You need a mechanical license agreement if you are planning to do the following:
1.) You are planning to cover a song written by another songwriter and sell it on a CD or any mechanical forms of recording (vinyl, cassette tape).
2.) You are a movie producer and you plan to incorporate the song in the movie and distribute it on a CD, DVD, Blue ray, etc.
3.) You have mp3 songs in your computer and you plan to burn it on a CD and sell it to your friends or any of your customers.
4.) You are a recording label and you are releasing an album with songs written by someone else.
5.) You are a game software producer and want to include copyrighted music in the games.
6.) Or as long as you are using copyrighted music then distributing it in physical media such as CD, DVD, cassette, hard drive, etc as long as it is tangible, then you are required to get a mechanical license from the music publisher.
Blue ray disc
For those 6 items above, you need to ask permission from the music publisher (or an authorized third party representative, more details below). If the request is granted, the music publisher will then issue mechanical license. Aside from getting the license, you also need to pay associated mechanical license fee or royalties as stipulated on the agreement.
The mechanical license fee is mandated by law. And some computational information is probably needed in some cases.
Confusing aspects of mechanical license and the solutions
Some of the confusing aspects of mechanical licensing are to WHERE to get this license. Typically:
1.) If the songwriter is not affiliated with any third party music publisher or any mechanical licensing organization then the songwriter will have the role of music publisher and can issue a mechanical license.
Since this is a legal agreement, the songwriter needs the help of an entertainment lawyer to do this right.
2.) If the songwriter is affiliated with a music publisher, and the music publisher is NOT affiliated with any mechanical licensing agents, then the music publisher can execute mechanical licensing agreement in behalf of the songwriter.
In this case, you need to know the songwriter and the music publisher of the song. You can obtain this information by knowing how to perform a song copyright search.
3.) If the music publisher representing the songwriter is affiliated with a mechanical licensing agent (which is an authorized third party representative), then you need to contact the agent for a complete mechanical licensing agreement package (depends on your use and application).
Example of a mechanical licensing agent in the US is Harry Fox Agency.
It offers a lot of licensing packages that suits your needs. So first, it might be worth your time to consult their website and see if the material you need is already represented by Harry Fox Agency. They have a user-friendly website that allows you to search their entire catalog. Most major and big indie music publishers are affiliated with Harry Fox agency. If it’s not represented, then the music publisher or the songwriter can issue you the mechanical license.
What are the important points in the mechanical licensing agreement?
Like other agreements, a mechanical license contains some points that you should understand before you enter the agreement. Harry Fox agency has a pretty straightforward licensing process and can be done online. However for independent songwriters and music publishers, it can be different and mostly done on paper. It is summarized below:
1.) Date of the agreement
2.) Your name (“owner”) – if you are entering an agreement with a songwriter, this is the name of the songwriter. Otherwise it is the name of the music publisher.
3.) Licensee name – your name, or company name/business name of the licensee.
4.) Title of the works – this is the list of tracks that you want to license.
5.) Songwriter of the works
6.) The extent of the mechanical license – e.g. right to record, reproduce, market, sell and distribute the work. Also you might want to grant either an exclusive (very rare) or a non-exclusive license to the licensee. This should be stated clearly on the agreement.
mechanical licensing agreement 1
7.) The price per units manufactured or sold. This is usually in cents. This is the basis for royalty computation which is done by multiplying the number of units (copies) by the royalty rate or the price per unit.
8.) The period of royalty payment if applicable.
Mechanical license contract price
9.) There are also indemnification clauses as well other conditions depending on the agreement between the licensee and the songwriter/music publisher.
10.) Finally, the licensee and the music publisher/songwriter signature at the end of the agreement indicating that all terms are agreed.
You can see a sample mechanical licensing agreement here.
Bear in mind that if terms and clauses appear complicated to you, you should always have it reviewed by an entertainment lawyer.
Content last updated on July 24, 2012