No, you should not release a cover song before its mechanical license is confirmed, and most reputable distributors won’t let you anyway. The clearance step exists specifically to verify that the underlying composition is licensable and that royalties can legally be routed to the original songwriter — skipping it doesn’t just risk a takedown, it can put your entire distributor account at risk.

The good news is that clearance for a cover song is usually fast when you’re working with a distributor that has automatic mechanical licensing built into the release flow. The confusion around «can I just push it live now and sort it out later» usually comes from artists who don’t understand what’s actually happening during moderation, so let’s break down the mechanics.

What does «clearance» actually mean for a cover song?

Clearance means a mechanical license has been secured for the specific composition you recorded, confirming the songwriter and publisher will be paid mechanical royalties on your recording. In the US, this is governed by compulsory mechanical licensing rules under Section 115 of the Copyright Act — the license itself is guaranteed by law as long as the song has been previously released commercially, but someone still has to identify the correct publisher, file the paperwork, and confirm the details before your recording can legally generate royalties.

This is different from a master license or a sync license — a cover release only needs the mechanical license, since you’re creating a new sound recording of an existing composition rather than using someone else’s recording or placing music in video content.

What happens if you release before clearance completes?

If a distributor allows an uncleared cover to go live — or if you upload through a channel that skips this check entirely — you’re exposed on two fronts: the platform can pull the track without notice, and any royalties earned in the meantime become a liability rather than an asset. Streaming platforms have their own compliance teams that scan for unlicensed cover content, and takedowns don’t just remove the single track — repeated violations can flag your entire distributor account.

There’s also a practical financial issue. If a track streams for two weeks before someone notices the mechanical license was never filed, those royalties are sitting on a foundation that could be reversed or clawed back once the issue surfaces. That’s a bad trade for the sake of a two-week head start.

How long does legitimate cover clearance actually take?

With automatic mechanical licensing built into the distribution process, clearance typically resolves during the standard moderation window rather than as a separate, slower step. Globex Music includes automatic cover licensing on every cover submission, so you’re not filing a separate request or waiting on a manual license desk — the check happens as part of the same review that verifies your audio file, metadata, and artwork.

Moderation delays on cover songs are almost always caused by one of three things: the original title or songwriter name is entered incorrectly, the specific recording you covered can’t be matched to a commercially released version, or the composition involves a publisher with unusual administration terms. None of these are solved by releasing early — they’re solved by getting the metadata right the first time.

Can you speed up clearance without skipping it?

Yes — the fastest path to a cleared cover release is accurate submission, not an early upload. Three things matter most:

  • Match the original title and artist exactly. If the song has multiple recorded versions (a jazz standard, for instance, recorded by dozens of artists), specify which version you’re covering so the correct publisher can be identified without back-and-forth.
  • Submit before your planned release date with buffer time. Even a fast review process benefits from a few days of margin, especially around holidays or high-volume submission periods.
  • Keep the arrangement faithful to the composition. Mechanical licenses cover the melody and lyrics as written — significant changes to the fundamental character of the song can complicate licensing and are a separate legal question from a straightforward cover.

Why not just distribute through a service with no review at all?

Some upload tools skip meaningful moderation entirely, which might feel faster but pushes all the licensing risk back onto you. A distributor with fast, real review — rather than no review — is doing the licensing work you’d otherwise have to do yourself: identifying the publisher, confirming mechanical rights, and making sure the royalty pipeline is actually connected before the track reaches 200+ platforms.

This is also where cost matters. At $1 per release with automatic licensing included, there’s little financial incentive to look for shortcuts around clearance. Compare that to TuneCore, which charges a base annual fee plus separate per-cover licensing fees on top — a structure that can make artists feel like clearance is an extra cost to avoid rather than a standard part of the release. When licensing is bundled into a $1 release with payouts starting from $10, there’s no financial pressure pushing anyone toward releasing early.

The bottom line

A cover song isn’t ready for streaming until its mechanical license is confirmed, and that confirmation should happen through your distributor’s standard review — not around it. The time saved by skipping clearance is measured in days; the risk created is measured in takedowns, clawed-back royalties, and potential account restrictions. With automatic licensing built into a fast moderation process, there’s rarely a good reason to try to outrun the system in the first place.

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