We’ll help you with your take on a track, so we won’t have to send your release back ⏩
When you distribute music through RouteNote, you have a selection of different stores and different territories that your music can go to. You can send it to all of them, or you can choose to distribute to some and not others.
Some stores require a mechanical licence if you want to distribute a cover song to certain territories. This is a legal document that sorts out where the royalties for the cover song have to go and in what amounts. You don’t have to request these from the original artist; you can buy one from mechanical licensing websites, we’d recommend Affordable Song Licensing.
You will be able to attach your mechanical licence when editing your new release. You must first select that your release is a cover when working on the album details.
Selecting “Yes” on the album version will then mean that, when you upload audio, you will be given the option to select if each individual track is a cover. Here, you are able to select if you have a mechanical licence and can upload it in the section underneath, where it says “Drag and drop”.
You only need a mechanical licence if you’re distributing your release to Canada, the United States of America, Mexico, India and Pakistan.
If you’re not releasing your release in any of these territories, then you don’t need a mechanical licence.
If you’re releasing your music in any of those five countries, there are some stores that don’t need a mechanical licence. These stores are: Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Saavn, Nuuday, Anghami, Tidal and KKBox. These services sort out where the royalties go themselves.
That means if you’re sending the release to Canada, the United States of America, Mexico, India, and Pakistan, but you’re only sending it to one or more of Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Saavn, Nuuday, Anghami, Tidal and KKBox, then you don’t need a mechanical licence.
If the release doesn’t go to those five countries, you don’t need a mechanical licence. If it only goes to those nine stores, it doesn’t matter what countries it goes to, you don’t need a mechanical licence either!
Please note! RouteNote can not distribute any covers to Korean service providers (Melon, Bugs!, Flo, Vibe, and Genie) without written permission from the original artist. Furthermore, soundalikes will only be distributed to some stores. Our content recognition stores, Amazon, Pandora and iTunes do not accept soundalikes. This means a release which has been created with the intention of sounding almost identical to an already existing song.
If you can obtain written permission from the original artist for your cover, please contact moderation@routenote.com with any evidence, including your username and the UPC for the release.
If you wanted to send your cover song to as many stores and territories as possible without buying a mechanical licence, you could distribute it only to Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Saavn, Nuuday, Anghami, Tidal and KKBox in Canada, the United States of America, Mexico, India, and Pakistan, but then distribute it to every store for every other territory.
Have a watch of our video below for more info on cover songs!
Check out the full RouteNote Style Guide here!
If you have any further queries, feel free to get in touch with us!
More on cover releases:
How do I format a cover with RouteNote?
Can I upload cover songs with RouteNote?
What is a cover song?
Can I cover a song and use audio from the original track?
How do I format stores and territories for a cover release without a mechanical license?
How do I license a cover?
How do I credit the original artist if my release is a cover?
What should I put in the C line if my release is a cover?
What should I put in the P line if my release is a cover?
Can I choose ‘soundtrack’ as my genre if the release is a cover?