Quote:
Many covers can be posted on youtube. I have never understood the legality of doing that. Some get taken down, and others stay up.


That's easy. All YouTube covers of songs first published in the USA after 1/1/1928 require a Synchronization (Sync) license from the publishers (or whoever administers those rights for the publishers) unless you can prove that the work is otherwise in the Public Domain. Period. CD Baby, for example will not let you upload a cover that doesn't have it.

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR cannot grant Sync licenses until Congress passes legislation allowing this. All four want to. Many foreign PROs include this service for their members.

Unfortunately, there are many bots, Russian (TuneCore is the biggest), Brazilian (too many to count) and others that flag everything giving you 30 days to challenge. To respond, you must be able to prove a Sync license exists or that the work is in the PD. Failure to do so can cause your video to be pulled and your account to be sanctioned. With TuneCore, I submit to YouTube and the TuneCore website, sometimes with a C&D letter from my attorney sent Certified to their NY mailling address.

If a song is by an entity known for never granting licenses (Hendrix, Led Zep etc.) the takedown is immediate and your YouTube account might be sanctioned if this happens too many times. Although not all courts agree, there is no Fair Use exemption unless you are reporting the news–good luck fighting that.

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