How To Legally Release A Worship Cover Song

Casey Cole

I’ve been covering songs for almost a decade now, transposing my favorite songs onto sleepy instruments like harps, strings, and bells. When my daughter, Sparrow, was born back in 2013, I didn’t want to listen to the traditional lullabies as I rocked her to sleep in the evenings, so I started creating my own lullabies. I posted a couple of the covers online for a friend to hear.

The internet somehow took interest (as it sometimes does), so I kept creating these lullaby covers, releasing these songs on a small Bandcamp page. At the time, I knew nothing about how cover songs worked. Was I supposed to ask for permission? Do I need to pay someone? How do I even know who to ask or where to look?

It all seemed so daunting. 

The Legalities of Releasing a Worship Cover Song

After a bit of research, I found a handful of companies out there that were willing to help me through this process. All I had to do was provide them with the information about my release and the songs I had covered, pay them the royalties I owed, and they’d take care of the rest for a fee. This was a relief, until I saw how much the fees were. Releasing some cover songs can’t really be that expensive, right?

This led to a bit more research. I found that what I was looking for was called a compulsory mechanical license. I had to track down who the songwriters were, and which publishers administered those works. Then I just had to send those publishers some information about my covers and some royalties. It wasn’t as scary, difficult, or expensive as some of these companies made it seem.

I sent out the paperwork and royalties for over 120 lullaby covers on my own. At that moment, I realized I could help other artists get through this process of releasing their cover songs.

So I formed Affordable Song Licensing as an artist, with the purpose of helping other artists traverse this tiny yet intimidating corner of the music industry. Over the last five years, Affordable Song Licensing has helped thousands of artists license just about anything you can think of.

When you’re planning your next worship album, it’s as simple as signing up on our site. After you register on AffordableSongLicensing.com, you can create a new project for your release and follow the prompts.

We pride ourselves on having the lowest fees online. Our turnaround time for your licenses is 2 days or less. We’re the easy and affordable option for your song licensing needs. I look forward to helping you!

– Casey

For more information about cover song licensing, visit us at www.AffordableSongLicensing.com

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