produced with Licia Fox as singer, and the Original Editor have licenced me to produce it. Even the title can't be changed if not authorized.
THe Sync in EU it's a bit more differentiated. SABAM (Belgium) told me clearly: no sync permission IF and only IF you are making a videoclip that """visualizes""" the song (I use the terms my Legal Office is using). If you use it to affiliate (also in your video) brands or ADS: Sync license is mandatory. Like for instance: filming a character that's drinking Coca-Cola: Sync mandatory. Just drinking the same but with not visible (or blurred) marquee: it's fine so.
Mechanical rights: Yes indeed: if you print CDs or Vinyls or Cassettes with your cover songs: you need MLs. I'm really happy to have watched this video. you were clear, univocal, straight to the point, and clear making clear what an Arrangement is. Thanks.
Then it is what i thought: Lawyers have a different definition of "arrangement" than musicians.
@@Mullewarp Indeed. The issue was that boht (I and the Legal office) were convinced to have a unique term. Instead of there was a not clear semantic issue.
Arrangement for us as musicians is: change the instrument type, the pitch, the rhythm. For the Legal is: changes into the architecture of the song.
And TBH in a certain way, the 2 meanings are sometimes overlapping each other.
Going to save this video and share the link with the other musicians over on Twitch! Some of us are shy to post our VODs.
I just dropped an update video. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
This si an amazing explanation. Thank you for this!! I spent so much time trying to get this information and didn't post songs to TH-cam because of my fear of a strike. Always wondered how a high school band can post covers and get a million views and not get taken down. You explained it perfectly. Thank you!
fun fact. Before the mass media genres almost everything was a covered composition. Beethoven didn't make any masters, so besides the few performance that he gave everything else is covers. And 99% of musicians graduating after 5-10-15 years of studying music are cover-artists.
You generally had to hand copy stuff from other composers as well.
For example, if you wanted a copy of Buxtehude's organ music, you had to walk to Lübeck. Then, you had to ask to copy it. Then, you had to hand copy it, using the provided key in order to understand his tablature in order to write it in a way that you understand it, sometimes adapting the pedal part because you play an instrument with a pedal compass that's too short to play as Buxtehude wrote it.
@@karlrovey great point!
The word "cover" comes from a time when popular songs were copied accurately to compete with the original version. It actually covered it. In classical music artists and conductors allways have had their own interpretations. That is also the case now with cover in popular music. It's actually not a cover, it is an interpretation or a version.
@@ronnyskaar3737 the interpretation of a song that you are referring to is different from interpretation of a academic music (be that classical or modern or baroque for that matter). In songs it's heavilly rellying on sound and production. Often it's a tempo change. Originally active or fast or somewhat dancelike music played as a slow sad ballad. Like those many Billie Jeans played by the likes of David Cook an others. But every single interpretation of a sonata written on piano is played on piano with the same timbre. And nobody played the first part of Moonlight Sonata fast like waltz as an interpretation. It makes it a derrivative genre like Fantasy or Interpretation etc. And if it's rewritten for a different instrument sometimes it's called Translation or something else depends on traditions.
@@SIBIRIAKcom Absolutely
Thanks for the info . If i am doing a cover song as instrumental . Can i make it short . Or again should it follow the hole arrangement process
Great video! I've asked for explanations to this subject even from Berklee while in school there and absolutely could not get an understandable answer to these questions.
Thank you so much for making this!
Of course three nice Covers of Bob Marley : 1. Buffalo Soldier, 2. Slave Driver, 3. Sun is Shining ready to Release and Bassist of Bob Marley is on Bass and on Slave Driver and Sun is Shining his Son Aston Jr. is on Drums and Keys .......
What if you only change 1 or 2 words?? 🤔
Would love a dedicated video on other ways streaming differs from "mechanicals" 🙏
This is a great suggestion! Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
@ Unfortunately, I will mostly likely still be at work, but thank you for the response, and I’ll be continuing to follow you and just crossing my fingers! 😄 Such a great resource!
