Hi Folks:

A friend and I are considering doing a CD, and there may be a couple of cover songs on the CD.

In general, what's the process for being able to legally sell a CD that has a cover tune on it? For instance, let's say we wanted to do Journey's "Stone in Love", but a different arrangment. How would I go about finding out who to pay royalties to? What's the paperwork and process involved?

Thanks in advance!
Dave

To include a song on your record that has been previously released you need a mechanical license. They are simple to get - start your search at http://www.songfile.com.

That takes you to the Harry Fox Agency - look at their overview topic. It looks like they license your song there. Do a little reading and it's pretty easy to figure out. Good Luck!

In the UK (Not at all sure about outside) the body who handles this is the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society).
See http://www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk/Pages/default.aspx