My band is getting ready to release our second CD. All of the songs on the CD are jazz standards that were written by various individuals other than myself or the band so we don’t own the copyrights to the songs.
Previously (our first album) we obtained the rights from the Harry Fox Agency and paid for the licensing of the songs based on the length of the song and how many CDs (250) we pressed. At that time we did not bother with digital download rights.
We sold our CD on CD Baby and part of their service is Digital Distribution. We did not take advantage of the Digital download service last time because obtaining rights seemed like a major hassle. They’re very clear that you must obtain digital download rights (compulsory rights) to the songs before you enter into the Digigal Distribution agreement. They recommend that you send a very specific letter to the publishers in question (and NOT the Harry Fox Agency who is not a publisher) for a compulsory license. I understand all that.
However, at the Harry Fox site you can purchase a mechanical license and allows you to reproduce the work up to 2500 times in whatever means that happens including CD and Digital Downloads.
Since I can’t really imagine 25 people let alone 2500 people wanting to download me singing jazz standards (not that we’re not good but there’s a lot of music out there and I can’t imagine we’ll get all that much attention) I’m inclined to pay for the Harry Fox 2500 Mechanical license and worry about paying for royalties on more than that if/when it happens. We’re only pressing 500 CDs so that would leave me rights to 2000 digital downloads (hell, I’m not even sure I need that many).
Is there a reason I should write a letter to the publisher of 11 different songs and request compulsory rights rather than getting the more limited license from Harry Fox?
Am I misunderstanding some significant difference between compulsory rights and mechanical rights?
What’s the cost involved? Can you do both – use the mechanical license to cover your first 2000 downloads, while you’re writing the letters?
The problem with copyright is that it’s long-lasting: you may not be famous now; but someday you may be, or your expecatations for this album may be low. I would expect that it’s easier to get permission now, rather than down the line.
As for whether you need a lawyer: I’m not one, but I don’t think so. It sounds like you’ve just got a specific question rather than any real uncertainty about how the whole process works (having done it before). However, it might be worth an hour of one’s time to put you at ease.
The cost involved is based on the length of the song in question and how many copyies you wish to release. There’s a specific formula based on the length of the song, something like .9 cents per minute for songs up to 5 minutes and then 1.75 cents per minute for songs that are 5 - 7 minutes (going from memory here).
So. A song that’s 4.5 minutes long, the license would cost about $.04 per copy or about $101 for mechanical license for 2500 copies of that song. There are 11 songs total on the CD and some of them, possibly most of them are longer than 5 minutes but you get the picture. There’s another whole process with the Harry Fox Agency if you wish to secure the rights for more than 2500 copies. The fewest you can purchase is 500 copies which is what we did with our first CD.
The beauty of doing it this way is that The Harry Fox Agency pays the royalties. If I secure compulsory rights then I’m responsible for paying the royalties to the various publishing companies each month.
CD Baby mentions that when you contact a publishing company they might tell you to go through the Harry Fox agency but that individuals have a “right under US law” for a compulsory license. And I guess that’s my big question, do I really want a compulsory license?
CD Baby also give the names of three legal firms who will help with these question at “musician friendly” prices. I may have to look into that.