So is ‘arrangement’ synonymous with ‘song structure’ in music law? Because every time I heard arrangement I am thinking of the instrument chosen and their parts, my previous understanding of the term
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for this! I am left with two big questions:
1. How exactly is the term arrangement defined here? To me, that means the selection of instruments and how the chords are voiced. If I take a song written for a 6 person rock band and translate it to a 40-piece orchestra while keeping the structure and lyrics, to me that is a new arrangement while still being a cover song?
2. Let’s say I take a famous 8- minute rock song, remake it as a 3-minute synth-pop song with totally new lyrics, yet the melody, changes-ups and and chord voicing is all the same… so that despite all the changes, it is still instantly recognizable as the original song. I’ve always thought this still counts as a cover song. What exactly would be the problem with releasing this as a cover, attributing the original writers, letting all songwriting royalties go to the original writers with my version registered simply as a new recording? Then in the description it would say “featuring new arrangement and revised lyrics by X”? I assume the artist would still want the money even though I changed the words? As long as I’m not trying to pass it off as my own original thing, why would they care if I tinker with the arrangement and the lyrics?
So do you need a sync license these days to legally/safely post your own video of your cover song on TH-cam or not? If not, can you reference or link to any documentation that says it's ok to do so? Because this contradicts everything else I've read over the past few months online including advice by Dave from EasySong.
You said a cover has to be unchanged with the same exact arrangement (excluding maybe the he/she changes) but that conflicts with some creative license allowing for changes to tempo, key, instrumentation, harmonies, and overall style. This is not to be confused with Interpolation which is more like a band rerecording Staying Alive but rapping over it; to my understanding.
You sort of mention Mash-ups for a quick second but never explained it other that saying it didn't qualify as a cover.
It would be great to get your legal interpretation/clarification on these points.
Right? I believe your example of "interpolation" is correct, and you still need permission from the copyright holder to legally use it. It's not clear in this video.
I quit purchasing mysic a long time ago preferring to listen to midi files on my synthesizers. What I would pay for is some kind of subscription site that musicians could upload their music that would stream audio and midi, while still letting users change channels and instruments. As opposed to just downloading the whole file.😁🎶🎹🎶🎸🎶Play On
I feel I should add that it be run by musicians for musicians and not by people that are going to just rip them off.🤔
🎶🎹🎶
What about people who are on tik tok singing cover songs on their lives for tips and getting money from them?
Also, I made a music video to a cover song I did, it’s on TH-cam but I’m not monetized on YT.
Does this information also apply to instrumental musicians that buy sheet music and then play and record it as an ensemble or edit together a multi-track performance of themselves playing a duet or quartet?
When you say “the same arrangement,” I think you mean the order of the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/etc. but what if you change the instruments used? Like if you want to do a metal version of a cartoon theme song, is that still kosher? What if you add a guitar solo or something?
Also, what if your singer just sucks and WANTS to keep the melody the same but he’s just so awful that he can’t do it?
That's what i thought too. There are so many "Coversongs" that don't stick to the original arrangement. Are they all not a cover from a legal perspective?
This is a great questions actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
@@TopMusicAttorney I might be able to. I can’t promise it.
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for your video, the information is wonderful. Please, consider using a filter for your microphone. Your sound quality will be much better, in my humble opinion.
Can we explain the music (instrumental) for the cover song? Can the instrumental be significantly different for the cover? Such as changing chords? When does a cover become derivative work? Thanks
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
@TopMusicAttorney thank you missKrystle
At what point has a lyric been changed? If a singer changes a he to she or other little modifications to accommodate context is it still a cover. For example: "She grew up in an Indiana town" to "He grew up in an Illinois town" with the same general rhythmic and melodic phrasing. What about accurate lyrics with melodically embellished or modified melodies?
what if the cover is an instrumental? Theres no longer lyrics involved (perhaps as background vocals), but no actual singer. Does this still apply? or is it no longer a cover?
is there a rule for the meter of a song? Can I play a 4/4 song in 3/4, or woud that break the cover-rules? thanks!
I like how you left the part where Universal might unexpectedly be able to take all your money until a vague moment in the last 30 seconds
In a drummer that has uploaded drum covers on YT and I got real nervous cuz everyone had "copyright". Thought I was huge trouble. So just want to make sure I can keep doing those w/o worry or should I put the disclaimer stuff. Thx for this. I was very confused on this whole issue.
