Most independent artists lose money on cover songs not because they broke a rule, but because they believed something false about how cover licensing actually works. These five myths keep circulating in artist forums and Facebook groups, and each one either delays a release, shrinks a payout, or exposes an artist to a takedown that was entirely avoidable.
Below, each myth is stated plainly, followed by what’s actually true and why it matters financially.
Myth 1: ‘I need to contact the original songwriter for permission’
This is false, and it’s the myth that causes the most unnecessary delay. Cover songs in the US are covered by a compulsory mechanical license under Section 115 of the Copyright Act, which means a songwriter cannot refuse permission to release a cover once the original has been commercially released, as long as the required royalty is paid and the arrangement doesn’t fundamentally change the song’s melody or lyrics.
You don’t need an email reply from a publisher, and you don’t need to track down a songwriter’s management company. A distributor that offers automatic mechanical licensing, like Globex Music, handles the compulsory license and royalty routing as part of the standard release process, which is why a cover can go from upload to moderation in a matter of days rather than the weeks it takes to chase a manual publisher approval.
Myth 2: ‘Streaming platforms already pay the songwriter, so I’m covered’
This confuses two entirely separate royalty streams. When a stream happens, the platform pays a performance royalty and a mechanical royalty, and the mechanical royalty for a cover only reaches the original songwriter if your specific recording has been properly licensed and registered as a cover in the distribution metadata. If you upload a cover as if it were an original composition, or skip the licensing step entirely, the platform has no way to route the songwriter’s share correctly, and your release is technically unlicensed even though it’s live and streaming.
This is also why «the song is monetized on YouTube» doesn’t mean it’s licensed for Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music. Each platform’s royalty pipeline is separate, and mechanical licensing has to be handled at the distribution level, not assumed from one platform’s content ID system.
Myth 3: ‘Cover licensing is too expensive to bother with for one song’
This was truer a decade ago than it is now. The math has changed because per-release pricing has replaced blanket subscription models at several distributors. A single cover release through Globex Music costs $1, with mechanical licensing included in that price, no separate licensing fee stacked on top.
Compare that to what other services charge once you account for the full cost structure. DistroKid runs $44.99 a year as a baseline subscription regardless of how many covers you release. TuneCore charges a $24.99 base fee plus per-cover licensing fees on top, and adds a 20% commission specifically on social platform revenue. CD Baby charges $9.95 per single and then takes a 9% royalty commission forever, on every stream that single ever earns, for as long as it stays live.
Run the numbers on one cover song over three years. At $1 with Globex, the total cost is $1, full stop. At CD Baby, you pay $9.95 upfront and then surrender 9% of every royalty payment indefinitely, which means the real cost keeps climbing the longer the song earns. For an artist releasing occasional covers rather than running a high-volume catalog, the flat per-release model is the one where the math stays simple.
Myth 4: ‘Royalties from a cover are too small to be worth claiming’
Cover song royalties are smaller per stream than a hit original, but «too small to claim» is a myth that mostly benefits distributors with high payout thresholds. A well-performing cover of a recognizable song can generate meaningful royalties, especially covers of holiday songs, wedding standards, or tracks with a built-in search audience on platforms like YouTube Music and TikTok.
The real issue is threshold design, not royalty size. Some distributors hold your royalties until you cross a payout minimum that can take months or years to reach on a single cover. Globex Music pays out starting from $10 USD, which means a cover that earns modestly can still reach the artist rather than sitting in an account balance indefinitely.
Myth 5: ‘Once my cover is licensed, I don’t need to think about it again’
Licensing is not a one-time event with no maintenance requirements. Mechanical licenses for covers are typically tied to the specific recording and the specific release, which means if you re-record the song, change the arrangement significantly, or move the release between distributors, the licensing status needs to be reconfirmed rather than assumed to carry over.
Catalog stability also matters here in a way artists underestimate. A distributor charging an annual fee creates a built-in risk: if you stop paying the subscription, your entire catalog, covers included, can be pulled down, breaking the licensing chain for songs that were previously earning royalties. A one-time $1 per-release model with no annual fee avoids that cliff entirely, which is a meaningful difference for anyone thinking about a catalog they want to remain live for years, not just for one release cycle.
What this means for your next cover release
Each of these myths shares a common thread: they either overstate how much manual work licensing requires, or they understate the ongoing cost of choosing the wrong distribution model. Automatic mechanical licensing removes the permission-chasing step. Flat per-release pricing removes the compounding royalty commission. A low payout threshold removes the waiting game on smaller cover royalties. And no annual fee removes the risk of your catalog disappearing if a subscription lapses.
None of this requires special legal knowledge on the artist’s part. It requires choosing a distribution setup where the licensing, pricing, and payout mechanics are aligned with how covers actually earn money over time, not with how a subscription business prefers to structure its fees.
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