Now, users of copyright.com have a fast, easy way to license cover songs and third-party compositions for release in the U.S. Today, Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. is announcing a partnership with music licensing and royalty service provider RightsFlow to refer customers interested in music licensing to Limelight, an online mechanical licensing clearance utility for musicians, bands, record labels, choirs, a cappella and other musical groups worldwide.

In an interview with Scott Sellwood, Rightsflow General Counsel, Chris Kenneally learns how “cover songs” have become more important than ever to new artists caught up in the phenomena of “American Idol” and “Glee.” Sellwood, a musician himself, ends the interview with a number from his own non-legal portfolio.

Listen to the interview at copyright clearance center.

NEW YORK, NY (March 29, 2011) – Limelight, the online mechanical licensing utility powered by RightsFlow, will be demonstrated by Scott Sellwood, the company’s SVP and General Counsel, at the 2011 ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) New York Sessions March 31st at the 92^nd Street Y in New York, NY.

The ASCAP event brings together top songwriters, composers, producers, publishers and industry executives for a one-day career-boosting event featuring educational panels, speakers and product demos.  The day is designed to strengthen the skills, knowledge and success of music creators.  Pricing for ASCAP New York Sessions begins at $55, and the event is open to all regardless of affiliation. For more information and to register, go to www.ascap.com/sessions.

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Flying an airplane and performing brain surgery (legally!) require one. So does distributing music. What is it? A license!

Licenses allow you to legally distribute, cover, and adapt music you don’t own or control. Knowing which licenses exist and how to obtain them saves headaches, aggravation, and most importantly — exorbitant legal fees incurred from copyright infringement.

The Golden Rule of Licensing: if you don’t own or control it, you likely need a license to use it. There are a few exceptions (such as public domain compositions), though the golden rule is a common sense guideline that can help determine when licenses are needed.

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The digital age of music has introduced new legal forms of music consumption that do not correlate clearly with the previous licensing laws. These old laws were created at a time when the recorded music industry revolved around physical sales and traditional radio play. They do not address, however, services like Rhapsody, where streaming audio is not public performance, nor is it a transaction of ownership. In some cases, these gray areas have allowed royalties to slip through the cracks, never reaching the hands of the rightful copyright owner. Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND NEW YORK, NY – SoundExchange, the non-profit performance rights organization authorized to collect royalties for the digital performance of sound recordings, and RightsFlow, a leading licensing and royalty service provider, announced a new joint initiative to identify hundreds of recording artists collectively owed over $1 million in royalties. Read the rest of this entry »

October 5, 2010 (Boston MA) – Heavy Rotation Records, the student-run record label at Berklee College of Music, will produce a cover song tribute to some of rock’s biggest names and the seminal bands that influenced their sounds and styles.  To be recorded and compiled this fall, the project will highlight songs from groups including Gang of Four, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Pixies, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, and Sonic Youth.  Scheduled for release in early 2011, the project will couple material from well-known favorites like Green Day, U2, and REM, with covers of the important, compelling acts who influenced them – Husker Du, Joy Division, and Mission of Burma.

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Atlanta, GA (September 27, 2010) – Christian Copyright Solutions (CCS), the leading provider of copyright services for churches and ministries, announced a partnership today with RightsFlow, a technology-enable licensing and royalty service provider.  The two companies will collaborate to integrate RightsFlow’s Limelight platform into CCS’s PERMISSIONSplus service, ensuring quick and efficient accounting, licensing and payment to songwriters and publishers worldwide.  The combined efforts by the two companies will ensure that CCS clients can simply and inexpensively secure clearance to cover any song for release. Read the rest of this entry »

Licensing is a complex topic that many DIY/indie musicians in particular avoid at all costs. Here’s the good news – you don’t have to anymore. Limelight, a service of RightsFlow, is here to make the whole process smooth, straighforward – and budget friendly. Here, Michael Kauffman of RightsFlow explains what Limelight can do for musicians and how you can use the service to help you clear all those songs you’ve been dying to cover.

Question: Licensing can be complicated business for even seasoned music biz professionals, and for many indie artists and labels, the mere idea of delving into the world of licensing sends them running for the hills. How is Limelight changing that?

Limelight simplifies the process of clearing cover songs. There are artists out there who play these songs live and never knew they could record and distribute them, let alone sell them. We’ve created a site that is simple to use and allows artists to secure the necessary mechanical license for 100% of the publishing spectrum and also ensures that they are compliant with the law and pay the songwriter/publisher 100% of royalties due.

We believe that musicians desire to license properly; it’s a matter of providing some education and a utility that is easy to use. Designed by musicians for musicians, Limelight is both a resource (check out our FAQs here) and a service for helping to drive revenue for songwriters and grow the pie for the entire community. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Winners Take Advantage Of The Building Blocks To Generate Community And Commerce,” Says Patrick Sullivan, CEO of RightsFlow

Recently, I spoke with Patrick Sullivan, who is the cofounder, President, and CEO of RightsFlow, a mechanical licensing and royalty payment technology platform. In this interview, Sullivan talks about the romanticism of the traditional record industry, the barriers to licensing music in the past, and easy-to-use licensing is a necessary part of the emerging digital ecology of music culture. Read the rest of this entry »

Most folks can’t just record someone else’s song and then start selling their version of it.

But how do independent artists clear the rights necessary to record a cover song and then release it for sale? This is a real problem, as thousands of independent artists across the country seek to record songs written by others — and make some money in the process. Songs are protected by copyright, however, so permission must be secured and financial terms settled before a cover song can be sold to the public.

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