@TopMusicAttorney I think that your next video should be on Robyn Adele Anderson. She's a great singer who does cover songs in different styles. So for instance, the lyrics are the same, but she'll have a swing cover or a jazz cover. The video could be about the copyright side as well as the business $ide. I'd watch that video. I just bought my cousin VOL 7 compilation of her covers for Christmas. 🎄
I had an issue where I made an aramgement of Silent Night, which is in public domain, and my distributor wouldn't distribute it to Facebook, insta, or tiktok. It really pissed me off. I know plenty of artists doing christmas music and it is distributed fine.
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Question: would the mechanical license available through distrokid cover interpolation? And does the same rules apply for worship songs as far as arrangement?
What about people who are on tik tok singing cover songs on their lives for tips and getting money from them?
Also, I am in a cover band and we play song live at Venues , is this allowed?
Thanks for Distro Kid info, I do have them aquire Mechanicals for me as I like to tryt and monetize most of what I post with a few exceptions...... What about though this though....... you can't post straight audio on youtube so the conversion uses the Album cover embedded in the meta data and its just static for the duration so its only a "VIDEO" in Format technically just so that the Audio can be played ..... Can that be posted thru my Distributor (DK) WITHOUT a M.L. and still be monetized for streaming royalties.... Its really only a "VIDEO" if there is frame to frame motion in the video. [ I know this is a stretch but maybe could be addressed in a Updated negotiation at some point......... i elect you to do it ....... PLEASE!!!..... Looking forward to your answer if you actually do answer............... OH Yeah, i stumbed across you and thought now here is an informative and usefull subscription...... and so pretty too .....BONUS 😉 I ask this because the yearly cost of the mechanical that DK charges adds up and ide love to cancel those recurring charges. ALSO thinking of dumping DK for the free JUMPSTR service but its alot less "Disrtibuted" with respect to how many platforms i get distributed to. AND My SEO is great right now with the first page links are ALL me on various different platforms and i dont want to lose that. i worked hard to get search optimized to that
Thank you so much for sharing. It's really informative. What category do those songs that we cover but also make changes on the arrangement fall under?
Miss Krystle's cover songs playlist in the description is remarkably good.
Thank you SO much!!
Excellent video! One question, what if you do an instrumental version, same music and arrangements with no lyrics. Is that considered a cover? (for example a piano instrumental version of a song)
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
my questions is this, Are the vamps and fills at the end of a song considered a part of the arrangement? Have I rearranged the song if I omit , mispronounce or add what I feel ?
This is a great questions actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney that's 9:pm EST. I'll try. I am setting up for the 12th as i am having my 64th birthday on a school night.. I am so happy Instagram's algorithm suggested your site. My Hollands Opus of 40 plus years in finally underway. All my former students will be surprised.
The duration of a song was mentioned in the video so I’m wondering if a change in tempo resulting in a shorter version of the covered song is acceptable to qualify for the digital streaming license?
What about creative interpretation adding new guitar solos or improvisational sections. or for example Brian Adams version of wonderwall ? I was to do that but kept lyrical consistency of the arrangement, versus chorus ext. but played with tempo and harmonic components, am I still ok to upload these videos, what would I need to do for those covers?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise if you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Does doing a remix (as long as the arrangement is the same) of an electronic song (without vocals) go under the same agreement? Can I do my own version of for example a Tiesto song?
That's a remix and not a cover.
@@orlock20 how is it a "remix" when you produce every single sound from scratch? It kinda sounds like an "instrumental cover" type of thing, but I'm really curious to find out how publishers/labels actually treat such cases.
@@orlock20 what is the difference if I follow the same principle? I make my own drums, bass sound, synths etc but the melody and the arrangement stays the same.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney I would gladly join the livestream. Sadly it is in the middle of the night from where I live. :(
I will for sure watch the livestream afterwards during the day.
Hi, so Ditto music/Spotify just rejected my cover song because the original was 5:19 and my song was 5:40 because it had 20 secs of ambience at the end, other than that it was very faithful to the original.
Oh man! If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
Very interesting explained. If I understand that correctly, it's still a cover if you sing the song as it is, but in a different genre (e.g. the original is a Rock song, and you're singing it as Country version) as long as the text and melody order is the same.
