What Types of Songs Can’t Be Registered for Publishing?

Not every song you create can be monetized through publishing. To help you steer clear of copyright issues and potential legal complications, we’ve put together a quick guide on the types of songs that can’t be registered for publishing.

Samples

• Unless you have an agreement that is from the owner of the master and the writer of the record that lists that the sample has been cleared to use, do not register the record. 
  • Why? Because you do not have the proper permission to use it or collect money from it. Producers should never be in charge of clearing samples at all – it should be done by people who own the master recording (label or the artist).
  • What is a sample? Sampling is taking a snippet of the recording (such as the notes, vocals, or drums) of someone else’s song and using it in your song.
  • Reminder: If there is a sample that needs to be cleared and the releasing party (aka the artist or their label) has yet to clear it, hold off on registering since you will not know your true publishing splits until the sample is cleared. 

Interpolations

• While you can upload your remixes to Spotify and other DSPs, you cannot collect publishing royalties from them.
  • Why? You did not create any of the original words written or instruments to the song. Instead, you created a new work based on someone else’s original creation. 
  • What is an interpolation? If you take a small part of a song, such as a melody or a catchy line of lyrics, and use it in your song, it’s an interpolation. It’s like borrowing a piece of an existing song and adding it to your own. 

Covers

• Similar to remixes, you can upload your covers to Spotify and other DSPs but you cannot collect publishing royalties from them.
  • Why? You did not create any of the original words written or instruments to the song. Instead, you created a derivative work based on someone else’s original creation. ‍
  • What is a cover? A cover is your own version of a song that has already been written, recorded, and released by another artist.

Keep this in mind

One of the best organizations to familiarize yourself with is the Mechanical License Collective (MLC). The MLC is an organization that ensures that creators are paid for their fair share of mechanical royalties. In recent years, they established the Music Modernization Act, which administers a blanket mechanical license for digital service providers (DSPs).

In 2021, many DSPs began operating under this blanket license. That means for compulsory cover songs distributed to blanket-licensee DSPs only, a mechanical license for interactive audio streams (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) will no longer be required.