MECHANICAL LICENSE EASILY EXPLAINED Quick Q&A for all those ready to record albums and want to make sure they have dotted the I’s and crossed all the T’s on their paperwork. What happens when I record a song without getting a mechanical license? It is illegal to record a (NON- PUBLIC DOMAIN) song without paying for the royalties. Copyright is the “right to copy” owned by the copyright holder of the song (typically the publisher/publishers) If a song has never been recorded before, the publisher not only has the right to choose the minimum prepaid amount, but they have the right to decline your request if they are waiting on a more established artist’s consideration first. If the song has been recorded before, they cannot decline you, unless you are changing the words , but you are still obligated to pay the mechanical license. *Many artists don’t want to record a song that someone else recorded (even if 99.99999% of the world has never heard their version). Thus, if you record a song and don’t pay the songwriters you could essentially kill their song before they ever made 1 penny, which makes them pull their hair out. Don’t ask me how I know:)
How long do I need to wait before a song becomes public domain and a mechanical license is not necessary? Any song written today is public domain 70 years after the last co-writer passes away.
What can I typically expect to pay for a mechanical license? The most common mechanical license is a $120 prepay which covers your first 1,000 pressings or digital sales (any combination of the 2). That’s the statutory rate of 12 cents per copy, up from 9.1 cents as of December of 2022. After you reach that point you simply request another license and keep going. 20