Would you consider a breakdown video of the details of the band you mentioned that you negotiated the sale of their cover song catalog? Were all the cover songs true and full recreations in every detail, with no modifications? Were they only audio files? What are the splits with the copyright holders/songwriters?
To be clear, trimming a song down for time by removing that last verse and chorus that simply repeats the previous ones, and everything else remains the same, including style/genre, is enough to disqualify it as a cover song? Also, when talking about "arrangement," does arrangement include instrumentation too? IE: making a 'cover' of a pop song using only tubas for instrumentation? I have heard that rights holders/songwriters split the revenue. How often do they claim 100%? Lastly, what about instrumental versions, are they technically covers or not?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
The sync license thing is all well and good until you do a cover of a Bryan Adams song. I have a mechanical license for Summer of 69 (obviously not a sync license), uploaded the song + video to TH-cam and got a full blown nuclear copyright strike from UMG, this was this year. Then the same happened to a 40 second clip of another Bryan Adams song I uploaded to TikTok. So that bloke just doesn't give a toss, he's going savage on people. I had it confirmed by UMG that this was actual Bryan Adams decision to do this.
And tbh, the fact that an individual artist is able and allowed to do this makes a mockery of the entire process. Because, what are we meant to do?? Where's the list of every artist who does and doesn't do this? It's not a binary thing and that means it's dangerous again to do covers and put them on TH-cam, all it takes is for you to cover a song from an artist who hates covers (and you had no idea who) and you could have your entire channel deleted. And there's more, I've seen Bryan Adams hand out passes or put specific indie artists onto a white list, so even with these there is grey areas, it's an absolute mess.
Don't cover the Eagles either. Don Henley does NOT like being out played
@@therealajnelson Yea I've heard about that too, I think I heard something about Guns N Roses doing the same but I can't remember now. Which is exactly the problem.
I lost all respect for Bryan Adams after that, he was once an up and comer, sure he wrote all his own stuff but I'm sure if you look hard enough you'll find him doing covers. To just shit all over people who are basically paying homage to his work is scummy at worst, ignorant at best. I can't pretend to have any kind of influence over his sales but some big cover songs do reignite the sales and awareness of the originals, that's the beauty of the cover song ecosystem which he'd kill off if everyone did what he's doing.
Better add Neil Young to the cry baby list...........
@@Reginaldborington spot on
@@WhotheHellknowsAnyway you can bet these jokers will get upset in their final years when no-one remembers who they were because their fan base died out 🤣
I understand why you didn't get into TH-cam Content ID, because it's basically HOPING that you can do whatever you want because a lot of copyright holders will allow it (in exchange for...). As a lawyer you want to focus on what's certain. Makes sense
But I'd love to hear about your thoughts on Content ID, and (if you know) how channels like "There I ruined it" get away with making videos that include material from several artists where there's no way to share monetization with every applicable party.
Another LEGAL question - once you put a song on TH-cam the proper way (through a distributer) - can people legally use clips of your cover in shorts? I'd love to hear you thoughts on shorts.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
What about jazz covers, which are usually very dynamic reworking of the music?
Question: Great video! But it was a little lyric-centric. In your dark pop example, surely you’re changing the tempo and the key, maybe some interval progressions. How is that different than lyrical changes?
Question: Would an acoustic version of an electric song be considered a different arrangement? Something that uses open chords instead of power chords (5-6 note “fuller” chords vs 2-3 note power chords, for example)?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the insight!
I’d have a couple of questions: I submitted a bunch of cover songs to Easy Song and they gave me the streaming license for all of them (minus one where I changed the lyrics) even if I changed the arrangement/structure quite a bit, including a few chord sequences.
Am I in the right spot or did Easy Song make a mistake?
