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> I mean, you're supposed to ask permission to make a cover. No, that’s actually a specific carve-out in US copyright law dating back to the Copyright Act of 1
by masklinn 4y ago
> I mean, you're supposed to ask permission to make a cover.
No, that’s actually a specific carve-out in US copyright law dating back to the Copyright Act of 1909.
It’s certainly a nice thing to do (like weird al and parodies), but it’s not required, and it’s completely useless for a budding singer to “ask permission” to do a cover from a popular artist or group, the request will go straight to the bin unread.
> That's kind of their choice?
Of course it is, but a copyright strike is a heavy handed and damaging choice. The Eagles are apparently notorious for this behaviour.
- tigeroil 4y agoKeep in mind that whilst you don't need to ask permission, you do need to obtain a mechanical license and I have a sneaking suspicion that many of the artists covering (particularly on YouTube) haven't done this. Keep in mind that a mechanical license wouldn't cover you on YouTube anyway - once you're making a video for your cover you now need a sync license which you do need permission for.
- hgsgm 4y agoThe concept of a sync license is insane.