How to Research Whether a Song Is Cleared for Cover Licensing

A song is clearable for a cover release if it has been commercially released before, its lyrics and melody are officially published, and it is not explicitly withheld from licensing by the rights holder — most commercially released songs meet this bar, but a small and important set of exceptions do not. Checking this before you record saves you from a rejected submission and a wasted vocal take.

This matters more than most cover artists assume. The compulsory mechanical license system in the US, which is what makes cover songs legally releasable without asking permission first, only applies to songs that have already been distributed to the public in an authorized recording. If that condition isn’t met, no distributor’s automatic licensing can help you, no matter how low the per-release fee is.

What does it mean for a song to be ‘cleared’ for a cover?

In the cover song context, ‘cleared’ generally means the underlying composition is eligible for a mechanical license, either through the compulsory license system (in the US) or through the automatic licensing arrangements a distributor has in place with rights organizations. It does not mean a human at a label has personally approved your version — for the vast majority of covers, no such approval is needed by law. What you’re really checking is eligibility, not permission.

The core eligibility test

A song generally qualifies for compulsory mechanical licensing if it has been previously released to the public on record, tape, or through a digital service, with the copyright holder’s authorization. This is the single most important fact to verify. A song performed live at a concert but never officially released does not qualify. A leaked demo does not qualify. A song still in copyright but never commercially issued does not qualify.

How do you check if a song has been officially released?

You confirm official release status by finding the song on a major streaming platform, in a label’s official discography, or in a mechanical rights database, under the name of the original credited artist or songwriter. If it shows up on Spotify, Apple Music, or a similar platform as an authorized release — not a fan upload — that’s strong evidence it has cleared this first hurdle.

Practical places to look

Streaming platforms: Search the exact title and songwriter or performing artist. An official artist profile with a verified badge is a good sign; a random user-uploaded file is not proof of anything.
Performing rights organization databases: ASCAP’s ACE and BMI’s Repertoire search tools let you look up a composition by title and see registered writers and publishers. This confirms the song is a real, tracked composition rather than an ambiguous or disputed work.
The Mechanical Licensing Collective’s public song database: The MLC maintains searchable data tied to US mechanical royalties, useful for confirming a composition is actively registered and tracked for mechanical payments.
Label and publisher catalogs: If a song was released on a major label, checking that label’s official catalog or press materials confirms the release date and authorized status.

What are the red flags that a song is NOT clearable?

The clearest red flags are: the song has never been commercially released in any form, the melody or lyrics are disputed or under active litigation, the song is explicitly marked as excluded from licensing by its publisher, or it’s a parody that changes the original lyrics substantially. Any of these should make you pause before recording.

Situations that consistently cause rejections

Unreleased leaks and demos: Even if thousands of people have heard a leaked track, it isn’t legally «released» until the copyright holder authorizes a public release. Covering a leak is covering something that, legally, doesn’t officially exist yet.
Parody and lyric changes: A cover keeps the original lyrics and melody largely intact. If you’re rewriting lyrics for comedic or satirical effect, you’ve moved into parody, which is a different legal category entirely and is not covered by standard mechanical licensing.
Samples layered into your cover: If your cover recording also samples a drum break or vocal snippet from a third, unrelated song, that sample needs its own separate clearance — mechanical licensing for the cover doesn’t touch it.
Traditional-sounding songs that aren’t actually public domain: Some folk-sounding or hymn-like songs are newer than they sound and remain fully under copyright. Don’t assume «old-sounding» means public domain — verify the actual composition date and registration.

Does public domain status change what you need to research?

Yes — if a song is genuinely in the public domain, you don’t need a mechanical license for the composition at all, only for the specific sound recording if you’re using someone else’s audio. Public domain status depends on the composition’s copyright term expiring, not on how old or «classic» the song feels.

In the US, this generally means the composition was published long enough ago that copyright protection has lapsed, based on specific date thresholds set by copyright law. Because these thresholds are technical and country-specific, the safer research approach is checking a reliable public domain database or copyright registration record rather than relying on assumption or a song’s general reputation as «old.»

A practical research checklist before you record a cover

Search the exact song title plus songwriter name on a major streaming platform to confirm an authorized public release exists.
Cross-check the composition in ASCAP’s ACE or BMI’s Repertoire database to confirm registered writers and publishers.
Check the MLC’s song database to confirm the composition is actively tracked for mechanical royalties.
Read the lyrics you plan to perform against the original — confirm you’re not accidentally covering a parody version that’s circulated online instead of the real lyrics.
Note whether your recording will include any outside samples beyond your own performance of the song — those need separate clearance.
If claiming public domain status, verify the specific publication date and copyright term rather than assuming based on the song’s style or age.

Why this research step is worth doing even though licensing is automatic

Globex Music includes automatic mechanical licensing on every cover song release, which removes the paperwork burden of filing individual license requests. But automatic licensing works by confirming eligibility against rights databases during moderation — it can’t create eligibility for a song that was never legitimately released or that’s actively disputed. Doing five minutes of research before you record protects the time and effort you put into the actual performance.

This is also where fast, low-cost distribution changes the economics of experimentation. At $1 per release with moderation that typically completes in a few business days, a cover song is a low-risk test: if a track turns out to be uncleared or moderation flags a rights issue, you haven’t sunk $24.99 or more into an annual plan just to find out. Compare that to TuneCore’s base annual fee plus per-cover fees, or CD Baby’s $9.95 per single plus a 9% royalty commission that continues indefinitely — the cost of confirming eligibility the hard way, through a rejected paid submission, is meaningfully higher on those platforms than on a $1-per-release model with no annual fee.

What happens if you release a cover and it turns out not to be cleared?

If a moderation team catches the issue, your release will typically be rejected or held before it goes live, which is the best-case outcome. If it slips through and a rights holder later disputes it, the release can be taken down retroactively and any accumulated royalties may be withheld or reversed. Research up front is simply cheaper than remediation after the fact.

The upside of doing this correctly is real: legitimate, properly cleared covers on Globex Music are eligible for payouts starting from $10 USD, distributed to 200+ streaming platforms, with a permanent catalog that doesn’t disappear if you stop paying an annual renewal. Getting the rights-clearance step right at the start is what makes that payout timeline possible instead of stuck in dispute limbo.