Second: if I change lyrics, Easy Song offers something like “Special license” (not sure if that’s the right name) which costs a lot more than a simple one. And that’s for streaming. What about sync license for those?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. Otherwise if you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
This really makes me wonder about the hoops Weird Al has had to jump through over the years. Mostly regarding not his direct parodies but the "polka" mashups, each almost entirely consisting of partial excerpts from a dozen recognizable hits, performed in an over the top, zany polka/klezmer style with smatterings of other styles thrown in (like the Ice Ice Baby part of Polka Your Eyes Out, done in barber shop quartet style). I'm sure he's not the only one to throw in popular ear worms for their mash ups (DJ Earworm) or include "homages" in parts of their songs (Dragonforce guitar solos with Nintendo music melodies) or mix non-music industry samples into music (MelodySheep) as a regular part of their musical style. I wonder how many of them hammer out the details beforehand and how many just create first and just quietly wait for any licencing challenges to fall upon them later.
Question: How does this apply to parodies? I have a famous song I cover that does not change any of the original lyrics, but adds some comedic commentary dispersed throughout. (It actually changes the structure slightly but cutting the last chorus short to just get to the end.)
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney Yeah I should be able to make that time. I’ll find it on your page and set a reminder
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
@ Thank you! I wasn’t able to make it to the livestream Q&A, so I look forward to checking it out
Thank you Miss Krystle.
This video was uploaded with impeccable timing! 🎉
Can I add another twist... What if I made a cover and only play it at live events like a large festival.... BUT! Those events stream a video of my performance of my whole set and those songs are now on TH-cam, do you think that will be a problem. Also consider I am not streaming or making videos of these versions just using them for live events to complete my set. If I remember right I would only technically have to pay a performance royalties per instance I use the song. My concern is that eventually somebody in audience or one of the promoters might like that version of song and put out a video of they took of the live performance and then eventually labels/publishers would come after me. Thoughts?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney I will try to make it. cya hopefully at your livestream, and thanks for your insight.
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
Very helpful information but what if I've made changes to the songs composition and/or arrangement? The line between what is a cover and what is not can get messy fast. So what if I do change Him to Her or I do a mashup and stitch more than one song together? Or play music from one song but sing lyrics from another? What would I need to do to be compliant with the law?
"Blue" was a favourite of main as well
How would a "mash up " ( lyrics from a well known song ie : Smoke on the water and beat or instrumentation from another ie: Kashmir )be classified whether on Yt or other platforms . My intention is to use them for tutorial purposes for improving vocals . Thank you for any guidance or suggestions .
When you say "the same arrangement" what exactly does that cover, how do you define arrangement? How about changing some chords? How does that play?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
Hi there. I do fully synth-based song arrangements, not to be confused with covers. I can do this freely right ? It’s basically de facto my own composition, inspired by the original source material, but an otherwise its own original piece. Example: instead of a vocal track in the original I play the melody on the synth with all the extra elements and sometimes/often rearrange, expand, modify the original where it becomes my very own original piece.
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
@@TopMusicAttorney That’s a roger, thank you for getting back. Will be happy to join the live and will sure keep the email in mind as well.
How changing the arrangement order is not a cover, but changing they key/melody is?
It's a little confusing to use "arrangement" when talking about the order of verses and choruses. I think of "arrangement" as being the instrumentation used, vs. "structure" which is the organization of verses. When you said you have to keep the same arrangement, I thought, "oh shit...I'm supposed to get a brass quartet and string section now?"
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
How are people able to create "play along" songs on TH-cam? Like when you use an existing song, but you might remove the guitar solo and put your own into it, or you play your own drum part while the song is playing in the background? For me those get removed within seconds of uploading, but there are tons of those all over TH-cam.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney Nice - Will do my best to be there, thanks!
I did a cover of a T-Rex song on my other TH-cam channel. It’s just the audio. I got a copyright claim from TH-cam, which I was kind of expecting, only it absolutely was not the song’s owner. I suspect someone else did a cover and copyrighted it and they put the claim in. I’ve heard others talk about this on TH-cam.
@@DavidRavenMoonI create music for children's media and people have the cajones to copyright traditional music... They can't get the money from it, though.
That's why you are allowed to dispute claims.
@@orlock20I've disputed two or three times to no effect. No idea who is making a claim on traditional songs, but it's annoying!
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
@@TopMusicAttorney this is not a pressing legal issue (yet), but I have a growing channel that might need some good legal consultation in the near future.
First! Thank you for doing your thing on both fronts!
So.....What about contrafactum ? Would it be considered a parody legally? I recently rewrote all the lyrics to a hit 80's song, thinking that it was a parody but my lyrics are neither poking fun at the original song or the band itself.
Could this also be considered as derivative? I use same melody, arrangement and song structure. The chords of which are basic and there's no riffing to speak of in the original.
When you say you cant change the arrangement, i take it your saying dont change the structure, like verse and chorus sections and not add sections, but does that include tempo, or making the bass line more simple/complicated or harmanizing the melody or does it need to be identical to the original
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
@@TopMusicAttorney i should be able to
Do you have to change the songs up if you’re doing covers for life performances?
I am a member of an FaceBook group that records songs and posts on the group site for entertainment purposes, not monetary. Most of us know we cannot do songs by The Eagles. They often time result in strikes. Some people have been temporarily banned. Some of us have had strikes, apparently most havenʻt. I generally us the original arrangement. Sometimes someone will ask about copyright issues. I have been doing this since 2022 and have had one strike on each of two songs. What should we do to protect ourselves doing this for fun?
Can you confirm that a still screen (a title screen) on you tube and/or a lyric only video is not classed as a synch rights issue? Or is you tube essentially considered a video format from the start?
Same reply that I did to your previous question, let's chat!
13:27 You keep saying to "keep the same arrangement/keep the same lyrics," but I'm still a tad confused on that. Do I have to keep the same chord progression and melody, or just the same words in their original order?
Arrangement is synonymous with "structure" in this context and applies both the music and lyrics. Like verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus-2, chorus 2, bridge, solo, etc.. you can't "rearrange" the sections of the song to be different from the original.
@RobKMusic Okay. I understand. One more question, though: can I abridge by cutting off, for example, a chorus that repeats to fade on the original? Like, can I do it and then end the song, or do I have to repeat it as many times as they did on the recording? It wouldn't be changing the lyrics, the arrangement of the lyrics, nor the meaning of the lyrics - it would just not include the ongoing repetition at the end.
Thx for all your guys' help! Y'all rock!! 🤘🤙
Abridgement is most likely considered a change, is my bet, but I'm just a watcher not a lawyer. In all these matters and, I think @topmusicattorney would aggree, always err on the side of caution. Always. The labels' lawyers can beat up your lawyers anyday, and they'll eat you alive for dessert. I know people that this has happened to.
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
@@TopMusicAttorney I'll try. My schedule usually doesn't allow me to catch the live streams, so I have to catch up with segments; but that means I'm never there for live Q&A. ☹️
Can you do a video about the KISS Pophouse deal? What it means? Does KISS members still own anything? Can they get it back? If a fan buys music or merch will the members of the band get the proceeds or does the Pophouse company get everything? How does it work when a band sells their rights, logo, makeup, everything to one company? Two members are still very involved in a project with Pophouse though. It would be great to hear your take on all this.
9:52 isn't a sync license for putting the music track on a video? What about performance licenses?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
Does it count if you are only covering 1 of the instruments, like in a bass cover video performed over the original audio?
There are "cover songs" that have changed a few words...the full elements of the song are there, but a few lyrics changed. Sound of Silence by Disturbed or Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder...so are they "cover songs" or something else?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
@@TopMusicAttorney May be dicey but I'll try - otherwise hopefully I'll catch a recording later.
When you talk about arrangement, I get that the lyrics have to be the same, the verse has to be in the same spot in the song, the chorus and bridge have to be in the same spot, but what if there's a guitar solo? I get that you'd want it to be in the same spot in the song but does it have to be a note for note rendition of the solo in the original version, or is this where you get to put your own spin on the song?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
Q: So with Spotify / Distrokid, Are people making money on cover songs through them? Great specifics on youtube claiming copyright and adsense / monitization. Just curious if people can bang out a cover song each month using that digital license and make a few bucks.
So you answered my question in the last part in terms of distributors that require you or want you to tic a box that says it's a cover song so they can sell you a license or make you go get one. My other question is this. Do we have to deselect the option of iTunes and Amazon music downloads when submitting a song to a distributor that is a cover song? And only make it on the streaming platform. I know you said direct to person or customer. But does that count for the iTunes and Amazon download?
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
@TopMusicAttorney absolutely I could try my best. Eastern standard Time so that might be a little late for me lol
You're going real fast which makes it hard to digest. Simple question, can I perform a song on video as a cover and post it. No money no sales involved just a performance.
It amazes me that any artist would want to stop someone from making a cover of their songs. There is a massive benefit to the original artist every time someone does a cover version. Personally, I’d be absolutely thrilled if someone did a cover of one of my songs!
this was really helpful. not only for me to know, but to also pass along to my studio clients. Thanks!
Love that! You're so welcome! We have a livestream this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST, would be great to see you all in the live chat :)
I think you should mention that a cover song is tried and true as a definite hit. So anyone who’s up-and-coming has not made a hit yet would only benefit from doing cover song.
I think she does say that in the video at some point as it's "good marketing"
Do you know how many professionals I have asked these same questions and gotten totally different answers from everyone? Awesome! Thanks so much! Here's another question. How about if you put your cover song into an independent movie that has other music in it, and that movie is shown in places other than streaming, i.e. film festivals?
what if your youtube channel isn't monetised? I put some videos up of a band playing some covers and they got blocked. Each video had two or more separate songs. Another was a video of some dancing, obviously with music in the background. Again, blocked, at least in some regions.
This is a great question! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: jasmine@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
What about an instrumental "cover" of a song. Same arrangement as original, but replacing lyrics with just instrumental melodies instead of vocal lines?
First question that sticks out to me: if structure has to remain the same, what's the situation with posting smaller sections of a full cover song (e.g. just first verse/chorus as shorts/reels?). Because it sounds like someone would get in trouble for making a cut down cover... but that's functionally identical to producing the full cover, then using an excerpt for promo... right?
Or is "re-ordering" the actual problem here?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this tonight 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST?
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
I address this in my update video I just dropped. th-cam.com/video/r3_il-RmsHM/w-d-xo.html
Yeah, I've never seen gender swapping the singer as an issue, although I have noticed even some bigger artists don't do it when they do a cover. Thanks for the video! It did clear up a couple of things I had been wondering about.
I was curious about his one as well. I am always surprised when the words aren't changed, but now it makes sense.
I suppose it pays respect to the songwriter, which I can appreciate, but to make it a legal issue seems juvenile.
I think most artists do it on purpose. For example to show that they are down with same-sex relationships (in fact they may be queer themselves, as artists/musicians have a slightly higher queer representation).
What are the legalities of using a karaoke song to sing to and distribute on music platforms?
What about videos where you teach how to play a song (on an instrument)? Also, does it make a difference if you show the musical notes (or guitar tab)?
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST.
What a great information! Thank you so much. Quick question. How will this whole thing work for a tribute band that plays many songs from a specific band catalog as close as they were written? Playing their songs live and using videos from shows on YT and social media to promote the tribute band, what type of licenses applies? Thanks!
This is a great question actually! With things like this I love to answer them live during our Wednesday livestreams so I can help everyone get this answer. Can you please be in the livechat with this Wednesday 12/11 at 6pm MST / 5pm PST. If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
@@ValBalza I have the same question!
Hey. What happens if I translate a song but essentially use the same arrangement? What if I translate, keep the same arrangement and change the genre? Still a cover?
META has been blocking my covers recently. They hadn't been doing so previously. Oddly enough, they allowed a Journey cover and then just a few weeks later, blocked a different Journey cover, stating it was flagged as being copyrighted. I assumed they dropped their sync licensing, but now I am even more curious. Even odder is that the earlier Journey cover is still online. It hasn't been taken down.
If you ever wanna talk to one of our attorneys about this, we could schedule something! Reach out to: clientcare@delgadoentertainmentlaw.com 🔥
I am a jazz musician and have some instrumental arrangements of a Beyoncé tune that I mashed up with one of my own compositions which kinda has a similar vibe. I did the same for a Nirvana tune with a South African tune of mine. How would this work if I want to release these tunes?
Ok, but if I use a backing track of a song that has no guitars and put my own recorded guitar on there instead? It seems like many people get strikes for that?
I really don't get it, why would the artists don't want the exposure? I would guess the artist in question would be discovered by more people if they'd allow this?